Fully funded scholarships (also known as full-ride scholarships) are the best scholarships to look out for. Your tuition & living costs are being sponsored leaving you free to focus on your studies and social life without worrying about money.
Though amazing, there are just a few scholarships like this, and millions of other people like you, who desire it are applying. Here are a few tips to help you prepare and apply for a fully-funded scholarship;
How To Prepare And Apply For A Fully-Funded Scholarship
- Know where to search for scholarships. You should check out your desired school’s website for any available scholarship you can apply for or possibly a list of external scholarships you should apply to. You can get scholarship updates on websites on our website.
- Prepare for interviews, because universities with a fully funded scholarship available for students conduct interviews, where they invite about 50-100 students to meet faculty members and answer a few questions on their goals, motivations, and how it fits in with that of the university and course.
- Work hard at your studies and stay motivated, because scholarships like this are given to exceptional students. In some cases, universities give scholarships using your regular application with a focus on high grades. So it’s important to work hard at your studies and try to keep your mind motivated whenever you feel exhausted.
- Be distinct from other applicants. Aside from good grades, it is crucial to have skills that put you ahead of others. Leadership skills can make you stand out from the rest of the applicants. Also, glowing reports and personal qualities stated in your letter of recommendation is an additional, so build strong relationships with your academic mentors as this will help them be able to put in good words concerning your personality.
- Write an outstanding essay/cover letter. This means making it concise and clear, formatted correctly, grabbing the reader with a strong introduction, staying focused on its key theme or topic, and ensuring it is flawless.
- Ensure to read through your application thoroughly, because you do not want to miss out on a piece of information that is crucial or a document that was stipulated in the application. Read through the application carefully and repeatedly.
- Apply for as many scholarships as you can. This is because fully funded scholarships are few. Hence, competitive which is why many qualified candidates miss out on some scholarship opportunities. So apply to as many as you can, both fully funded and others, but be sure to check out the providers.
What is Graduate assistantship?
Graduate assistantship helps you get a fully funded scholarship in exchange for a professional contribution to your studies. So while your tuition is fully paid off, sometimes along with your housing and maintenance it comes with working in your faculty. Like having a job while studying only for that graduate assistantship. It advances your development more than a scholarship.
There are 3 types of graduate assistantships namely;
Graduate Admin Assistant (GA)
Graduate admin assistant acts as a helper to their departments, students, or professors in a research or administrative capacity. Their primary responsibilities include assisting professors with various administrative tasks, organizing campus events, and conducting various research tasks.
Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA)
This is required to teach undergraduate students and mentor them. In some situations, a graduate teaching assistant is assigned to master’s or doctoral candidates where exceptional expertise or experience is shown. The teaching assistantship is an opportunity to gain knowledge within the academic discipline.
Graduate Research Assistant (GRA)
The GRA is employed to aid the research of a faculty member in a situation that enhances the student’s career and educational development. For GRA, this research normally yields professional papers, a thesis, or a dissertation. Duties vary depending on the type of research project and may include experiments, library searches, data entry, preparation of reports, and other assignments.
Universities that offer Graduate Assistantships
1. University of South Florida
The University of South Florida is one of the leading public research universities located in Florida. With the enrolments of more than 50,000 students, this is the fourth-largest research university in the USA.
- Stipends: Offers Up to $12,000
- Website link: https://www.usf.edu/admissions/graduate/admission-information/cost-of-attendance/assistantships.aspx
2. State University of New York
The State University of New York at Albany aka University at Albany or SUNY Albany was founded in the year 1844, and offers graduate and undergraduate studies to more than 17,500 New York City students. The university mostly specializes in research studies in the fields of public policy, life sciences, criminal justice, and atmospheric sciences, along with offering new programs like globalization, biotechnology, and informatics.
- Stipends: offers up to $13,000
3. West Virginia University
West Virginia University was founded in 1867, and it is one of the top public schools in the United States. According to reports from U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2015, this University ranks 93 among the top 100 colleges in the country. The University has around 200 bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and professional programs to choose from within its 15 colleges.
- Stipends: offers up to $14,250
- Website link: https://graduateeducation.wvu.edu/graduate-assistants
4. Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business is a famous business school established in 1953 in Pennsylvania, USA. Smeal College of Business Courses offers undergraduate, graduate, executive, certificate, doctorate, and foreign programs that meet all current business and market demands
- Stipends: offers up to $20,790
5. University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public land-grant research institute in the U.S. Education System. The University enrolls more than 27,500 students from diverse parts of the world.
- Stipends: offers up to $6,450
- Website link: https://ualr.edu/gradschool/assistantship/about/
6. University of Houston
This is the third-largest university in Texas and the founding member of the University of Houston System. Through its academic colleges and schools on campus, the university provides more than 358-degree programs, including those leading to professional degrees in architecture, law, optometry, medicine, and pharmacy.
- Stipends: offers up to $ 1,360
- Website Links: https://www.uh.edu/class/media-and-the-moving-image/resources/opportunities/graduate-assistantship/
7. Cornell University
Cornell is one of the world’s most elite and prestigious private research universities and is a part of the ‘Ivy League institutes in the US. Popular courses at Cornell are Business, Computer & Information Sciences, Engineering, Economics, Political Science & Government, taught through a semester-based academic calendar.
- Stipends: offers up to $30,088
- Website Links: https://gradschool.cornell.edu/policies/assistantships/
8. University of Nevada
The University of Nevada, Reno was established with the idea that access to education and information is crucial for the advancement of humanity. The university, which is a part of the Nevada System of Higher Education, has more than 21,000 students and is home to NCAA Division I Wolf Pack Athletics, the University of Nevada, the Reno School of Medicine, and Cooperative Extension.
- Stipends: Between $424.77 – $1,177.11
9. East Carolina University
This is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth-largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its original 43 acres to almost 1,600 acres today.
- Stipends: Offers up to $9,000
- Website Link: https://gradschool.ecu.edu/assistantships/
10. University of Georgia
Founded in 1785, the University of Georgia is the birthplace of public higher education. Ranked as top 16 public universities. UGA coordinates world-class graduate programs and certificates that offer professional development and cutting-edge research opportunities with real-world applications.
- Stipends: Offers up to $13.556.05
- Website Link: https://grad.uga.edu/funding/assistantships-students/
Finally, with all these numerous scholarship opportunities you should be thinking of the best way to apply for these scholarships. Book a consultation call to talk with an expert who will guide you through the steps. Also, if you are looking out for scholarships in the UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, and other European countries, join our community on telegram for updates.