How to get a Study Abroad scholarship to live your best life in a foreign country

The opportunity to study abroad in college is very exciting, but it is a decision that will cost some money and take loads of planning. Thankfully, there are plenty of scholarships and steps you can take to offset the cost of your time abroad.

Before you get a scholarship, you must apply for the program itself.

Unfortunately the deadline for Spring 2018 passed on October 1st, but for the Summer and Fall 2018 the deadline is March 1. It's highly suggested to begin your application as soon as possible.

If you apply and get accepted, there's the issue of whether or not you'll be able to go due to financial reasons. There are plenty of scholarships that are being offered for students who are studying abroad.

My Personal Experience

This past summer I studied abroad in Bologna, Italy as part of the Global Journalism program and I honestly could not have done it without scholarships. Here are some photos of my travels and a video I made with the help of my classmates where I talk about scholarships.

Rutgers Center for Global Education Scholarship

These scholarships are offered on behalf of the Center for Global Education. These scholarships are open to all students who are studying abroad for Rutgers. Both the Winter and Spring semester deadline for this scholarship is October 7. In order to apply, you must answer some general questions and provide an essay on why you want to study abroad and how it would benefit you.

Country-specific scholarships

There are scholarships specifically being offered to students who are going to study in a specific country. Some of these countries include Ireland, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway and others. It's the same process as the CGE scholarship, and the deadline is also October 7 for spring.

Piazza Maggiore, Bologna

Specific Major/Program Scholarships

There are scholarships being offered to students in specific majors. School of Engineering and SEBS are offering scholarships to students who are in those majors specifically. If you are going to do the Dominican Republic program, or Art History in Rome or Paris, or planning to go to China or Berlin, there is most likely scholarships for the specific thing you are interested in that can help can make this trip affordable. For more info on these very specific scholarships, contact the administrators for these specific scholarships the website directs you to.

Diversity/Minority Scholarship

If you are a woman or a person of color, there are scholarships for that also. From scholarships specifically for African-Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, Asian-Americans, or for the Disabled, there is funding anybody considered to be a "minority".

Florence

National Scholarships

These scholarships are the most competitive, as students from all over the country are applying. Since they are the most competitive, they are the ones that can give you the most money. Ranging from $500-$20,000, these scholarships can possibly fund your whole program. There are specific requirements on these and strict deadlines that everyone should follow to even be considered.

Financial Aid

If you are interested in a program that is six credits or more, you can apply for Financial Aid to help you out. This only qualifies for semester long programs that are at least six credits. Anything less, and Financial Aid will unfortunately not be able to help. Contact the Financial Aid office or any of the Study Abroad staff for more info regarding the logistics of Financial Aid.

All of these options can help make everything affordable. Any type of grant will help you out a lot in reducing the cost of studying abroad. The best advice is to look into these now, and be on top of deadlines and other requirements that are needed to be considered for the scholarship you are interested in. Study abroad can affordable to anybody if they put the time and effort into applying for all these grants. The Center for Global Education center is located on 102 College Ave.