All You Need to Know About Scholarships to Study Abroad in 2025

Are you planning to study abroad after 12th? No? Yes? Maybe? Well, we understand that at a young and naive age, you might not know what you will be doing in future. As the world is full of opportunities, you just need someone to guide you about career opportunities. To take that responsibility, here we are to help you know everything about scholarships for study abroad in 2025.

One of the biggest challenges that students face for any career opportunity in life is the financial constraints. When you are a young student in school, you might not have that much money saved up that could help you with your graduation plans. Hence, you might agree to pursue a degree in your home country that fits in your budget. However, today, we are giving you the freedom to think as big of a dream as you want to, without worrying about your monetary situation.

In this blog, we are going to explore scholarship options, the types, top scholarships in 2025, the eligibility criteria to avail a scholarship, and countries providing 100% scholarships. So, without further ado, let’s get started.

How Scholarship Helps?

Many students from across the globe have to let go of their dream of studying abroad because of tight family budgets. As education is becoming expensive, just like every other thing, finding a course in your budget is more important than following a course that aligns with your passion. Well, now you don’t have to let go of your dream because you’ve got study abroad scholarships.

A scholarship is a fund provided by university or the government to students who showcase their academic excellence and want to pursue higher education but don’t have the required financial resources. A grant or a scholarship covers almost 100% of the tuition fees, depending on students’ needs and academic records.

To avail themselves of a scholarship, students must achieve great academic records. As you are someone who wants to know more about scholarships for study abroad, then let’s begin with all the crucial knowledge.

Types of Study Abroad Scholarships

If you are planning to study abroad after 12th but a financial crunch is something that’s stopping you, then you must explore your scholarship options. In this section, we are mentioning five types of scholarships that students often opt for, to accomplish their study abroad dream.

1. Merit-based Scholarship: A merit-based scholarship is one of the chances to fund your study abroad plans. As the name suggests, merit-based scholarships are granted to students who have excellent academic records. Students who have achieved great grades throughout their schooling life, and have showcased great talent in extracurricular activities, or exceptional talent in sports, arts, or cultural field. These types of students get a merit-based scholarship easily in comparison to other students. With an exceptional academic record, even if a student doesn’t want scholarship, they get one offered anyhow.
2. Need-based Scholarship: The next study abroad scholarship is a need-based scholarship. As the name hints, this scholarship is for students who want to study abroad but don’t have sufficient funds to accomplish their dreams. This scholarship is granted to students with exceptional academic background, who have the zeal of studying abroad but unfortunately don’t have the strong financial background to support their study abroad dream. After analysing the family’s financial condition, this scholarship is granted to students.
3. University-specific Scholarship: The third in the list of scholarships for study abroad aspirants is a university-specific scholarship. Almost every university across the world provide students with the opportunity to study in their preferred universities without worrying about funds. Therefore, there are university-specific scholarships that are directly provided to students by the universities. The categories of university-specific scholarships include academic excellence, research scholarship, sports scholarship, or even regional scholarships. The university-specific scholarships cover complete expenses, from tuition fees to living expenses and providing other financial aid throughout a student’s degree tenure.
4. Government-funded Scholarships: Another way to have your study abroad after 12th plans funded is by availing government-funded scholarships. The government is concerned about every student’s future and hence they try to help underprivileged students to achieve their dreams. As every student have the potential to do something in life if given the opportunity, hence the government of home country or the study abroad destination offer students the opportunity of funding their graduation plans. To avail a government-funded scholarship, students must have outstanding academic achievements and excellent extracurricular record.
5. External Scholarships: Lastly, another study abroad scholarship option for students is to get private funds. There are several organisations, charities, and foundations related to universities and government that help students achieve their dream of studying abroad. These scholarships are typically funded by private companies, non-profit foundations, and international organisations. To avail an external scholarship, students have to showcase their exceptional academic record, and their seriousness towards their future aspirations.

Top Scholarships in 2025

After the types of scholarships, you can avail to study abroad in 2025, let’s look at some popular study abroad scholarships available for students.

