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Funding your Study
Finance is probably the most important factor that deters people from applying to universities abroad. If only students realized that many institutes overseas offer international students loans, scholarships and graduate assistantships, they would not think twice before applying for admission.
One wonders what a university would gain from giving international students funding. Most universities value their international students more than their local students. The reasons are obvious: International students, especially Indians, are very hard working. Universities also realize the value of having international students in their classrooms. International students usually have different viewpoints and often raise the intellectual level of discussion in classrooms. Having a culturally diverse student body has added benefits for the schools. Many philanthropist Americans bequeath hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding to universities because the schools have diversity and claim to educate students from all over the world.
 Universities abroad offer funding to students in various forms including graduate assistantships (GA), scholarships, tuition waivers, and sometimes loans. A graduate teaching assistantship award expects the student to work 20 hours per week aiding a professor in teaching his or her class. A graduate research assistantship award expects the student to work 20 hours per week aiding a professor or laboratory in some kind of research. GAs are the most sought after awards, because most GAs would pay for the entire tuition of the student and the student would additionally get paid for the work he or she is doing. So practically, a student would be able to earn enough money to pay for his or her living expenses as well, making the student’s contribution to tuition 0%. GAs is awarded to students based on their academic achievements and prior work experience. Tuition waivers and scholarships, on the other hand, do not expect the student to work and are awarded strictly on merit.
In case you are not awarded any funding for your education from the university, you can always consider taking a loan in India. “Rather than taking breaking my investments and paying for my son’s education, I would rather take a loan. I can earn more money through my current investments in the stock market and hence it would be better for me to take a loan and pay for his education,” states Mr.Thakker whose son is planning on attending a UK university this fall.
The International Student Loan Program or ISLP created by the International Education Finance Corporation or IEFC is another loan option you can explore. The ISLP loan application process is very simple and the online application is free of cost. All you have to do is get on to their website–www.iefc.comand fill in a loan application form. Your co-signer (who must be a US citizen or a permanent resident) has to fill in his or her details as well. Once this is done, IEFC will process your application and make a decision on your loan. Even though this is a US based organization, the loan is still available if you plan to study in a country other than the US.
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