How to Study Abroad for Free by applying for Scholarships - and win them too.
One of the main reasons students chose to not Study Abroad, immersing themselves in amazing places such as Florence, London and Barcelona, isn't for lack of interest but lack of funds. Yet most people are unaware of the opportunities offered to them as students of a two year college.
For the opportunity to study abroad the Santa Rosa Junior College is willing to cumulatively offer a few luck students thousands of dollars. For this trip in particular they offer:
Two scholarships at $2,000 each.
HOW TO WIN: The only thing they require it a GPA 3.0 and above, and two short essay questions. Make sure they're well thought out and worth the $2,000 they're practically handing you.
One scholarship at $750
HOW TO WIN: All of the same requirements as the Guerrera Scholarship including the same essay questions.
One scholarship of $1,000(need based) and two at $500
HOW TO WIN: Your GPA can be a little lower for this one, 2.25 and up. This scholarship includes the same essay questions as the previous two with the addition of a third short essay and the creation of a blog if you were to win.
One scholarship of $5,000
HOW TO WIN: A GPA of 3.0 and up. Also required are the same two essay questions with the addition of a 500 word essay on the topic of "Why I want to Study Abroad." The winning recipient would meet with Mr. Duxbury after the trip to talk about their experience.
The best part about these SRJC Scholarships is that only people participating in the Study Abroad program at the JC can apply. These scholarships offered by the Junior College are great ways to get you started but these aren't the only funds offered to students. Through personal trial and error I've found the the
provides the best scholarship variety. Also make sure to try out
Make sure to scroll down the screen past the volunteer abroad section to find all the study abroad scholarships you could ever want.
GET SPECIFIC
You're not going to win the big name scholarships on the first try. Finding those obscure overly specific scholarships that no one has heard of - or applied to - are going to be the ones you win. I once won a $500 scholarship for writing an essay on how interior design can change your life without knowing a thing about interior design. The more out there the scholarship is the more likely no one's applying.
APPLY CONSTANTLY EVEN WHEN YOU'VE GOTTEN ALL THE MONEY YOU THINK YOU NEED
You are most definitely not going to win all of the scholarships you've applied for - in fact you won't win most of the scholarships you apply for. Just for my first year of college I applied for 50 scholarships - I only won two of them, both of which were through my college. Expect little expenses or emergencies to pop up before and during your trip; your car will break down and need $1000 worth of repairs, or you'll have a kick ass time at a London pub and somehow end up in Turkey wishing you'd had a little extra cash to buy a ticket back . Trust me, stuff always goes wrong when you least expect it, and when it does you'll want an emergency fund to fall back on.
PRO & CON THAT SHIT
The Gilmore Girls knew where it was at. Truly every scholarship you apply for is going to be different and as such, will have different requirements. Before you put time and effort into applying for every scholarship that looks like it may kind of sort of work for maybe the right country? Ask yourself:
-How much is this for? For how long? One semester a year?
-Do I fit every qualification for the scholarship?
-Is this a long process? Will I have to put in copious amounts of effort for only a little pay out?
-Does any of the experience I have, internships, jobs, my major, make me relevant for this scholarship?
Keep in mind - the bigger the pay out and the more well known the award the more competition. It's great to challenge yourself but the golden rule for scholarships is "Quantity not Quality."
START EARLY
The more time you have the better the application the better the essay the better chance you have of winning that money! I know you like procrastinating, we all do, but don't even question me on this - just do it.
Although you'll have to put in time and effort it's more than worth it to spend three months in Europe - esspecially when you don't have to pay for it!