Where are the best places to look for scholarships?

To add to Ashutosh's advice, there are some resources that provide information on financial for international students. If you are applying for a scholarship specifically for international students, be careful. There are many scammers out there trying to extract sensitive financial and immigration information from international students as leverage to blackmail them for large sums of money. If you are currently a student at a U.S. high school or university, reach out to staff in college advising or financial aid to make sure the scholarship is legitimate.

Here are a few resources to get your started. Envisage's International Student site (https://www.internationalstudent.com/study_usa/financing/scholarships/) and Study in the USA (https://www.studyusa.com/en/a/536/scholarships-for-international-students-planning-to-study-in-the-usa) have some scholarship information for international students in the U.S. Please make sure that you still have someone look over any recommendations in case this information is out-of-date.

Fastweb (https://www.fastweb.com/) is a common tool for looking for scholarships. You will need to read the eligibility criteria for each scholarship carefully to make sure you are eligible. If in doubt, contact the organization before applying.

Hi Shani.

It is great that you are being proactive about obtaining financial aid to help pay for college. There are many options that are available, which can help fulfill your college dreams and help reduce the burden of college costs.

Fill out the application on the Federal Student Aid government website, known as FAFSA. In this application you will input information based on your family household income and where you will attend college. A few weeks after you complete the application, you will be able to check if the college will be offering you grants, award money, or subsidized loans. The application is not hard to fill out, and is definitely worth your time.

Apply for scholarships. I know the task of applying for scholarships seems daunting, but you would be surprised on how many people do not apply. I recommend starting with your high school (if you are currently in high school), speak with the individual in charge of the scholarships (it may be a counselor) and find out what you are eligible to apply for, and then apply.  The applications are usually essay and short answer based, and can pay off big time. If you have already been admitted into college, check with their financial aid department to see if there are any scholarships that could you apply for. Finally, search online for scholarships and apply for what you are eligible. You know what you can be awarded unless you try.

Work while in college. If you are eligible for workstudy, which is a type of financial aid provided by the school through FAFSA; you can receive tax free wages based on the amount that was allocated to your workstudy account. If you are not eligible for workstudy, I still recommend working a few hours a week after your first semester. Most colleges have plenty of jobs available that are made for college students to occupy.  

I did all three, apply for financial aid, scholarships, and worked, and I was able to graduate college without any debt. It is very possible!

Hi Shani - From your hashtag, I gather that you are an international student so, FAFSA or student loans may not be an option for you. I would contact your school's (or the school you are interested in) scholarship office directly to see if they have anything that international students are eligible for. Although rare, they sometimes have both need and merit based scholarships for international students.

In addition to that, I highly (emphasis added) encourage you to reach out to the department your major is under. They will usually have TA (Teacher's assistant) or departmental grants that are open to all students regardless of citizenship/residency status - that should help you cover some tuition costs.

In addition, I think you are allowed to work part-time on-campus and sometimes internships outside campus after a year or so on a student status - reach out to the school's International Center for details on this.

Going to college as an international student in US is not easy financially - but with the right resources, it's doable. Good Luck!

Hi Shani,

I would suggest you to look into the universities/colleges that you are applying to and if they have any options. From your tag it looks like you are interested in music and if you do know how to play music instruments, there are schools that offer scholarships for that as well. Good luck and hope all works out