The Full List Of Scholarships For Indian Students

• Scholarships In The U.S.
• Merit-Based Scholarships
• Graduate School Scholarships
• Master’s Degree Scholarship
• Different Types Of Scholarships For Indian Students
• Fellowship
• Teaching Assistant (TA-ship)
• Research Assistant (RA-ship)
• Importance Of GRE Test Scores
• Mistakes To Avoid

Financial help when choosing to study abroad can make things very easy and smooth. One of the most common queries about studying abroad is the scholarships for Indian students.

A scholarship is financial aid awarded to any student that a university admits to its course. The students applying are given prior information about the existing scholarships that the university offers. So, students may apply for the scholarships while applying for the course. However, the scholarships are not just handed out to anyone. There are several kinds of scholarships.

In this blog, we will look into the availability of different kinds of scholarships for Indian students.

A scholarship is awarded to the student based on various criteria. It could be based on academic excellence represented through the GPA that you obtained in your undergraduate degree program. It could also be based on any talent that you have demonstrated. This might include very interesting projects that you’ve undertaken – hackathons, awards won, accomplishments, and so on. The most relevant reason to give a scholarship, however, is financial need and struggles.

In addition to these factors, a university may also decide to award you a scholarship based on certain other factors, such as your ethnic background or your field of study.

Getting a scholarship is easier if you are a bright, talented, and motivated Indian student. With a bit of effort and time, several resources can be found to avail scholarships for free. In the Indian scholarship search, the first step would be to check the desired college’s financial aid office, as most colleges provide this facility. You will also need to know the scholarship eligibility requirements, as some require good exam scores, i.e., the GRE, TOEFL, etc.

There are no specific GRE or TOEFL scholarships as such. But if someone refers to ‘GRE scholarships,’ it means that they have taken the GRE and hope to get a scholarship by relying on these scores. Although they will increase the chances of your getting an Indian scholarship, it must be understood that these scores are only one essential component of the entire application process.

Scholarships In The U.S.

It is common knowledge that in the U.S., there are two types of universities – public and private. It’s important to note that neither option is inherently better; both public and private universities in the U.S. maintain high academic standards. For example, the University of California, Berkeley is an excellent public university, while Stanford University, located just a few miles away, is a private institution. Both are highly ranked and respected.

In terms of scholarships for graduate students, both private and public universities provide scholarships and financial aid. In the case of public universities, the tuition fee is comparatively lower. Therefore, you can save a good amount. With private universities, merit scholarships are most popular, but they aren’t the easiest scholarships to find – after all, most students at universities like Harvard University or California Institute of Technology would qualify for scholarships.

Merit-Based Scholarships

Typically, when we think of scholarships for Indian students in the U.S., we think of merit-based scholarships. To qualify for a merit-based scholarship scheme, you have to demonstrate excellence in a particular area. Merit-based scholarships are also offered for specific ethnic backgrounds or even for gender, such as scholarships for women.

You are rarely admitted to a Ph.D. program without receiving a full scholarship, whether you are an Indian student or a native student. For an MS or an MA, it’s highly likely to find a suitable scholarship. However, for an MBA, full scholarships for Indian students are hard to come by. Students usually fund themselves through loans. But it is still worth a try. At the very least, some kind of Partial scholarship can be expected.

Graduate School Scholarships

Graduate school scholarships are given based on merit or need. These scholarships are offered by various companies, organizations, states, and many more in the form of institutional, state, and military scholarships.

Many universities offer these graduate scholarships to specific people, like minorities, women, first-generation college students, etc. It is important to stay updated about these scholarships in case one is planning to apply for them.

Don’t let things slip away. Keep your eyes peeled for any opportunities that give you a scholarship.

Master’s Degree Scholarship

Master’s programs are very costly, so it is smart to try to bag a scholarship. Keeping in mind that a lot of opportunities will open up with a Master’s degree from abroad, take advantage of your school counselors or financial aid officers and get their services to obtain the requisite Master’s degree scholarships. Scholarship deadlines vary for different scholarships, so be mindful in keeping track.

