Affordable College: Global Scholarships

The Class of 2024 has seen impressive college acceptances, with many students even receiving substantial or full four-year undergraduate scholarships from prestigious universities. Mr. Daniel Gould, the Director of Counseling and Student Services, aims to share scholarship application tips through this article.

Finding scholarships for international students may seem next to impossible but they exist. As prospective undergraduate students research their options worldwide, they should be aware of the coveted scholarship award.  

Students who have demonstrated strong leadership and teamwork, strong letters of recommendation from teachers who know them, and a consistently strong academic record can not only consider selective or highly selective college or university programs but also scholarship opportunities as well.  

Here is a list of some of the destinations that offer scholarships for students to consider.  

Hong Kong

The majority of higher education institutions offer lucrative scholarships for international students. In particular, Hong Kong University (https://admissions.hku.hk/fees-and-scholarships/scholarships) allows schools to elect individuals with strong academic records to be considered for their presidential scholarship scheme where they are offered full tuition, housing, and a monthly stipend during their undergraduate education. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology offers a similar scheme for students (https://sfao.hkust.edu.hk/page.php?i=27)  

Canada

University of Toronto offers the Lester B. Pearson scholarship for international students. It’s intended to recognize international students who demonstrate exceptional talent and are acknowledged as leaders within their school communities. University of British Columbia doesn’t offer similar scholarship schemes for international students, but for those applicants that demonstrate strong academic achievement University of British Columbia offers the international awards valued at 10,000 – 25000 CAD.  

Much of the funding awarded to international applicants is not done via national or government schemes. Universities themselves offer plans to support international students. Communicating with the Office of Financial Aid within universities is recommended if pursuing scholarship is something you are considering.  

Our counseling department will assist students to use the search engine that provides individuals with a starting point for their scholarship search. When reviewing items on 3rd party websites, it is important to check the guidelines, terms, and conditions for individual scholarships. Institutions have a wide latitude in creating scholarships for students. Ethnicity, nationality, University majors, career aspirations could be listed in the guidelines for individual scholarships created. 

If scholarships are something that, as a family, you are considering, many of the items you would do to apply for highly selective institutions also apply for scholarship consideration:  

Maintaining high academic achievement. Scholarship recipients are academically strong students. At DAIS/DHS, they should be earning and maintaining a high GPA and participating in the rigorous courses offered – Advanced Placement Classes. Scholarships for international students are principally merit-based. They are awarded for recognizing high achievement in academics within their high school. High performance on externalized testing is important too – high performance on the SAT is a factor in how colleges and universities award scholarship monies.  

Demonstration of leadership potential. There are many ways to demonstrate leadership. Largely, students can focus on building participation in extracurricular activities within our school community. There is a plethora of opportunities students can review that match their career aspirations and areas of interest (i.e. community services). Ideally, you should be selecting items from our after school activities linked to your chosen major.   

Applying to scholarships adds another layer to a student's university preparation process. There are over 29,000 colleges and universities globally. Each is given wide latitude in how they invite individuals to submit scholarship applications. Some institutions are automatic, others require a lengthy interview, essay writing, and letter of recommendation process. Think about it early, particularly in your Grade 10 and Grade 11 academic years, as that is when you are forming and making decisions concerning your transitional journey and the steps you are planning on taking to prepare for the university admissions process.   

Written by Daniel Gould 
DAIS/DHS Director of Counseling and Student Services