Apr 19, 2004 11:24 AM
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(Updated Apr 19, 2004 11:24 AM)
‘Um – Hagrid?’
‘Mm?’ Said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.
‘I haven’t got any money – and you heard Uncle Vernon last night – he won’t pay me to go and learn magic.’
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
How to finance my study? This query essentially quakes the senses of a student with an I-must-learn-abroad attitude. If you are intelligent and eager enough to pursue higher studies, but economically less sound to pursue the same in the prestigious foreign Universities... it becomes painful. Hence, though may be incomplete, I would like to scribble down few ideas in this regard. It is a compiled experience of two friends and me – all from middle income families of Kerala, and now fetch scholarships to study abroad.
But, this is only for those who seriously want to study.. and not for one who want to earn money by working after getting a student visa. [The route and rules are entirely different, buddies..!].
Three main ways there are, to fetch financial assistance.
One, apply for fellowship and get the admission associated. DAAD (Germany), Cambridge Trust (UK), and FORD foundation fellowships (US) etc belong to this category. Please glance through http://www.daad.org ; www1.britishcouncil.org ; and http://www.ifpsa.org for details. In our experience, these agencies are quite impartial and look only for credentials of candidates. However, you may not expect a cakewalk in any of these projects; they want the bests!
But if you are applying for a graduate programme with research, along with good academic performance you should have a first class project proposal. The latter, I would say, matters more in many instances. And there are many rules to make the proposal attractive. Ask your seniors about this.
Second is of apply-for-admission-and-get-associated-fellowship nature. Most of the fellowships for Canada and US education are of this type. Select few universities according to your qualifications (If you have a second class masters and a TOEFL score of 220, better avoid Harvard! Application process costs.) and possibility of getting financial assistance. Here the role played by the project proposal is insignificant, if any. This is not convenient for applying UK or Europe, in general. The University projects are limited in number in this region, as also in Australia. But once you secured admission without scholarship, you can apply for few scholarship like INLAKS. ( http://www.inlaksfoundation.org).
Another related technique is to identify helpful personalities in your subject and contact them stating your eagerness to study under their supervision. In the era of knowledge explosion, this is bit easier and can effectively combine with the second way. But you should know how to deal with busy professors.. My friend is jumping to Purdue University (US) for PhD and the mode he employed was this.
As a concluding remark, have a look at various opportunities we, Indian students have in: https://educationobserver.com/scholarships.htm
Many of the data included may be out of date, but still it provides a good guidance.
Definitely, it is a partial account only. You are welcome to add more and ask doubts!
And the thumb rule for success is very much relevant here also: NEVER SAY DIE, as you may have to face more failures before tasting success. One more, BE POUND WISE, PENNY FOOLISH. Initial application costs something out of your pocket (Send a document through speed post means, you are spending Rs. 600 to 1100). But think about the probable gains..
All the bests, pals!
