Online-Degree-Scholarships Blog

There are several independent organizations, academic institutions, businesses and government organizations that offer financial support for students aspiring to pursue international education opportunities. Whether you call it Euro, Yen or Dollar, if you interested in studying abroad, you are definitely going to need it to support your education expenses. These financial aid programs are offered either on the basis of the country you are studying in or the field of study you are pursuing. Resources for receiving aid for international education opportunities are too many. All you need to do is perform some research on your own and locate these study abroad funding opportunities.

Eligibility for the Aid
Before you actually apply for the financial aid programs, you need to be informed whether you are eligible for the international funding or not. The financial aid amount that you receive for studying overseas depends on the following factors.

The financial aid amount your qualify for at home campus
The price label on the study-abroad education program
The level of commitment your college has for the promotion of study abroad opportunities
Whether or not the education program you select is approved by your college

Using the Financial Aid You Have Already Received
Hardly do many students are aware that many of the financial aid and federal aid they have already got are transferable to studying overseas. Therefore, the very first step towards funding your international education program is to check out whether you can use your existing education aid. For this, you need to check all the usual educational aid including federal need-based aid, state need-based scholarships and state merit scholarships, institutional financial aid etc.

When it comes to using federal aid like the Pell Grants, Stafford loans and PLUS loans, candidates are required to fulfill the international education aid eligibility. However, your school can not deny the transfer of educational fund just because you are interested to pursue a study abroad education program. Of course, there are some requirements that you need to fulfill for a hassle-free transfer of funds to a college or university abroad. For further details on the limitations both for federal financial aid and other state-based and institutional aid, students can get in touch with the financial aid department at their schools.

Other Sources of Aid for Pursuing Education Abroad
Besides using the existing financial aid or the scholarship you have already got, you can also search and apply for other education aid programs, offered by numerous scholarship organizations, business establishments, educational commissions, state based agencies and corporations, government funds and research foundations among others.

Candidates can also check out several fellowships programs and educational grants that the United States government offers to students studying abroad. Some of the most useful resources for study abroad aid are as follows.

National Security Education Program (NSEP)
NAFSA Grants and Scholarships
Rotary Foundation Scholarships
Study Abroad Scholarships (University of Minnesota)
U.S Department of State
U.S. Department of Education
Institute of Turkish Studies (ITS)
Hispanic Study Abroad Scholarships (HSAS)
Gilman International Scholarship Program
Association of Commonwealth Universities

Education expenses for completing your education abroad should never hold you back. Financial aid opportunities await candidates all over the world. There are numerous private organizations and civic groups that offer education aid for international education programs. Apart from that, there are ethnic organizations as well serving students of specific communities and backgrounds. Candidates should look out for study abroad aid locally, nationally and internationally. Most of the students give up on their decisions of studying abroad just because they think the cost of pursuing a degree program abroad will be unrealistic. The tuition fees and the cost of living are considerably lower in many parts of the world. With some research, you can find really affordable study abroad education programs and get financial aid to support your education expenses.

You may be searching and applying for several scholarship programs. In any case, you will never want to be a victim of scholarship scams. Desperate students and parents often fall prey to scams. However, you can save yourself if you are well aware of the warning signs. Given below are 10 warnings signs that signal a scam.

1. Fees
Remember, you never need to pay an upfront fee while applying for scholarships. So, if you are told to pay some fees for applying, you can keep from applying for such awards and do not get scammed. When it is about winning free money for college, you do not need to pay an upfront fee for applying.

2. Credit Card/ Bank Account Information Required
If some scholarship sponsors or committee asks you to furnish your credit card information or your bank account information, you should be careful and respond with a firm ‘no'. By providing such information, you can be a victim of a scam.

3. Scholarship Guarantee
Selecting scholarship winners is the sole decision of scholarship committees and judges. There is no one who can guarantee you free scholarship money. If someone says so, they want you to get into a scam. So, keep this in mind as a warning sign of a scam.

4. No Work Involved
Winning a scholarship or a financial aid requires time and sincere effort on your part. No one else can do this work for. You need to fill out the scholarship application yourself. If somebody says they will do all the work for you, this could be a scam.

5. No Contact Information
If you are in touch with a legitimate scholarship sponsor, they will definitely provide you with their complete contact information including mailing address, valid email address and phone number. If the scholarship provider does not have contact information, you should take it as a warning sign of a scholarship scam.

6. Unsolicited Scholarships
How do you like it when someone calls you to receive a scholarship award you never applied for? Be wary of such situations. This is most likely a scholarship scam.

