Many of you may be like, “Well I would love to study abroad, but I just do not have the financial means to go.” Well fear not. There are many scholarships that you can apply for in order to get aid. Also, if you already receive financial aid or grant from the government, such as FAFSA or Cal Grant, it still applies to your semester or quarter abroad. Since my school was under UCEAP, the study abroad office has compiled a long list of scholarships that you can apply for. Most of the essays for the scholarship are pretty simple. It is best to apply for as many as possible, since one scholarship might not be enough to cover for everything. Also if you plan to study a year long, UCEAP offers more scholarships. This was the main deciding factor for me doing a year long program in Yonsei.
For me though, my biggest break was the Gilman Scholarship. The Gilman Scholarship is a federal scholarship grant that allows students already receiving financial aid to have a chance to study abroad and broaden their experiences. The scholarship amount differs to the country or program you are applying for, but it begins from $3000. The key thing about this scholarship though is that there is a follow up service project you must do. It is basically giving back or helping future exchange students. The acceptance of the scholarship is based on what kind of service project you offer, so you can customize the project for yourself.
I am really grateful to the scholarships I have received, especially the Gilman Scholarship. If it wasn’t for them, I would not have been able to experience and share all this knowledge to others. So, don’t be discouraged about your financial situation and try to study abroad at least once in your college career!