Into top universities with scholarship?

[TiluIB]

Hi?

I'm just starting in IB. After IB I'd like to continue to university, but not in any university I want into top universities. Im not rich so I don't really afford to pay lot of money.

So we come to my question is it possible to study in top universities with scholarship - not paying money?

Top universities? I mean for example LSE, Campridge, Oxford and Princeton.

If possible how many points you have have in IB certificate?

Im intersted in economics, medicine and law if it matters.

Thank you all for you're help and answers.

Appreciation.

[dessskris]

to the best of my knowledge,

UK universities do not offer a lot of scholarships. I also want to go to UK, and as an international applicant, I'm in doubt because scholarships for international applicants are quite rare. there are more scholarships for UK and EU applicants, but they don't cover a lot either.

if you really want to go to the UK, AFAIK no university gives full scholarships except for one which I will talk about later, but there are grants from the government and loans which you can pay back after you've worked. the grant is only for families with a certain amount of income, and it doesn't cover 100% tuition fee especially if you want to go to Cambridge or Oxford, which are very expensive. living costs are also crazy IMO. I read somewhere that getting grants&loans does not guarantee you can survive living in the UK because of, yeah, the crazy living costs and tuition fees.

don't be pessimistic though, nothing is impossible.

University of Westminster offers full scholarships to international applicants. they even pay for your flights from your home country in the start of the course and to your home country at the end of the course. very tempting, I know. however, it seems like Westminster is not really a good uni. the minimum score required for Computer Science (which I'm interested in. you can check the site for requirements for your desired majors.) is only about IB28 if I remember correctly. which IMO is very low. so yeah, you can study for free in a bad university. the price says the quality.

you still want to study in a top uni without paying? in the UK, I'd say it's very difficult to achieve.

but if you want to go to Singapore, it's achievable.

I'm not sure if the Econ, Med and Law programmes at NUS (National Uni of Singapore) is very good, but the university itself is highly ranked internationally, and it is actually a good university. if you want to study something more sciency like Engineering then you should go to NTU (Nanyang Technological University). it's worth applying to both, though.

Singaporean universities are very generous with scholarships. but of course, they want something in return. what is it? don't worry, it's nothing fancy. they just want you to work for them in return. so there is this working bond (for at least 3 years) that requires you to work for a Singaporean company (located anywhere in the world). however, it doesn't guarantee that you'll get a job. you still need to apply to companies. but then if they ask you to work for company X, you MUST be willing to work there. that's it. and you get paid! the starting salary is also high! it's beneficial IMO. if you lend money for the tuition fees or sth (if the scholarship that you get does not 100% cover everything) you pay the loan back using the salary you get.

NUS&NTU offer scholarship from the uni themselves, but it's rather rare I heard. there are plenty more from ASEAN (for South-Asian students only of course), Sembcorp (for Indonesians), there is also one for Indians and HK students, and a few more.

the thing with Singaporean unis, though, is that they really really want the best of the best students. for IB, I've heard of IB37-38 scorers that get rejected. if you get IB39-40 you're likely to get interviewed for the scholarship program. if you get IB41 and above you are guaranteed the scholarship.

and if you don't get any scholarship, of course there are still grants and loans, a lot of ones, which can possibly cover all the fees and you can pay the loan back when you work. the tuition grant, I heard, covers up to 85% tuition fee. then of course there are still loans.

if you are interested, the applications for NUS&NTU (you need to apply separately) usually open in October and close in February&March. if you are accepted, you will be notified in April onwards.

I'm also a poor girl lol so I guess I'll just go to Singapore... it seems to be the best choice for me.

that's all I know about uni scholarships. if you are interested let me know

Edited June 25, 2011 by Desy Glau

[Bishup]

In the UCAS application, international students had to be privately funded. Only Home/EU could choose the loan option in the payment option on the UCAS website if I recall correctly. Coming to study in the UK will cost you dearly. Studying at let's say LSE, UCL or Imperial will cost due to the buckets needed to just pay your rent on student accommodation.

[Forester]

to help you we need some more specific information. eg. the country you are from and your financial situation.

to the best of my knowledge, top universities in the UK rarely offer scholarships to international students (especially half-ride or full-ride scholarships, the most I have heard is like 10000 pounds). however i know of several scholarships that are offered by the government of the home country to oxbridge universities. but they are extremely competitive and are often just one recipient per country. for that you need an IB score of 44 or 45.

but you are in luck, because top universities in the US offer extremely good financial aid if your family's income per year is less than 60000usd. in fact, harvard, princeton, yale, mit, dartmouth, middlebury, williams and some others will offer you close to a full-ride if your family's income is that low. however admission into those universities is extremely difficult. To have a good chance, your IB score will need to be 40+. Maybe a little bit lower for Middlebury - 38+

[dessskris]

there is also this Monbukagakusho scholarship if you want to study in Japan. however I'm not so sure on how it works so you have to google it lol but I heard it covers everything including textbooks and accommodation etc. but you'll have to study Japanese in the first year because the courses are taught in Japanese.

if you want to go to Hong Kong, last year HKBU (Hong Kong Baptist University) offered full scholarships to excellent students. the courses are taught in English. the thing is, they don't set a minimum, so it depends on the people who apply there. if people who apply there don't have as good results are you then you'll be on the top and likely to get it. however I don't think it's a very good uni. it's kind of lacking of students that's why they offer scholarships.

last year NYU (New York University) in Abu Dhabi offered full scholarships too. but I think it's HIGHLY competitive. they only want students who are in the first rank in the class, so yeah...

I still think the best choice is Singapore. the grants and loans are just crazy... they can cover everything and we'll just have to pay after we work. btw there are dorms in NUS and NTU so you don't really need to worry much about accommodation.

[TiluIB]

Thanks guys.

[Guest Red XII]

You can get lots of need-based money from the top schools in the US, but that really doesn't apply as much to international students. International students asking for need-based financial aid have an extremely difficult time getting accepted, as it's much more difficult for schools to give financial aid to international students, because the government doesn't pitch in nearly as much (if at all).

As for merit-based aid, most top schools in the US don't give much, and the Ivies don't give any (except for Cornell, which is partially public and thus gives merit aid for students in certain majors).

IB predicted scores don't matter at all for US schools. They don't even ask for them (at least from domestic applicants, but I don't think they ask for international applicants either).

Edited July 10, 2011 by Red XII