I’m in high school and have been recently starting to apply for scholarships. I’m highly interested in the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK. If I get a scholarship, can that money go towards an international school such as Kent? Or is it only for US schools?
Lisa:
Although many first time college applicants get caught up in the allure of "all of the scholarships" that are out there, it is important to recognize that the vast majority of scholarship money is awarded by the schools themselves.
The amount of money awarded by "outside organizations" in the competitions that you’ll see on places like fastweb and scholarship.com is dwarfed by the amount (and number) of scholarships offered by the schools. It’s far, far more likely that you would get a school scholarship than a "prize scholarship".
Obviously, school scholarships are awarded by a specific school – and can only be used to attend that school. You’ll be considered for almost all school scholarships as part of the admissions process. If a school offers scholarships, your application will be used to determine whether to offer you one.
Non-school scholarships are offered by all kinds of organizations – there are companies, clubs, membership organizations, advocacy groups, non-profits – all kinds of organizations. Each of these organizations is free to establish its own rules for qualification, application, selection and use of the scholarship.
There are no "general" rules that regulate how scholarships can be used – if you win a specific scholarship, the organization that awarded it will tell you what the limitations are on how it must be used and what you’ll need to do to stay eligible for it.
Many scholarships DO have limitations – for example, it’s not uncommon for the awarding organization to say "Must be used to attend a school in the state of ____". Then again, other scholarships don’t have usage restrictions at all. Offhand, I would say that wanting to use a US scholarship in another country is one of the things that would be more likely than not to be prohibited, but not always.
I presume that you are aware that international students pay a real premium for studying at the University of Kent, just like international students pay a premium to study at US universities and colleges. It looks like UK estimates an international student’s Cost of Attendance at something between £14,000 and £19,000 a year- which translates to about $23,000 to $31,000 a year.
U-Kent has a worldwide reputation for excellence, but you’ll need to carefully consider whether the uniqueness of the opportunity is worth $100 to $120,000 for an undergraduate degree that might cost you 1/3 or 1/2 as much at some of the equally outstanding universities in the United States.
Good luck to you – I hope this information helps!
December 27th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Grants, scholarships or financial aid do not require you to pay back. Information about grants can be searched using
References :
Step1 Visit the Gates Foundation at http://www.gatesfoundation.org
Step2 Visit the Captain Planet Foundation at http://www.captainplanetfdn.org/grants.html
Step3 Visit the Foundation Center at http://www.foundationcenter.org/
Step4 Visit the Famous Philanthropists at http://www.famous-philanthropists.org/
The Famous Philanthropists grants and scholarshps programs site provides a list of available programs and grants.
GOOD LUCK!
December 27th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Lisa:
Although many first time college applicants get caught up in the allure of "all of the scholarships" that are out there, it is important to recognize that the vast majority of scholarship money is awarded by the schools themselves.
The amount of money awarded by "outside organizations" in the competitions that you’ll see on places like fastweb and scholarship.com is dwarfed by the amount (and number) of scholarships offered by the schools. It’s far, far more likely that you would get a school scholarship than a "prize scholarship".
Obviously, school scholarships are awarded by a specific school – and can only be used to attend that school. You’ll be considered for almost all school scholarships as part of the admissions process. If a school offers scholarships, your application will be used to determine whether to offer you one.
Non-school scholarships are offered by all kinds of organizations – there are companies, clubs, membership organizations, advocacy groups, non-profits – all kinds of organizations. Each of these organizations is free to establish its own rules for qualification, application, selection and use of the scholarship.
There are no "general" rules that regulate how scholarships can be used – if you win a specific scholarship, the organization that awarded it will tell you what the limitations are on how it must be used and what you’ll need to do to stay eligible for it.
Many scholarships DO have limitations – for example, it’s not uncommon for the awarding organization to say "Must be used to attend a school in the state of ____". Then again, other scholarships don’t have usage restrictions at all. Offhand, I would say that wanting to use a US scholarship in another country is one of the things that would be more likely than not to be prohibited, but not always.
I presume that you are aware that international students pay a real premium for studying at the University of Kent, just like international students pay a premium to study at US universities and colleges. It looks like UK estimates an international student’s Cost of Attendance at something between £14,000 and £19,000 a year- which translates to about $23,000 to $31,000 a year.
U-Kent has a worldwide reputation for excellence, but you’ll need to carefully consider whether the uniqueness of the opportunity is worth $100 to $120,000 for an undergraduate degree that might cost you 1/3 or 1/2 as much at some of the equally outstanding universities in the United States.
Good luck to you – I hope this information helps!
References :
December 27th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
You can get scholarships for literally thousands of organizations. Each organization will have it’s own set of criteria as to how and where you can use it. Your only option is to look at each and every one you are approved for and see what their criteria is.
References :