5 Successful Ways To Finance For Masters Degrees Abroad

When somebody recommends a student to pursue a master’s degree, they must try to gain awareness about it and find out how it can help them in their career. Apart from a promising career in a particular professional field, acquiring a master’s degree has several advantages.

Students interested in a particular professional specialization can strengthen their expertise and knowledge in that space by opting for a master’s degree. It also helps them get an idea about the new methods, ideas, and technologies that have been developed in that area recently.

While acquiring a master’s degree helps a student in their career, they benefit much more when they get the degree from a reputed foreign university. Every industry is getting more and more competitive with time. To stay ahead in the race or make a mark for themselves, a student must consider the possibility of moving abroad for a while and getting a master’s degree.

Once an Indian student decides to get a master’s degree from a foreign university, the next step involves working out the finances. They need to remember at this point that there are different ways in which they can arrange the requisite funds to study abroad.

Getting an educational loan for studies abroad is something many international students opt for. After getting their degree and finding a job, they repay the loan amount. However, deserving students also stand a good chance of getting a scholarship that gives them financial strength while studying abroad.

Here are 5 successful ways to finance for master’s degree abroad:

1. Student Loan

Every bank in India and elsewhere offers loans to students who wish to study abroad. When getting a master’s degree from a foreign university, applying for a loan emerges as the preferred option for most students. A student loan is very similar to a traditional loan. However, there are many differentiating factors between the two as well.

When a master’s degree aspirant is interested in applying for a student loan, they can contact a private or government bank. While most students apply for a loan at a bank based in their city or country, they can also get a loan from a foreign bank or a bank that is operational in the country they plan to study.

The interest rate government banks charge on student loans tends to be lower than that of private banks. However, there are many perks to getting a student loan from a private bank. The kind of benefits or services a student gets from a bank depends on the institution they have opted for.

Before a student applies for a loan, they should be aware of the different types of loans they can choose from. To get a master’s degree from a foreign university, a student has to apply for a study abroad education loan. Under the study abroad education loans category, a student can choose from multiple options like undergraduate, professional or graduate education loans, loan for parents, and career education loans.

A student who has completed their education and planning to get a master’s degree from a foreign university cannot apply for an undergraduate education loan abroad. Career education loans are designed for international students who plan to opt for a career trading program at a technical college or university.  

Since a student does their master’s after graduation, they must apply for a professional/graduate student loan. Banks also offer loans for parents who want to borrow funds for their child’s education without wanting the latter to take up the responsibility to repay it. Apart from parents, loans can be availed to any individual who is an adult and related to the student.

If the student has taken the loan, the repayment process would start six months after they get their master’s degree. This is referred to as the grace period. A student usually gets 5 to 10 years to repay an educational loan. In some instances, certain financial institutions give the student 15 years to repay the loan. The amount of money taken as a loan proves to be the driving factor here.

When it comes to taking an education loan, students must know about something called the repayment threshold. If a student has borrowed funds to pay their tuition fee, they will be required to repay the loan after they get their master’s degree and start making a certain amount. This is referred to as the repayment threshold.

The repayment threshold depends on the country or financial institution from which the student has taken a loan. In the United Kingdom, if a student borrows 8,200 GBP to do their master’s, they will have to repay the loan once they earn 21,000 GBP annually.

2. Scholarships

Every year, many international students avail of different scholarships or fellowships to complete their master’s degree abroad. If a student is planning to obtain their master’s degree from the UK, they should research UK scholarships for international students.

These scholarships are given to students based on their merit. To check whether a student is eligible for a scholarship, their academic background, achievements, talents, hobbies, association with different groups and career objects are considered.

While the government offers specific scholarships, a few of them are awarded by educational institutions themselves. The scholarships the government provides last for 3 – 9 months and are mostly designed to cover the tuition fee of the student who plans on getting a master’s degree.

To get a government-backed scholarship, a student has to fulfill certain criteria. They have to have the educational qualification prescribed by the institution. They must also be well-versed with the language instructions provided in that academic environment. Apart from covering the tuition fee, some of the scholarships provided by the government also help the student look after their monthly living allowance and airfare costs.

The criteria stated by a particular university for awarding a scholarship to an international student could differ from the expectations of another institution. Besides checking the student’s academic record, the institution also sets an age limit for the student.

Along with the tuition fee, many of the scholarships universities offer cover health insurance and accommodation costs. It can also cover travel grants. Most universities in France, where the tuition fee is on the lower side, do not offer scholarships that cover the tuition fee.

Applying for a sports scholarship is also an option for students who plan to get a master’s degree. Before applying for study abroad loans, students should consider this option. At times, a sports scholarship is awarded to an individual based on their achievement in the field of sports. However, sports scholarship is also given to those who have shown an interest or are engaged in community services. Apart from educational institutions, local groups or organizations offer sports scholarships.

3. Need-Based Scholarships

Need-based scholarships, also called grants, can be best described as a form of financial aid that the student is not required to repay. While regular scholarships are given based on the student’s merit, a grant is need-based. While need-based scholarships are usually awarded to students suffering from financial difficulties, they can also be individuals suffering from physical or mental health issues.

The value of a need-based scholarship usually ranges from 500 USD to 2,500 USD. Different countries have different procedures for awarding need-based scholarships to students. In the United States, for instance, the Department of Education provides lucrative federal grants to students about to attend colleges, community colleges, universities, or career schools for a couple of years.

4. Specific Scholarships

Specific scholarships are given to students from a particular ethnic background or with certain family affiliations. To put it simply, these scholarships are structured to offer some benefit to ethnic minorities and ensure that gender representation in colleges is more balanced. Therefore, many scholarships are offered to Asian Americans, African-Americans and Hispanics.

Many of the countries offer scholarships to students that belong to certain countries. Belgium, for instance, provides special scholarships to students from South American, Asian and African countries. By offering specific scholarships, countries and universities have worked towards minorities taking up courses that historically didn’t have enough minority representation.

5. Student Prizes

A student prize refers to a sum of money awarded to a student. While this money might not be sufficient for a student to enroll themselves in a university or pay for their course fee while trying to get a master’s degree, it will act as a form of financial aid. A lot of these student prizes are designed as one-time awards.

A student prize is given to an individual based on various factors like academic achievements, performance in a particular examination, writing a paper well or submitting a detailed dissertation or thesis. If the prize money is lucrative, the student can use it to cover many expenses while pursuing a master’s degree. Getting a student prize and a foreign education loan proves helpful.