7. Pressure Tactics
If you feel you are being pressurized to apply for a specific scholarship program, you should not give in to the pressure; this could be a scamming tactic. You may also be asked to pay some amount upfront. Do not ever give in to such pressure tactics while applying for financial aid and be alert not to fall prey to a scam.

8. Claims of ‘exclusive' Scholarships
There are scholarships and financial aid available for students of various backgrounds. No scholarship sponsor provides an exclusive scholarship. If some provider claims that the scholarship is exclusive and is available to no one else, they are a scam scholarship provider. So, be ready to detect the warning sign and not get scammed.

9. Scholarship Sponsor goes out of their Way to Sound Official
Before you apply for a specific scholarship award, it is essential to confirm the legitimacy of the scholarship sponsor. By using official sounding words like ‘federal', ‘education' and ‘national', scam sponsors try to fool you into thinking they are a legitimate scholarship provider. When in doubt, validate the legitimacy of the provider with school counseling and guidance center.

10. Your Questions aren't Answered Directly
Another sign of a scamming is that you do not get your questions answered directly. If you feel the provider is not giving a straight answer to your questions regarding the scholarship application form, what will be done with the information and other eligibility criteria, it could be a sign of a scholarship scam. You are advised to proceed with caution.

Remember, no one is ever going to fill out the application form for you and guarantee you a scholarship. You will win the free money on your own - through your own efforts, skills and abilities. So, never fall prey to a scam by acting in desperation. If you keep all the above mentioned warning signs in mind and proceed with caution, you will never be a victim of scholarship scams.

Parents and students may have many questions regarding when to apply for scholarship awards and financial aid. Suppose, your son is a high school senior and he is going to apply to colleges this fall. So, should your son wait for applying to scholarships until he gets admission into a college? The advice is that your son needs to begin the scholarship search as soon as possible. You should be aware that scholarships and financial aid programs come with deadlines. And there are financial supports available for children who are aged below 13.

Scholarship awards have a much greater number of applicants than the amount of funds actually available. If the candidate applies for multiple awards, they can enhance their chances of winning scholarships. One important thing to notice here is that you should not apply for a financial aid program where you do not fit in with the eligibility criteria. If you find yourself not qualifying (as per the scholarship eligibility criteria), you need not waste your time applying.

Applying for FAFSA
Scholarship deadlines may vary from one state to another. If you are applying for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you can not submit the application form before 1st January. The financial aid program is based on income from the previous financial year, ending on 31st December. Therefore, students need to submit their FAFSA scholarship application form after 1st January, but as soon as possible. It is advisable not to wait to apply for FAFSA until you have got admission into a college or your have filed your income tax returns.

Applying for Federal Student Aid after You Filed for Bankruptcy
Many candidates have queries like whether they are eligible to receive federal student financial aid since they filed for bankruptcy. One can not be denied federal student aid like the Pell Grant and the Perkins Loan only because they filed for bankruptcy. However, when it comes to repaying Perkins loan, college may have a look at the candidate's post-bankruptcy credit history. Yes, a students will be ineligible for federal student aid if the candidate's federal student loans were not discharged by the bankruptcy. Being not discharged by the bankruptcy means the candidate's federal student loans are currently in default.

Bankruptcy and Private Student Loans
Yes, the bankruptcy will be considered by most of the private student loans. If the borrower or the student has had a bankruptcy over the past 7-10 years, private student loans will be denied to the borrower by most of the scholarship sponsors and organizations. Previously, the scenario was different and the lenders had some exceptions in cases where the borrower had no control; conditions may include natural calamities or unbearable medical costs. Today, the leniency has vanished owing to the credit crisis.

Continuing Receiving Federal Student Financial Aid
To be able to continue getting the federal student aid, students also need to abide by federal laws. According to the federal laws, the scholarship receiving candidate should keep on making satisfactory academic progress (SAP). The point is that if the student fails to male progress consistently, the taxpayer money used to fund the student college education is simply wasted. Therefore, students need to score at least a C average (2.0 on a 4.0 scale) to be able to continue receiving the financial aid.

If a student fails to perform consistently, most of the colleges will issue a warning, referred to as ‘academic probation'. There are some special cases where the college may decide to waive the requirements temporarily. These special circumstances behind the failure of academic progress can be personal injury, student ailment or the death of a close relative. In order to regain the eligibility for receiving the scholarship award, students will need to improve their GPA above the C average threshold. Under these circumstances, students will need to use their own financial resources or take up a private student loan.