Studying abroad has been major dreams of many students in Nigeria.
With the situation of things in the country, many parents find it extremely difficult to source for money in funding thier Children education at abroad. However, this may not be the case for people who have rich parents or even rich on their own.
Popular top countries that offer scholarships to international students include United States(US), United Kingdom(UK), Canada, Australia, Germany, France etc. according to findings by DAILY GIST.
These countries offer scholarships for international students at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels.
With fully funded scholarships from this countries, you can still make your dream of studying abroad comes to reality.
In this article, DAILY GIST explained some important steps you need to follow to successfully get a fully funded scholarships.
HOW TO GET A FULL FUNDED SCHOLARSHIPS ABROAD.
1. Get your international passport.
Apply for international passport at any immigration office in your state or nearby. It usually takes few months for passport card to be ready after capturing.
2. Write English Proficiency Test: Although some schools in UK, US, Canada or Australia waive this for many international students, it’s advisable to take the test if you have money to fund it. This will make you have access to many schools for your applications.
The most popular English proficiency tests are IELTS, TOEFL
3. Search for Schools that offer fully funded scholarships online.
Use http://4icu.org to get list of Top 100 universities in your preferred study destination (USA, Canada, UK etc). http://4icu.org for global search, and http://USNews.com specifically for American universities.
You can as well ask from people around you if they know of any available scholarships or grants from any any company, organization or the government.
4. Cut or trim the list by removing some universities that do not offer your program, that requested application fees or English proficiency for the scholarships.
5. Get your necessary documents ready.
Most schools usually ask for the uploading of the following documents during application
(a) Statement of Purpose (SOP)
(b) Academic CV
(c) Official/Unofficial Transcript
(d) Recommendation Letters(Academic&Professional).
However, some schools will ask you to provide the contact email of your referees to get your recommendation letters.
6. Write Cold Email: This is optional. Contact professor(s) whom you’d like to work with in the school. This is a marketing process – sell yourself.
7. Start your application.
Apply to only schools that you meet their criteria. There is no need of applying to schools you don’t have thier requirements when there are even other thousands of applicants who have it
Usually, most schools abroad take applications for Summer, Springs, Winter and Fall semesters. It’s important to note the application date and deadline for each of the school you planned to submit your application.
8. For schools that require it, attend interviews, online zoom meeting especially for PhD programs. This may also boost your chances.
9. Pray as you wait for feedbacks from admission officials of the schools you have applied for.
10. You will get either an ACCEPTANCE or a REJECTION. If accepted, Congrats. If rejected, don’t despair or lose hope, wait for other offers.
11. If accepted but the offer isn’t fully-funded, discuss your chances of getting funding with the program Director. If the Director or Coordinator of your program can’t help, reach out to professors doing your kind of research (this is where cold email works). If you’ve been in touch with them before this moment, ask if they have a Research Assistantship offer for you.
12. Obtain proof of funding and request for immigration documents
13. Apply for study visa (pay SEVIS and visa application fees, get an appointment with the embassy, get your visa approved.
14. Fly to your study destination.