Financial Aid for students planning to study abroad

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For students going abroad for higher studies, it is imperative to provide proof of sufficient funds (atleast for first year expenses). Mostly all universities require sufficient proof of financial aid for meeting expenses such as application cost , tuition fees, accommodation and living, health insurance, transportation etc. Therefore unless financial aid can be arranged , studying abroad may not be possible at all.

If you are an Indian student planning to go abroad for education, you can consider the various sources for financail aid apart from your/parents’ savings. A main options are as follows -

Bank Loans
Various banks such as Bank of India, Andhra Bank, Canara Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, HSBC Bank, Indian Bank etc. provide education loans for studying abroad.

Depending upon the loan amount, certain percentage of security (such as  NSE shares, house mortgage etc.) is required and interest is charged accordingly. Recently, most banks usually do not ask for security or collateral for a loan up to Rs. 4 lacs. The interest rates would generally not exceed the Prime Lending Rates (PLR). Certain banks also accept a third party guarantee instead of security. (But this is  usually for loans between 4 lacs and 7.5 lacs).

To avail of bank loans, the canadidate needs to fulfil certain conditions such as he must be an Indian resident, confirmation of admission and requirement of minimum annual income.  The repayment of loan generally starts after six months of course completion or one-month of job (if employed immediately after course completion) and the entire amount has to be repaid in 5 to 7 years (from the first payment).

Trust Loans
Trust Loans are either free or charge a lower interest rate (2 to 4 %). The loan amount is variable and is usually up to Rs. 1.5 lacs. However, they generally have a deadline by which you must submit the loan application forms. Few of the well known trusts are- J.N. Tata Endowment (soft loans between Rs. 50,000 and Rs.1.5 lacs), Sahu Jain Trust, Mariwala Trust, K.C. Mahindra Education Trust and R.D. Sethna Scholarship Fund.

Fellowships
Fellowships are comapritively difficult to acquire due to stiff competition. The popular ones are- Inlaks Scholarships, Aga Khan Foundation, Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships and AT & T Leadership Awards (only for U.S.).

Apart from these, you can also acquire financial assistance abroad by way of  University Fundings – Scholarship/Fellowships/Assistantships, U.S. Banks Student Loans (for US) and other sources.

One must remember that most universities provide financial aid to overseas students on merit and not on need. It is easier to avail monetary assistance for graduate programs than undergraduate courses. The aid amount varies for different universities and fields of specialization. Also note that it  is easier to receive financial assistance from U.S. and U.K. universities than those in Australia, New Zealand or Canada.

In case of undergraduates, Aid forms from the institute as well as the Foreign Student’s Financial Aid Form has to be submitted along with a bank statement. Forms may ask details about your personal and total (family) annual income, average living expenses, asset details etc.

Postgraduate students must mention about financial aid requirement in their application forms. Meritorious students receive financial assistance most commonly in the form of tuition waivers, scholarship or fellowship and assistantships (a cash stipend to take care of their expenses and in return they work for certain hours a week- either teaching or research based).

Please note that Indians usually are able to manage some funding after one or two semesters.

A U.S. Bank loan is among the best alternatives for MBA students. When applying for bank loans in US, a co-signer (US citizen or permanent resident) is required. However, several banks will waiver the co-signer requirement.The relevant information will be available on the university website.

Ensure that you go thorgh the univrsity information thoroughly and understand the terms and conditions properly.

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