Do average students get a scholarship to study abroad?

A scholarship saves you from the significant financial burden by taking care of the tuition fees and/or living expenses of studying abroad. While students with a strong academic background can expect to be considered for the scholarship, average students may have thin possibility. This article discusses the possibility of an average student to get a scholarship to study abroad.

The dream of studying abroad comes with a high cost, which can be a cause of concern for many aspirants. For meritorious students, scholarship opportunities often come to their rescue, providing them some financial relief. However, if you are an average student with an average academic or professional profile, then getting a scholarship is also difficult. In this article, we will inform you how to get scholarship to study abroad, even with an average profile. It is a well-known fact that students have to arrange funds either through student loans or go for scholarships. However, for this, students should know how to apply for scholarships? Nevertheless, getting a scholarship depends on a lot of factors. Scholarships are awarded to students who achieve excellence in academics, athletics, or extracurricular. However, there are a lot of opportunities for average students to get scholarships for studying abroad, students should know how the scholarships are awarded?

There are two types of scholarships:

• Need-based scholarships
• Merit-based scholarships

Need-based scholarships

As the name suggests, need-based scholarships are awarded to students who need financing to pursue their education. This type of scholarship is award by colleges, governments, and various organizations. These are given considering the previous academic records of the students and financial needs of the applicant. The university/college award these scholarships after seeing the significant financial requirements. To qualify for this scholarship, international applicants are required to submit parents' income tax returns, bank account balances, and other records of money earned.

Merit-based scholarships

Merit-based scholarships are awarded for achieving excellence in academics or sports or extracurricular. Various universities and private organizations offer this kind of scholarship. Various companies also offer these scholarships to meritorious students.

Scholarships for average students

Not every student holds excellence in academics or might be a champion in athletics. However, every student has a unique talent or they hold a passion for pursuing their course. This makes them suitable for getting a scholarship to complete their studies in their dream educational institution. Apart from this, it also depends on which country or college you are going to study and which course you are going to pursue? Do you need full-scholarship to cover the cost of your studies?

Moreover, there are chances that you might not receive fully paid scholarship which covers all your expenses. Say, if you are required to pay $30,000 per year, then you can get $15,000 or $20,000. Rest you have to arrange yourself. If a major portion of your cost is covered, then also it is a big relief for a student. You can also learn whether you can study abroad for free or not?

Note: Research about the scholarships and then apply for those which you think are appropriate for you, as blindly applying to numerous scholarships might get you a reject and does not benefit you in any way.

Check out about: Scholarships after 12th

Tips to increase your chances of getting a scholarship

If you are wondering how to gain scholarship to study abroad without good academics, then you need to work carefully on your documents and highlight your strengths while applying for a scholarship.

• Even if you don't have a strong academic background, but you have done community or social work, then you can highlight that while applying to the scholarship and show what your contribution was and how it has a positive impact on the society.
• Apart from this, you can showcase your leadership skills. Maybe you have led a team in your office/college while working on a complex project and how it got successful because of your tactical planning.
• If you have good GMAT, GRE scoresor good scores in the English language proficiency test like IELTS, TOEFL or PTE exams, then also you have a chance of getting a scholarship.
• You can show your problem-solving skills or how you can handle difficult situations, which makes you a perfect candidate for pursuing that course.

While awarding scholarships, universities look at the holistic profile of the candidates. So, if you have a weak point, try to balance it with your strength. Also, applying early increases your chances of getting a scholarship even if you have an average profile. Universities like Pace University, Clark University, and New York Institute of Technology are some of the universities which offer scholarships if you apply early.