The Secret Behind Finding Funding in US Universities
Most of us want to have funding as we get admission in US universities. Of course, it’s expensive to study in America and not everyone can afford it. However, this is also a fact that the amount of funding available in the US institutions is unparalleled anywhere else in the world. The US education industry is mighty – around $40 billion machine that has a very international and diverse character.
Funding comes in different forms. It can be an international student scholarship, a graduate assistance-ship, a research assistance-ship or a teaching assistance-ship (at the Bachelors’ level). It may also come in the form of tuition waiver or some sort of job on-campus. Whatever the type of funding may be, your job should be to minimize your cost if you don’t have the means to pay the full tuition and living expenses in full.
So the million dollar question is: how to find funding in US universities? Whether you are applying for Bachelors, Masters or PhD, you should always try to find some sort of funding. Funding is almost ensured if you get admission in PhD as many universities consider applicants for scholarship at the time of application. Nevertheless, there are many others where candidates must request scholarship when making the application. It’s much easier to get full scholarship if one gets admission in PhD in the US. However, getting full funding in Masters is a tricky job. Not all programs have funding for Masters candidates but the secret is to find those institutions that are a good fit with your goals and aspirations and offer scholarships for international students. It is not an easy job to search such institutions out of thousands and thousands of them. It may be a good idea to consult genuine counselors who deal with admissions and have tools to look for exactly the kind of programs that would serve your goals better and find those schools where your chances of getting some sort of funding are good. It’s always a good idea to divide the schools you are applying in into three categories: dream schools, reach schools and safety schools. The reason behind this is to make sure that you secure admission and funding somewhere in case you are unable to get into those schools that fall up on your priority list.
Similarly at the Bachelors level, the chance of getting funding is more than that at the Masters’ level. The reason is that many institutions have the funds to attract the best young minds from all over the world at this level. However, there is a method to enter this process. Some of the steps involved include having great A-level results, extra-curricular activities at school, community service, great application essays, strong recommendation letters and a high SAT score. Your chances of getting admission and funding may also depend on whether you decide to apply for Early Decision/Early Action in your dream schools if you are an above-average student. The pool of applicants that you are competing with at a particular time is also important and will determine your chances.
No doubt, Covid-19 pandemic has made things difficult for the admission committees and for the students. However, as the schools in the US still have a lot of funding to offer and are on the hunt for the brightest minds in the world, never under-estimate yourself and take your chances.
