Scholarships
Since studying in the United States will likely cost more than it does to study in your own country, it is important to start your financial planning at least 12 months before you intend to study in the United States. Some U.S. colleges offer opportunities for gifted student athletes to play for the college team as a means of paying for their education. International students also ask about financial assistance from foundations, organizations, and the U.S. government. Very little aid exists through such sources, and it is usually earmarked for advanced graduate students.
International Scholarships
There are hundreds of resources available online that offer scholarships or access to search for scholarships, but not all are legitimate and some are there just to scam students. Learn how to spot a scholarship scam and locate the resources that are tried and trusted.
Scholarship Scams
Scholarship scams are all over the place, and as an international student you are a prime target for people trying to scam you out of money. To help you, we have created a list of things to look out for and help you spot a Scholarship Scam:
Money up front/ Application Fee
Whenever you are applying
for a scholarship never send money up front or pay an application fee,
you should not have to send money to an organisation to get a
scholarship. These organisations will most likely just pocket the money
and you will never hear from them again
Loan Fees
You should be careful of companies that ask for a loan fee before they
will disburse and money to you. Real loan companies will add fees to
your loan balance which you repay over time and will never make you pay
a fee upfront.
Guaranteed Scholarships
Never trust a company that advertises that they will guarantee to get
you a scholarship. These companies will ask for a fee and may even
offer a money back guarantee but will never get you a scholarship.
Legitimate services will never say they guarantee to get your
scholarship.
Company/ Scholarship Names
If you see a scholarship service or company that is using words like
"official", "national", "government" or other governmental or official
sounding names be careful. They are most probably trying to sound
official to cover up the scam
Legitimate Scholarship Resources
As you might have noticed by now, one of the main themes is that there is never any need to pay money out to find or get a scholarship. All the high quality resources that are out there are free and will not charge anything to search - and I have listed some of the major scholarship search sites thate are all FREE!
International Scholarships
Fund Finder from the College Board
International Educational Financial Aid
Fast Web Scholarships
Student Scholarship Search
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