Finding scholarships you are eligible for

A search for “scholarships for international students” produces a long list of awards, many of which you will not qualify for. Applying to the impressive-looking ones without checking the criteria tends to end in rejections that had nothing to do with the quality of the application. It is quicker to filter hard before writing anything, and to end up with a short list of awards you qualify for, ranked by how well you fit them.

Write down your fixed details

Before looking at any scholarship, note the things about you that will not change during the search. Keep them on one page, next to you, while you read:

• your nationality and country of residence
• the level of your next step (undergraduate, Masters, PhD or postdoc)
• your field, or intended field
• your degree classification or GPA
• your years of work experience, if any

Almost every scholarship filters on these five. With them written down you can rule out an unsuitable award in seconds instead of reading three pages of criteria.

It helps to add two more lines: the year your first degree was completed, and your date of birth. Some awards set limits on how recently you graduated or on age, and these are easy to miss when reading quickly.

Where to look

Start with sources that list awards from the funder’s own information, then check each one against the official page:

• The funder’s own website. Government programmes, foundations and universities publish full criteria there. This is always the version that counts.
• University scholarship and funding pages. If you already have a few target universities, their pages list awards for international students, including small ones that never appear in general searches.
• Your own government and employer. Some ministries and large employers run or nominate for awards.
• Scholarship listing sites. Useful for discovery, but listings can be out of date. Treat them as a pointer to the official page, not a replacement for it.

Our scholarship listings and funder pages, such as Mastercard Foundation and Rhodes, link back to the official sources for the same reason.

Read eligibility before benefits

The funding details are the natural place to start reading, but the eligibility section is the useful one. Check it against your list, and work down through the levels in order. Each one removes awards that the next does not need to consider.

Look in particular for the requirements that catch applicants out:

• Age limits, which some awards set and usually enforce strictly.
• Work experience. Programmes such as Chevening expect a minimum number of hours; Chevening’s guidance currently asks for at least 2,800 hours, roughly two years, gained after your undergraduate degree.
• Country lists. Many awards are open only to certain countries, and the list changes from year to year.
• Return conditions. Some scholarships require you to go home for a set period afterwards. Chevening, for example, asks for a commitment to return for at least two years.
• Offer requirements. Some awards only accept applicants who already hold, or will hold by a set date, an offer from a university.

If you fail a single hard requirement, move on. Being nearly eligible counts for nothing.

Rank what is left

Sort the awards you do qualify for into three groups:

1. Strong fit: you meet every requirement comfortably and your profile matches what the funder rewards.
2. Possible fit: you are eligible, but the award is very competitive or sits slightly outside your strengths.
3. Long shot: you only just meet the criteria.

Put most of your time into the first group and a smaller share into the second. A few well-matched, carefully prepared applications usually do better than twenty rushed ones.

“What the funder rewards” is found in its selection criteria and in how it describes past scholars. A leadership award wants evidence of influence; a research award wants academic promise; a development-focused award wants a link between your work and your home country. Our comparison of Chevening, DAAD EPOS and Erasmus Mundus shows how differently three large programmes weigh the same applicant.

Deadlines and sequence

Some scholarships require you to hold a university offer before you apply; others are entirely separate from admission. For each award on your list, record two dates, the scholarship deadline and any admission deadline it depends on, and plan backwards from whichever comes first.

A spreadsheet with one row per award and columns for both dates, the documents required and your fit group is enough. Our guide to applying to many scholarships efficiently suggests a way to set it up.

Scams

An award that charges an application fee or promises guaranteed selection should be treated as a scam. Legitimate scholarships do not charge to apply, and no real programme guarantees the outcome in advance. If in doubt, find the official page through the funder’s own website, not through a third-party link. Our guide to spotting scholarship scams goes through the warning signs with an example.