Studying abroad can be financially challenging for many meritorious students who often opt out due to the expensive course fee, visa charges, accommodation and food expenses. Therefore, scholarships help many to pursue their dreams. News18 ‘Scholarship Guide’ brings the best and most prestigious grants for Indian students to study abroad, with most of them covering flight tickets, accommodation and course fee; and some also providing stipend.

Studying abroad is not only for the rich and elite, meritorious students with limited or poor source of income can also find a seat at top universities. Case in point is 20-year-old Manu Chauhan from Akrabad village in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district who is currently pursuing his graduation from Stanford University.

Despite coming from a family with low income, Chauhan completed his schooling in UP, appeared for expensive competitive exams including SAT, and is now studying at the prestigious university with zero tuition fee, thanks to the scholarship he got access to along the way.

Chauhan told News18 that it was difficult for the family to afford quality schooling for him. At the age of 11, he cracked the entrance exam to VidyaGyan School which offers free education to students from low-income groups and has been living away from his loved ones since. Chauhan said without the scholarships he has received, he would not have been able to pursue his education.

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Now, studying at a dream university, Chauhan believes that quality education from world’s best universities is not just for rich and elite. “Students from low-income or middle-class families too should consider studying abroad as one of their options. Many of these students think that just because it is very expensive, they are never going to even try it. The world is there to help, but only if you want it badly enough. There is financial aid and other scholarships available everywhere.”

How Does 100% scholarship Work?

The scholarship is part of the financial aid offered by Stanford University for students from low economic background. Subjected to a student getting admission to the university based on the criteria, students are simultaneously assessed for the scholarship.

The preparation for his application process to Stanford and other universities began from class 11, he recalled. He also appeared for SAT in which he scored 1470 out of 1600.

“College Board’s scholarship paid for my SAT. My school helped me with the application process. In fact, there are many people and institutions that help students who don’t have the means but have the will and the determination.”

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“When you apply to a university, you also apply for financial aid. Your request for financial aid is part of the application process, so if they accept, they will most likely keep your financial situation in mind,” said Manu.

Scholarships Started from School

Chauhan’s schooling too could be made possible due to scholarship offered by VidyaGyan. “My dad wanted to provide me with good education, and given the meagre family income, it was extremely difficult to study at a good place. One of his friends, who happened to be a government school headmaster, told him about VidyaGyan and how the residential school provides 100% free education to meritorious students. The admission process was rigorous. I came to know that every year about 2,50,000 students from the smallest villages appear for the entrance and the school selects only 250 students.”

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Manu’s schoolteachers helped him build a portfolio for foreign admissions. The universities abroad consider things which Indian students usually skip considering them as ‘extras’, he said.

“While Indian universities select students purely based on academic merit, US universities consider the holistic achievements of the student. So, for me, it was both a challenging and interesting journey. It was challenging because I never thought any institution would evaluate my extracurricular activities alongside my academic performance for admission. It was interesting because I learned things that I otherwise wouldn’t have. This experience motivated me to work hard in all areas of my life and helped me recognise the value of various things that I might have otherwise considered unimportant,” he said.

Family Was Sceptical About Studying Abroad

Chauhan, who is his parents’ only child, is the first to have flown abroad. His father works as an insurance salesman, and is the only breadwinner for the family, while his mother is a homemaker.

Chauhan agrees that it was a difficult decision to come to the US, but he was excited for the journey. He, however, needed to give reassurances to his parents as they were nervous about sending their only child to a far-off land.

“My family was very excited, but at the same time a little nervous since I was going to a totally different country about which they didn’t know anything. So, they needed constant reassurance from me that I would be alright there. But most importantly, they were very proud of me, and that is one of the nicest things ever for a son to experience.”

Life at Stanford

I applied to the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Rochester, Tufts University, Vanderbilt University, Amherst College, said Chauhan. “I had two reasons for choosing Stanford. First, it has the best ranking among all the universities to which I applied. Second, Stanford offers more opportunities for multidisciplinary studies, which is something I value. Additionally, I have always been fascinated by their cutting-edge research.”

Ever since joining the varsity, a lot has changed for Chauhan. “The university is full of opportunities, and I am trying to explore as much as I can,” he says.

He claims to have learnt a lot from outside of academia as well. “I have met a lot of people from different places. They are very different from me, and I am gaining a lot of different perspectives on all sorts of interesting things. My friendships are different here. I have matured as a person. My emotional intelligence has definitely improved a lot. I feel very grateful for all the amazing people I have met here and for the experiences I have had in the past two years.”

He is yet to select a major yet. “I came to Stanford thinking I would major in Economics because I used to think that it would help me bring about change in rural India. However, after being exposed to different disciplines, I am gravitating more towards other fields such as Psychology, Communication. Stanford has provided me a space where I can discover and get closer to my true interests.”

“I am not in a hurry to commit to one thing for the rest of my life. I want to take my time and choose something wisely later. But I definitely want to work towards the development of my country and give something back to the motherland,” he added.