100 per cent Scholarships to Study Abroad: All You Need to Know

There are myths, misinformation and several half-information regarding the concept of ‘100% scholarship’, that many-a-times affect aspiring students’ decisions of studying abroad and in some cases keep them aloof from the benefits of such schemes. So, it is one issue all must ponder upon and clarify at the earliest.

But what does it take to avail a 100% scholarship to study abroad? Where does one look for such offers and if one does find that, what are the eligibility criteria for that! These questions can be overwhelming. But then may be the pointers below can give some kind of perspective.

Search-Research

When it comes to getting a 100% scholarship to study abroad, there are multiple factors you need to keep in mind. But before anything else, your first step will be research.

Research will obviously involve you understanding your interests and career goals and then exploring your options. This precisely means you will need to find countries with universities which adhere to your subject of interest. Once this step is completed, the rest can follow.

The next step would be to apply to a University of your choice and find out their scholarship schemes.

However, not all Universities offer 100% scholarship every year. For example, if a University decides to offer 100% scholarship in 2017, then it is not necessary that it will offer the same in 2018 or in the consecutive years. For this, one must correspond with respective Universities to understand their scholarship schemes for the concerned year.

Whose Scholarship is it anyway?

Academic grades i.e. merit of the student is what the Universities will look at while deciding to offer a scholarship. But this condition is highly country-specific.

While some countries like Australia and New Zealand offer scholarships based on merit, UK, US and Canada has a few other determinants for the same.

In these countries the other determinants are the applicant’s SAT, GRE or GMAT scores. In the US and Canada, the profile of the applicant is also very important for securing a scholarship.

Note: Most of the scholarships open for UG students are University scholarships.
Profile is basically what the applicant has done apart from academics in the field of study s/he has applied for. This could also be the applicant’s work experience.

There is also another way to apply for a scholarship, 100% or otherwise. These are scholarships which are country-specific and are sponsored by their respective governments. A few examples of such scholarships for Post-graduate students are NZH for New Zealand, Endeavour Scholarship for Australia, Commonwealth and Chevening Scholarship for the UK and Erasmus Mundus for Europe.

The British Council also offers the GREAT scholarship which is offered on specific courses and universities in UK. But the scholarship is not 100%.
The scholarship tests are mostly held in two stages, first comprising of a written test and the second an interview.

However, to apply for such government-sponsored scholarships, one needs to show a proof of application. Talk to your counsellor for more information about how to procure this proof of application.

Note: This proof of application is NOT the offer letter from the Universities. The offer letter will be needed at a later stage of the application process.