According to a report, more than 1,70,000 students got admitted to US-based institutions and universities for various courses. The US is the number one educational destination for Indian students followed by the UK. The US-based educational institutes and colleges offer a plethora of high-quality academic courses with global recognition.

However, everyone doesn’t have enough financial backing from their parents to afford tuition fees there. In such cases, scholarships play a crucial role to help these students fulfill their dreams without burning a hole in their parents’ pockets.

Who Can Get FAFSA or ISFAA?

International students are not eligible for FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Every FAFSA aspirant has to produce a permanent resident card, failing which they can’t receive any financial aid.

But very few US institutes and universities of higher education do provide need-based scholarships or merit-based financial aid to help foreign students. 

Indian students who are desirous of getting this financial assistance should fill out the College Board’s Scholarship Service or CSS profile. They can also directly apply for ISFAA or International Student Financial Aid Application.

What Does the Recent Scholarship Data Reveal?

According to the US News, around 900 undergraduate colleges and schools gave financial assistance to international students during the 2020-2021 year. The data reveals an average financial aid to the tune of $20,100 was dispersed to international students seeking a scholarship to study in the US. Typically, tuition fees for private colleges in the US is much higher than their public colleges. Therefore, many times students who are looking for scholarships to fund their education end up applying to public colleges only.

Every student who wishes to obtain financial aid or a scholarship from US-based universities must have excellent academic records. Your co-curricular activities are also taken into consideration in some institutes.

In other words, depending on the college and the availability of scholarships, each institute has its own eligibility criteria. It is mandatory for a student to fulfill 100% eligibility criteria before getting any sort of financial aid or scholarship.

Types of scholarships for international students

Fellowship

You can get a fellowship by getting in touch with your university dean. You need not do any coursework or dissertation for it. But only one in 1000 eventually gets shortlisted for a fellowship.

Whether you are eligible for fellowship or not, will be determined on the basis of your academic records and previous research work. You will get to know about it as soon as you get an acceptance letter from a university.

Teaching Assistantship (TA)

International students have an opportunity to work 20-hours per week on campus in a position of teaching assistantship. Being a TA can be a great source of pride and satisfaction. But it comes with a unique responsibility wherein you are supporting your peers in the learning process. Therefore, becoming a TA is not easy.

You also get a stipend, which is sufficient enough to meet your expenditures for rent, electricity bills, food, and travel. TA provides a golden opportunity for Indian students to start earning while learning, and that too, at some of the US-based top institutions.

Research Assistantship (RA)

It is almost similar to TA. However, when you obtain RA, your workload will be higher. It also includes a stipend and maybe some tuition fee waiver. In RA, you also have to work for 20 hours per week and most probably, you’ll also have to work on some research projects as well.

List of Scholarships for Indian Students in 2022

Need-Blind Admission – Full need Scholarship

There are five US universities that offer need-blind admission which means full need scholarships to all international students if required. Basically, the term means that an institution has an official policy of not considering applicants’ financial resources when deciding whether to offer them a place. The universities are MIT, Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University, and Amherst College and recently Brown University also gets added to this list.

Merit-based Scholarship

There are a lot of US universities that give merit-based scholarships, which means you seek scholarships on the basis of your profile. These scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic, athletic, artistic, or other types of merit, as opposed to a student's financial need. 

The students who have good high school grades and hold some leadership positions like head boy/girl in the school, or have started an entrepreneurship club in the school and showcase rigor and persistence through long-term activities, the chances of getting a scholarship are very high.

Athletic Scholarship

Playing very well in a sport is another area where students can look for scholarships.

There are three things international students should focus on to seek athletic scholarships in US universities -:

Start early – Prospective international students should start understanding the process 18 to 24 months before the student plans to attend university. They have to have good high school grades and take standardized admission tests and a lot of details have to be sorted out when they are looking to play at a US college or university.

Understand the three collegiate sports organizations – There are three US organizations that set the rules and regulations for college sports. And, athletic scholarships are offered by all of them which are NCAA (Division I and Division II), NAIA, and NJCAA. Therefore, understanding and figuring it out takes a lot of time.

Build Validation – Often, the coaching staff decides on the athletic scholarships during the recruitment process only. Therefore, some kind of strong online presence or international rankings will definitely help international students.

Stanford University - Need Aware

Stanford University is a 135-year-old reputed private institute in the US. Some of the popular subjects and streams of study in the University are Computer, Engineering, and other technological disciplines. They give need-based limited financial aid to international students. One of the most important things to remember is to indicate an interest in financial aid at the time of admission application. The scholarship is provided on the basis of your merit. Most of the universities which are not need-blind in the Top 20 are need-aware colleges.

Tata Education and Development Trust

Tata Education and Development Trust has allocated over $ 25 million in endowment for learners. Undergraduate students from India can apply for such a scholarship. As many as 20 scholars will be chosen from the project per year.

Key Details 

• Successful students will get an opportunity to complete their undergraduate studies at Cornell.
• All candidates must possess a valid undergraduate degree from any Indian university.
• Successful candidates can obtain immediate financial assistance of INR 10,00,000 plus they will also become eligible for travel assistance worth 50,000-INR.

UPENN Scholarship

UPENN or the University of Pennsylvania is a top-rated institution that comes under IVY League Schools. The university is celebrating its 272nd anniversary this year. It enrolls over 25,000+ students across various academic streams and disciplines.

It offers a number of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate learners. The scholarship amount varies depending on your academic stream, program, and nationality. The scholarship is usually sufficient enough to reimburse your tuition fees and stipends.

Key Details 

• International Financial Aid is provided to students who can’t bear the academic fees.
• Students outside the US can’t apply for federal scholarships. They need to apply for the University of Pennsylvania’s institution-funded and need-based financial assistance depending upon their economic status.
• The undergraduate students at UPENN can apply for 100% financial assistance or a tuition fee waiver at the time of applying for admission to any particular course.

In Conclusion

It’s clear that you have plenty of choices when it comes to getting scholarships for continuing your education abroad. The US is the most-prized destination for completing your formal education in undergraduate programs of your choice.

The US has plenty of top-ranked academic institutions to offer you the right academic courses and programs to enhance your career prospects in your desired program or stream.

If you are interested in studying in the Top 50 universities in the US, you can apply for any of the above scholarships depending upon your interest and niche. Let us know if you think otherwise or want to share any interesting stuff with us.

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