As is common with students today, Arun Kumar Thangavelu is planning to pursue his higher education in a university abroad. He has completed his graduation in journalism from Madras Christian College and has applied for the MA Broadcast Journalism course at the University of Sheffield, the U.K. And like it is for most students, studying abroad can be expensive. So, he has applied for a scholarship hoping to get a waiver off the tuition fee.
“I have applied for the International Post Graduate Taught Merit Scholarship 2019. If I qualify to avail it, I will get 25% off the tuition fee. The course fee is approximately around £20,000 and 25% of it is a big deal. I can use the money for accommodation and living expenses,” he says — an opinion held by many of his peers.
Moving to a new country, finding suitable accommodation, settling into a different culture and starting a new academic process can be stressful. And with a student loan adding to the stress, any sort of monetary relief can be a big stress-buster. This is why many students, besides putting in the effort to choose the right university, also work towards qualifying for scholarships that can help ease the financial and mental strain.
Options
Most universities offer several types of scholarships to make themselves attractive for prospective students and help ease the transition. Broadly there are means-based scholarships (based on income or community criteria of students), merit-based scholarships (based solely on a student’s academic performance), talent-based scholarships (on the basis of their academic or non-academic talent such as sports or performing arts), and research scholarships (specifically for students pursuing research studies under independent or guided projects at research institutions).
There are also crisis scholarships provided to students based on their vulnerability indices or situation such as the state of being differently-abled or orphaned, and academic promotion scholarships are provided to students based on their promotion to next level of education in the same institution.
“There are scholarships available outside the university provided by few associations based on empowering or uplifting women and students from low-income families but they are rarely based on academic credentials and are mostly availed by the locals at that particular locality whereas scholarships that come from the university are mostly the ones we (international students) consider,” adds Ramyaa Rathna Kumar, an engineering graduate who is off to pursue Masters’ in Electrical and Computer Engineering, from Texas A&M University, the U.S.
With so many options, how does one go about choosing a scholarship? Rutuja Dandgaval, a masters’ student at the School of Public Health and a Future of Change scholar at University of New South Wales, Australia, says: “Students must do a thorough research about all available options. Present to the scholarship team one unique quality of yours that makes you more deserving than others.”
While she is a recipient of a partial scholarship, she knows of students who proved that inadequate financial support can be a barrier to their dreams and passion having received a full-tuition scholarship.
Advantages
Rutuja sees even a scholarship that offers partial financial relief as a big advantage. “The reality is that most students from India take casual jobs to support their living in Sydney which affects their academic performances. In such cases, even a partial scholarship makes a difference. You save on the tuition fee and support your living with it instead of taking casual jobs. That’s how it has been a privilege to me. Because of it, I have been able to grab significant career opportunities such as unpaid internships and international study trips without a second thought about expenses,” she explains.
Besides financial advantages, scholarships also provide numerous academic, professional, and personal benefits. Ankur Gupta, Assistant Manager Content, Buddy4Study, a scholarship platform that connects scholarship and education loan providers with seekers, lists the benefits: a vote of credibility and achievement to one’s academic profile; added advantage during recruitment or while interviewing for other scholarships; and an impetus to maintain their academic records as most running scholarships (provided periodically) are based on scholars’ continued academic performance.
“Some scholarships also offer career guidance, mentorship, and exclusive access to resources like research labs, elite community memberships and so on which other students are not able to secure,” he adds.
Points to consider while choosing scholarships:
Scholarships covering both academic and non-academic expenses are more beneficial.
Generally, scholarship programmes that allow students to benefit from multiple programmes or do not restrict them to just one programme should be chosen.
Some scholarships are provided as interest-free loans to students. Hence, it is preferable to choose scholarships which are non-refundable over loan based scholarships.
Students should try to apply for scholarships which are not bound to partner academic institutions of the scholarship provider.
Scholarships which pay academic fees directly to the institution and the remainder to the scholar for subsistence are generally more convenient to manage.
Scholarships which allow scholars to adjust their education loan payments help them to manage their liabilities.
Scholarship awards which include a contingency grant or fund which is provided on request help students to manage the emergency expenses.
Other factors include the fees of the scholarship application, level of match with the applicant’s profile, the field of specialisation and so on.
Inputs: Buddy4Study
(With inputs from Saradha Udayakumar)
