Studying abroad can be life-altering, and scholarships offer a way to ease financial burdens and stand out among graduates.

There’s a common misconception among students that applying for and getting scholarships is tough and tedious. Some feel that the odds of getting scholarships to study abroad are exceptionally slim, but in fact, there’s a wide range of scholarships and grants to suit the various needs of international students who wish to study in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK.

Scholarships are not exclusive to only high academic achievers (merit-based) and can come from various sources, varies from country to country and is a useful financial boost to anyone’s study abroad dreams and goals.

There are different eligibility requirements for every scholarship, with each covering different costs across undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programs.

Types of Scholarships

These days, you can find all kinds of scholarship offers around the world! In general, scholarships can be categorized into the following:

1. Destination-specific Scholarships

In terms of destination-specific scholarships, they are often offered by governments and universities to international students from specific countries, or even globally.

For instance, the UK government’s Chevening Scholarship is a scholarship program that offers international students from around the world the unique opportunity to study in the UK. These scholarships are awarded to outstanding professionals to pursue a one-year master’s degree in any subject at any UK university.

2. Merit-based Scholarships

Merit-based scholarships are usually awarded to students who went above and beyond in terms of academics during their high school or university years.

Moreover, an important thing to keep in mind is that sometimes in addition to grades, some universities may also take a student’s extracurricular activities into consideration. Besides this, students who do manage to obtain a merit-based scholarship are sometimes required to maintain excellent grades all throughout their stay at the university.

3. Athletic Scholarships

For students who are talented in a particular sport, or are student athletes, universities can offer full scholarships but in exchange for their sporting achievements. Students will have to juggle the rigor of training as well as maintain certain academic standards.

Sports-based scholarships are awarded to student athletes at the top of their game. Universities will often take a look at your skills, abilities, and talents to determine whether you would be a great addition to their team.

In addition, student athletes often receive full-ride or partial scholarships. Full-ride scholarships cover tuition expenses for the entire duration of their study, while partial scholarships provide discounts on tuition fees. Some universities may not offer tuition discounts but instead provide athletes with access to state-of-the-art gym facilities and athletic equipment, along with specialized sports-related support services.

4. Need-based Scholarships

Need-based scholarships are the most common scholarships you can find in almost every corner of the world. Rather than focusing solely on academic achievements, need-based scholarships are meant to help students who are not able to afford tuition and other relevant fees.

Eligible students will have to showcase the need for financial assistance, with aspects like parents’ income (if student is still supported by parents) as well as tax statements and employment being analyzed by the scholarship provider to determine whether they are truly in need of financial aid and tuition discounts.

Take note that most need-based scholarships only cover one year of study but students are allowed to re-apply in succeeding years depending on the university’s guidelines. Also, need-based scholarships are separate from merit-based ones, whereby a student can be awarded both.

5. Program-specific Scholarships

As the name suggests, program-specific scholarships are scholarships that tie in specifically with a bachelor’s or master’s program, as well as other study fields like engineering and social sciences.

Program-specific scholarships are sometimes offered along with the university admission without the student needing to apply for it.

6. Student Specific Scholarships

Student specific scholarships focus on alleviating the financial burdens of marginalized communities such as women, people with disabilities, and other minorities.

For instance, there are scholarships offered to women to study in programs that are traditionally male-dominated such as science, engineering, or IT. Another case in point is students struggling with disabilities. Some universities and private organizations may assist you with obtaining tuition fee discounts as they believe that having a disability should never hinder you from furthering your education.

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Whether you want to know more about international scholarships for students who want to study abroad or you want someone to help you with your study abroad plan step by step, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Just fill out the enquiry form on this page and our consultants will contact you!