Different Types Of Scholarships For Indian Students

Fellowship

Fellowships such as Fulbright are generally merit-based, internal or external awards that support a student for a full-time program. These are usually difficult to attain. Any university has only a certain amount of money budgeted every year that it will award as fellowships to admitted students. These fellowships are typically announced in your acceptance letter or very shortly thereafter.

Teaching Assistant (TA-ship)

The teaching assistant-ship, or a TA-ship as it’s often called, is considered one of the best sources of funding in graduate school while pursuing master’s programs such as MS or MBA. To attain this scholarship requires being an assistant to a faculty member conducting the course.

TAs are generally graduate students who help teachers with the conduct and/or delivery of the courses. This implies you will have to know the said courses very well. The benefit of this kind of scholarship is that it makes TAs, even if they are part-time, eligible to receive a waiver of a portion of their tuition fee. The only catch for this scholarship is that a high score in the speaking and writing sections of the TOEFL exam is required.

Research Assistant (RA-ship)

These scholarships, known as Research Assistantships (RA-ships), are very common in research-oriented universities. As a part of this scholarship, the student works as an assistant to one or a group of professors in exchange for partial or full tuition or a stipend. The jobs usually include experiments, simulations, programming, writing research papers, setting the labs, etc.

Professors are given ‘grants’ that can be used on projects they’re working on. They can use some of that grant money to fund their projects and pay their Ph.D. or Post-Doc students (if any), to fund any conferences they need to attend. They can also decide, if they have sufficient money, to get Research Assistants to help out. This is how research grants are distributed.

To secure a scholarship in this form, you will have to approach professors who have grants with sufficient funding. Typically, this results in a tuition waiver and can cover your living expenses as well.

It is noteworthy that you don’t need to find a nice RA-ship in your department. You can approach other departments depending on the skills you have at your disposal.

Importance Of GRE Test Scores

What does an Indian student require to get a decent graduate scholarship? That is a good and important question. Let us take a quick look at some useful pointers that you can keep in mind while applying for scholarships.
Your GRE test scores are very important if you’re applying for an MS or a Ph.D. Students have a greater chance of getting financial aid if they have high GRE scores. A high GPA. It need not be the highest in your batch, but you should have a competitive GPA. Submit a strong statement of purpose (SoP) – universities will read and base a large portion of their decision on this.

Mistakes To Avoid

Several mistakes can be made when looking for scholarships. Here are the four Don’ts that you should keep in mind to maximize your chances of getting that scholarship.
Don’t start too late! Getting a late start can limit your search and final options. The moment you receive your acceptance letter from your university, start working towards availing all your options.
Don’t limit your search! Explore all of your options. Do not become insistent on any one kind of scholarship or any one kind of source for your scholarship. Look beyond what is easily available.
Don’t write a cookie-cutter application! What is that, you ask? Cookies are made by placing the dough on a pan and shaping it into your desired form, whether round, square, or star-shaped. A mold is used to ensure that all the cookies come out looking the same. That is what ‘cookie cutter’ refers to. In this context, if you simply copy and paste your applications and submit them, your chances of success will drastically reduce. It doesn’t make sense for multiple professors to receive the same application from you. You need to tailor and customize your application specifically for the department or research area you are interested in.
Don’t expect perfection! Don’t expect to get everything right on your first try. Things will go wrong, and you will make mistakes. And that is okay. However, do not get too relaxed after you receive your acceptance letters – that’s when the real work begins! If you do not receive any scholarship along with your acceptance letter, then your work is cut out for you. Immediately start trying to reach out to people to get funding. Send multiple emails. In case of rejection, politely ask for a reason. Be courteous and remember they do not owe you an answer.

Some departments might even ask to have Skype interviews with you, which may be long and grueling. But in the end, if you land a fancy scholarship, it will all be worth it.

Galvanize has helped hundreds of students attain good scholarships. If you are confused or overwhelmed by the whole situation, just reach out here. We excel at taking away the burden.