Target Audience
INTERNATIONAL
Program Overview
What is a scholarship?
careersandopportunities.com is all about scholarships. A scholarship is simply a financial reward given to a student for attaining excellent grades, and its awarded based on merit or need for schooling purposes.
Types of Scholarships
Academic Excellence scholarship
This is the most popular and is based on merit for students who attain excellent grades, be it in High school or University. For instance, for someone doing Advanced level, after coming up with an A* for all the subjects for GCSE; that’s an automatic entry for scholarships to some of the biggest universities like Oxford, the University of Cape Town, and Stanford.
Some may come up with a first-class Degree at the undergraduate level, and that may give them room to apply for a master’s scholarship. Even though ultimate grades are expected for all scholarship applications, it also depends on the course being done, as some programs like Medicine and Geology are difficult at the university level for one to attain distinctions. Hence, selection criteria may differ from one program to the next and from institution to institution.
Musical scholarships
These kinds of scholarships mainly award talent or gifts based on whether someone is good at singing or playing an instrument like the guitar, piano, or violin. For some applicants applying for such scholarships, this is the perfect time to present awards they would have won in various music competitions so as to gain a competitive advantage over many other applicants.
Personal circumstances scholarship
This scholarship varies from one individual to the next as it involves considerations from the community, be it religious organizations, local authorities, charities, or even various corporate social responsibility programs aimed at changing lives.
Financial need scholarships
These are popular in less economically developed countries, particularly in Africa. A student may need to apply for grants or bursaries if they are not able to pay the fees or uniforms required. A committee chosen will then assess each individual case separately, to see whether it is worthy of such funding.
In developed countries, international students at universities can also apply for grants if they’re failing to pay up their fees in full, but they need to show that they’re doing well in school in terms of their performance.
Sporting achievement scholarship
This is based on talent in regards to the outstanding achievements in the sporting arena. For one to be approved for this, they need to show a traceable reference to outstanding performances in sport, be it trophies in competitions, certificates, awards, or recommendations by school authorities.
Company Scholarships
These are funded by companies for employees with vast work experience so that they upgrade themselves for business growth, and personal development. They may be bonded by the organization when they graduate so that they serve at least the period they have been funded, which also benefits the company. This creates a win win situation.
Other Scholarships
Some scholarships require applicants to provide a short video or write essays about the given topics. This is most commonly done in the USA, where they write SAT essays for them to be accepted at the top universities in the US, and these scholarships are usually funded by the US government or third parties.
Steps on How to Apply for Scholarships
- One should ask for help. Asking for help can be done through networks, academic advisors, and student recruitment agencies, as they possess vast knowledge of scholarships available in various industries.
- The golden rule is to research, research, and research. It’s important to research for yourself in regards to the location you want, your program of choice, weather, grants covered, and the availability of career opportunities when one graduates.
- It’s important to contact the scholarship funder directly. The world is now full of scammers who are hunting for applicants’ hard earned cash through online platforms; hence, contacting the funder directly enables one to get the correct information.
- Creating a winning Resume is key – As most scholarships require work experience, it’s also vital to cover the experience required for one to be suitable for the application process, and also add a well structured cover letter to the resume.
- Reference checking is also key. Most institutions do contact your references; hence, it is important to put workmates you have worked with well with them so that they give positive recommendations when they’re contacted.
- Make sure you mark your calendar to avoid missing certain deadlines, otherwise your applications may be rejected for failing to meet the stipulated deadlines.
- Apply, apply and apply – The more you apply, the more you spread your chances of getting accepted. This also requires a considerable amount of time, patience and effort to get solid feedback. One should gather all the documents required from school grades or copies of transcript/certificate, medical test report, copy of passport, resume, recommendations, motivational letter and completed scholarship form.
