Awards for international students
ISOSU
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: Forum
If you were told that you had a one in five chance of winning the lottery, how much would you spend on tickets?
If you had little money to invest in a ticket, would you put in an hour of your time? What if there was a chance you were the only one who had bought a ticket?
Many scholarships go unclaimed each year because applicants assume their chances of getting funding are low.
With all that students have to fit into their busy schedules, rationales like "there's not enough time to apply" or "that's not enough money to be worth it" also keep the number of applicants low.
As international student advisors, we know many students who piece together a number of smaller scholarships to fund their education each term or year.
There is a quintessentially American expression that "time is money." If this is true, it may be worth an investment of time to apply for scholarships, fellowships and awards.
Although there are many scholarships that are only open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, there are a number of OSU and private scholarships that are open to everyone. There are even some available only to international students from a particular region or students from certain ethnic backgrounds.
Some funds are designed for "non-traditional" students such as women in male-dominated fields or women 25 years or older.
Donors for private scholarships may "earmark" a fund to be used in these specific cases, but if few or no qualified applicants with the desired background apply, they may be given to others in need.
So, where does an applicant start? Well, since it is now late February, many of the annual deadlines are fast approaching. For example, the International Cultural Service Program application deadline is March 3. The ICSP is a rare and noteworthy scholarship program for international students.
Students in this program serve as cultural ambassadors who participate in local events and visit schools and community groups in exchange for a tuition reduction. ICSP recipients provide about three hours of community service per-week throughout the year and receive on average $3,500 per term in tuition credit. No previous experience is required, but a willingness to talk about oneself and one's country is essential.
If you had little money to invest in a ticket, would you put in an hour of your time? What if there was a chance you were the only one who had bought a ticket?
Many scholarships go unclaimed each year because applicants assume their chances of getting funding are low.
With all that students have to fit into their busy schedules, rationales like "there's not enough time to apply" or "that's not enough money to be worth it" also keep the number of applicants low.
As international student advisors, we know many students who piece together a number of smaller scholarships to fund their education each term or year.
There is a quintessentially American expression that "time is money." If this is true, it may be worth an investment of time to apply for scholarships, fellowships and awards.
Although there are many scholarships that are only open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, there are a number of OSU and private scholarships that are open to everyone. There are even some available only to international students from a particular region or students from certain ethnic backgrounds.
Some funds are designed for "non-traditional" students such as women in male-dominated fields or women 25 years or older.
Donors for private scholarships may "earmark" a fund to be used in these specific cases, but if few or no qualified applicants with the desired background apply, they may be given to others in need.
So, where does an applicant start? Well, since it is now late February, many of the annual deadlines are fast approaching. For example, the International Cultural Service Program application deadline is March 3. The ICSP is a rare and noteworthy scholarship program for international students.
Students in this program serve as cultural ambassadors who participate in local events and visit schools and community groups in exchange for a tuition reduction. ICSP recipients provide about three hours of community service per-week throughout the year and receive on average $3,500 per term in tuition credit. No previous experience is required, but a willingness to talk about oneself and one's country is essential.
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