Education has the power to open doors that can contribute to your future success. This is one factor that contributes to the popularity of overseas education as it exposes you to various opportunities and in-depth training in the field of your choice.
However, it is important to remember that higher education, especially overseas, comes at a hefty price. Depending on the course and the country, you may have to pay anything between Rs.5 lakh to Rs.30 lakh, annually.
As this is no small figure, funding it out of pocket may not always be an option. This is when you must consider other alternatives to finance your degree. Here are the various ways in which you can acquire funding to study abroad.
Merit-based scholarships
These are granted to you for outstanding performance in academics. Merit-based scholarships are generally offered by both universities and government bodies for excellent performance, but the funding depends entirely on the issuing body.
Some merit-based scholarships cover the entire tuition fee and can significantly aid your efforts to finance further education. However, the qualification for such an award requires consistent excellence in your past academic performance, and the funds may not cover living and travel expenses. Additionally, these scholarships may only cover the first year, or require students to have a consistently high GPA through each semester, to be renewed.
Traditional education loan
Education loans have been a go-to for most Indian students looking to study overseas. This is because they allow you to access a sizable amount of funding, provided you have the collateral to back it up.
Usually, you can apply for an education loan as a student or as a parent, if your child isn’t over the age of 18 yet. Typically, to apply for this kind of loan, you must be a citizen of India and have secured admission into a university that is recognised by the lender.
However, keep in mind that such loans may not cover all your expenses for an overseas education. Typically, an education loan covers only the costs of tuition and course fees. Expenses for living accommodations, medical treatments, and other needs are generally not covered under these loans and must be paid for out of pocket by the student or their family.
Personal loan for education
A personal loan is a flexible mode of borrowing funds. This is because the sanction has no spending restrictions and you can use it to comfortably fund a range of expenses related to overseas higher education, be it VISA and passport charges, travel, tuition, accommodation, electronics and course books, and more.
Due to the lack of restrictions on the usage of a personal loan, you are not limited to borrowing the exact amount of the course fee. With a personal loan, you can fund not only the tuition costs for the degree, but also have enough on hand to find comfortable accommodations, buy any equipment that is needed for the course, and have extra finance on hand in case of emergencies.
In comparison to its counterparts, a personal loan for education is fairly easy to obtain as it is unsecured, and only requires you to meet the eligibility criteria of the lender. Depending on the lender, these criteria are fairly easy to meet. Furthermore, unlike an education loan, you can start repaying your loan right away and work toward getting debt-free sooner.
For all these reasons, it is imperative that you pick a lender that allows you to get maximum benefit from your borrowing experience. Bajaj Finserv, for instance, offers a Personal Loan for Education which gives you up to Rs.25 lakh that you can repay over a flexible tenor. It is a customised loan that allows you to take advantage of the flexi loan facility to simplify your loan repayment.
Use any of the options mentioned above to finance a rewarding education abroad. As you learn more about these options, you will notice that a personal loan requires minimal effort to obtain and allows you to access ample funding with relative ease and without any restrictions.
The following article is an initiative of Bajaj Finserv Ltd and is intended to create awareness among readers
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