1. Chevening Scholarship
2. Inlaks scholarship
3. Tata Scholarship
4. Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowship
5. GREAT Scholarship
6. Fulbright Scholarship
7. Global Scholar award
8. Boren Awards
9. Commonwealth Scholarships
10. Felix Scholarship
11. Japan Bridging Scholarship
12. National Overseas scholarship for SC students
13. Rhodes Scholarship
14. The Rotary Foundation
15. AAUW International Fellowship
16. Agatha Harrison Memorial Fellowship
17. Australia Awards Scholarships
18. Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program
19. British Council Women in STEM Scholarships
20. CIEE merit scholarships
21. Erasmus Mundus scholarships
22. Fund For Education Abroad
23. Gates Cambridge Scholarship
24. Harvey Fellowship

Eligibility Criteria to Get Study Abroad Scholarship

Now that you know what are the types of scholarships and some of the popular scholarships that students will be opting for in 2025, it is time for you to ensure you fit perfectly in the eligibility criteria section. So, for your assistance, here is the list of eligibility checks that you must land into to get study abroad scholarships.

• Academic Excellence: Most merit-based scholarships analyse students’ educational excellence to ensure students have outstanding academic records as it is one of the biggest factors for getting a scholarship. Students must have high GPAs and top scores in standardised tests to get a scholarship.
• Financial Need: Another criterion to get a scholarship is to showcase financial need. Need-based scholarship prioritise students who dream of studying abroad but due to tight financial condition of their family, they can’t go. In this, demonstrating your family’s financial constraints becomes crucial.
• Extracurricular Achievements: To get a scholarship to study abroad after 12th, you must demonstrate your extracurricular achievements along with academic excellence. Foreign universities consider those applications where students not only achieve high GPAs but also have extraordinary extracurricular column. Hence, students are adviced to maintain a great extracurricular reputation.
• Age Limit: Some scholarships only help aspirants under the age of 30 for their PhD or master’s programs. However, there are some university-specific scholarships that waive this restriction for experienced professionals or students with great academic excellence.
• University Acceptance Letter: To apply for a scholarship to study abroad, you will also need a university acceptance letter. This shows that you are committed to education and genuinely need financial assistance.

After seeing the types, popular scholarships, and the eligibility criteria, it is time for you to know how you will identify the right scholarship for yourself. Here’s the detail for you.

Countries Offering 100% Scholarship

Countries with best education systems in the world ensure they could educate as many students as possible. Therefore, they intend to offer 100% scholarship to potential students. Here is a list of countries offering fully funded scholarships and the name of those scholarships that you can apply for.

USA:

• Fulbright Program
• University-specific scholarships (e.g., Harvard, MIT)

United Kingdom:

• Chevening Scholarships
• Commonwealth Scholarships

Germany:

• DAAD Scholarships
• Heinrich Böll Foundation Scholarships

Canada:

• Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships
• Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship Program

Australia:

• Australia Awards Scholarships
• Endeavour Postgraduate Scholarship Awards

Netherlands:

• Holland Scholarship

Sweden:

• Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals (SISGP)

South Korea:

• Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP)

Japan:

• MEXT Scholarships

Switzerland:

• Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships

These are some of the countries offering 100% scholarship to students who want to study abroad after 12th. Furthermore, if you need to know how to get a scholarship, then click on the link below.

https://metaapply.io/blog/how-to-get-a-scholarship-to-study-abroad/

Fund Your Way to Abroad with MetaApply

Indeed, the study abroad journey is expensive, but if you decide to achieve something, you can do it. To help you in your journey of study abroad after 12th, our team of professionals at MetaApply is here to help you at every step. As you have gained all the required information regarding scholarships for study abroad, it is time for you to start planning about your financial decisions.

You might not be starting with your study abroad journey right away, but to start planning for it in advance is always the right practice. From course and university shortlisting, writing flawless SOPs, getting LORs, and filing the admission application to preparing for visa interviews, taking standardised test, planning your financial, and finding a stay abroad, everything needs planning in advance. Hence, to give you all the services under a single roof, us at MetaApply offer you with various essential services like MetaFinance for education loan and scholarships, MetaInsure for abroad healthcare insurance, MetaStay for finding a stay abroad, and MetaFly to book flight tickets along with TestPrep for your English proficiency and language exams.

So, what are you waiting for? Start planning for your study abroad journey after 12th with our MetaApply professionals.