How Scholarships for International Students Pursuing a Degree in the United States Is possible; The United States is known as the melting pot of the world, welcoming more immigrants than any other country in the world.
It’s also home to some of the most prestigious universities and colleges on the planet, including Stanford University, Harvard University, and Princeton University just to name a few.
If you’re thinking about studying abroad, but not sure where to go, check out this list of 10 scholarships available to international students pursuing degrees in the U.S.
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1) Scholarships for International Students Pursuing a Degree; Create an online store presence
If you want to study abroad, your first step is creating an online presence.
This means signing up with sites like StudyAbroad101 or CS50’s EdX, both of which offer full courses (along with many other resources) that can help you figure out if studying abroad is right for you.
Having an online presence also means joining Facebook groups and signing up for newsletters anything that will connect you to other students and keep you updated on opportunities near and far.
Plus, you might make some friends along the way, once you have found the perfect school and program, it’s time to create a profile.
Include everything from your contact information to what kind of student you are, what languages you speak, where else you’ve studied abroad, and why this school appeals to you.
That way, when a professor or admissions officer has a question about who you are and what you’re all about, they’ll be able to find all the answers they need by just clicking around your profile.
And don’t forget: You’ll want to use this opportunity to show off your creativity, so take pictures of yourself at local landmarks and share them with whoever might be reading whether they’re future classmates or college admissions officers.
Then include captions that tell your story: where you came from, how long you spent there, and how being exposed to a new culture affected your worldview.
Or do something wild and post pictures of food! It’ll give people who visit your page another taste of what life is like for someone living in New York City.
2) Get involved, Scholarships for International Students Pursuing a Degree
It’s easy to feel a bit lost during your first year of college, especially if you come from another country.
Finding student groups that share your interests is an important way to navigate campus life, and it helps you make some friends (and allows you to develop professional connections).
Professional organizations also offer great ways to get involved on campus, joining these groups can help you stay on top of trends in your industry and develop valuable skills that will help make you marketable as an employee after graduation e.g Whether you’re looking for free food, free drinks, or free tutoring sessions; Student Union Activities Board offers just about anything.
UMass Amherst has over 700 clubs and activities that can help you find your niche here at school
If you’re not sure where to start, join Campus Activities Board (CAB) and attend one of their many activities. CAB features more than 400 events every semester.
You can even explore clubs that interest you from board games to knitting clubs or create your own club.
Creating an activity is easy; just follow these steps:
- Create a new event and fill out information like date, time, location, and description.
- Choose your event category
- Add it to our calendar by clicking Add Event button below event details Attendees will be able to register for your event once you click Register Now
- To have an outside organization co-sponsor your event, simply invite them by filling out their information under Additional Information and then selecting Organization Type: Co-Sponsor from the dropdown menu.
The organization must be located in Massachusetts but does not need to be registered with MassGIS.
Your co-sponsor will receive notifications of your event and may choose to promote the event through their channels.
If you don’t see what you are looking for, check out our helpful links pages for further resources.
Down below here I’ve put together this list of 10 scholarships for international students pursuing a degree in the United States to give you some ideas of where to look next:
- Rhodes Scholarship
- Fulbright U.S. Student Program
- Gates Cambridge Scholarship
- Churchill Scholarship Foundation
- David Lazzeroni Founder’s Award Foundation Scholarship Program
- H-1B Visa Founders Scholarships
- University of California President’s Associates Scholarship
- AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps
- Banatao Institute Fellowships
- Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant
3) Earn credentials, Scholarships for International Students Pursuing a Degree
The reasons why it’s always good to have local work experience, having international experience can give you an edge over other applicants.
When applying to jobs and internships, make sure to highlight your education abroad, make sure that employers know what country or university you studied at, as well as your major.
The most common credential that helps with this is the Student Exchange Program (SEP) certificate or diploma.
The SEP certificate is offered by some Canadian universities, including Ryerson University and Seneca College.
If there is no SEP option near you, try looking into credit transfer agreements from different countries.
For example, at my university there was a partnership with Moscow State University, the best thing about getting international credentials is that they are more often than not very cheap or even free, for example, I was able to get my degree for only $2, it doesn’t get any better than that. I could go on for hours about how much of a great bargain this was, but we should talk about something else.
There are many excellent American colleges that offer extremely low tuition rates, but if you live in America, then chances are you won’t be eligible for those scholarships.
My advice would be to research programs like Fulbright where Americans can teach abroad and earn money while working towards their graduate degree back home.
4) Network with others
Use LinkedIn, Facebook and other social media platforms to engage with others working in your field.
Posting articles and sharing information with your networks is also an effective way to build relationships.
Not only will this help you stay on top of industry trends and learn about new developments, but it will also introduce you to like-minded professionals who may be able to share advice or even offer you their own resources (such as connections).
Maintaining these relationships will make networking easier should you ever need them! In addition, try attending conferences or events where members of your desired network might congregate.
At these gatherings, it’s best to have something unique to offer; for example, if you want more followers on Twitter, provide links to interesting posts that readers can click through.
If you’re trying to connect with potential mentors, use this opportunity as an icebreaker by giving them something they’ll appreciate whether that means taking pictures of people they admire at the event or asking thoughtful questions when appropriate.
5) Follow your passion
Finding scholarships to study abroad can be tough, so if you have an interest that you’re passionate about, don’t hesitate to go after it. Study what you love.
If you want to study something unique or even find a new passion, this is your chance, many international students are trying to figure out how they can afford their education here and we want to help them succeed and create new opportunities for themselves.
The Fulbright Scholarship Program awards scholarships to approximately 1,300 scholars annually from approximately 150 countries worldwide.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program (FUSP) offers full tuition fellowships for U.S. citizens who are currently enrolled at the undergraduate level and demonstrate high academic achievement as well as leadership potential to study abroad for one year; One of these prestigious scholarships might be just what you need to fund your studies abroad in America.
The Gilman Scholarship Program awards grants to undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study and intern abroad programs worldwide.
6) Become an RA or TA
These options are often hard to come by, but if you find one, it could be a great way to fund your education.
A lot of schools will offer housing or dining stipends that can save you quite a bit of money every month.
Becoming an RA (Resident Assistant) or TA (Teaching Assistant) also allows you to get closer to professors and earn valuable networking opportunities.
7) Apply early and often
The first step to winning any scholarship is to apply early and often, there are hundreds of different scholarships available, so you’ll want to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible.
As new scholarships become available, apply early while there’s still time, just remember that it may be worth delaying college enrollment by a semester or two if it means you can apply for more money.
8) Know what you’re looking for
To receive scholarships for international students, you’ll need to be proactive and know what you’re looking for.
Check out The National List of Foreign Student Organizations, Scholarship Directory Online, or your state’s scholarship search database to see if any awards are available specifically for foreign students.
If none are available, start browsing financial aid databases and local-interest scholarships; while you may not win, at least it will put you on more radars.
Once you find an organization that has funded international students in the past, contact them directly to inquire about scholarships they offer or find out how they can help you find one that meets your needs.
If there isn’t one readily available for you but there is a well-known organization that gives grants to organizations helping with community service projects, then this could be an option as well.
Conclusion
There are hundreds of scholarships specifically for international students who want to study abroad.
No matter your field of study, and no matter where you’re hoping to go to school, you’ll find that there are plenty of opportunities available.
With many scholarship organizations now accepting applications year-round, you’ll want to start searching right away.
