Finding scholarships is one thing, finding a scholarship that you stand a chance to win is another. New schemes are introduced every day. The Government schemes trickle down from the Centre to the States and are usually available all the year round. Then there are scholarships from private institutions, corporate houses, trusts, and individuals. India alone offers more than one crore seats every year by way of scholarships. That is an enormous number in itself. The challenge here is how to find scholarships that you are eligible for and stand a chance to win.
Back in the days when information about scholarships was made available through newspapers and college authorities, this may have seemed a herculean task. Not anymore. With the advent of technology and emergence of digital markets, it has become very easy to find scholarships and most importantly the right scholarships. Recently, India made news internationally when it was declared as the second largest smartphone market in the world. This means that more people than ever have access to the smartphone with the internet.
5 Tips on How to find scholarships you can win
If you are still wondering how technology can help find you the right scholarships, this post is definitely for you. We bring to you the top five ways to find scholarships you could win.
1. Know yourself better
Yes, you read it correctly. We are not talking about any meditation technique here. Most of the applicants who wish to apply for scholarships do not have complete documents. If scholarships were money, documents would be their denomination value. The documents required for majority of scholarships are mostly common. Make sure you have the following documents with you as a physical copy and a digital version safely stored on your email or cloud based services like Google Drive, Onedrive, DropBox etc. Having a digital version makes application easy as almost all scholarships now accept online applications. It is cheaper, easier, faster and helps you keep track of the number of scholarships you have applied for. Here are the documents you would require for ninety-nine percent of scholarships available in India:
- Aadhaar card
- Passport size photo
- Income certificate (Family/Guardian, for need baneed-basedrships)
- Community certificate (for scholarships reserved for certain communities)
- Previous academic year qualifying exam certificate
- Fee receipt for current academic year
- Proof of Bank account (Bank Passbook)
- Domicile certificate (for scholarships reserved for candidate from a particular state)
- PAN card (in some instances)
- Admission confirmation letter (from the college/university)
- Identity Proof (Student ID card issued by certified authority)
Do not forget to self-attest all these documents before you share it with scholarship provider. This will ensure that your application is not rejected.
2. Complete your profile
Many scholarship service providers, like Buddy4Study, provide curated scholarship information on their website. Make sure you register yourself and complete your profile accurately. Register and complete your profile today. A 100% complete profile stands a higher chance to get access to full matched scholarships. This means that you stand a definite chance to find scholarships that match your profile and win some as well.
3. Decide your future course
When you search for the keyword ‘scholarship’ on a search engine, you would be presented with hundreds and thousands of scholarships. Of course you cannot apply for each one of them. Be specific in your search. If you are looking to fund your education abroad, look for international scholarships eligible for Indian students. If you are into research, look for PhD scholarships and fellowships. Scholarship search engines these days use AI, Machine Learning and Data Science to present highly relevant and curated scholarships to you. Try looking for a specific scholarship here.
4. Visit the local scholarship office
Most districts have their own government offices for scholarships. Try paying a visit to get information about scholarships that are of your interest. This information is also available on government websites like MHRD, MoMA, NSP, UGC etc. The best ways to find scholarships start from hitting right at the source.
5. Check with your school/college/university
Institutions are a great place to find scholarships that match your requirements. Settling for what scholarships have to offer is nowhere better than finding a scholarship that caters to your needs in the appropriate way. Your admission counselor has access to information about scholarships that their students are eligible to apply. They are there for a reason. Make sure you are in touch with them to be aware of any scholarships for which your school/college/university is accepting applications.
Lastly, keep looking. There is always one more scholarship that you can apply for and stand a chance to win. The key is to keep working on the engine till your education flight takes off. Happy searching!
Buddy4Study hosts many such scholarships in various academic streams. If you wish to empower your future path of education, if you wish to create a future you desire, register with Buddy4Study and find scholarships that change lives.
