Finding a Sponsor to Study Abroad

Making up your mind to study in the United States is the easy part—now you must find a way to fund it! While many students ultimately depend on their own and their families’ resources to fund their studies in the United States, others depend on other sources. This article outlines some of those sources.

Funding from the U.S. Government

The U.S. government provides funding for students from certain countries to study in the United States. This funding is often times limited and can be hard to find. To discover whether or not the U.S. funds education for students from your country, visit the U.S. Department of State or the U.S. Agency for International Development. If you secure funding, know that you will likely need to attend college within certain parameters. While securing this type of funding can be difficult, it can also be highly rewarding as it sometimes pays up to 100 percent of students’ tuition.  

Funding from Your Own Government

Students may also find that their own country is willing to foot the bill for its citizens to study abroad in the United States. Check with your country’s department of education or ministry of education to determine whether or not they have funding available for study in the U.S. Also, check to see if your government has partnership with any U.S. colleges or universities. Some governments partner with schools in the U.S. to offer reduced or free education to its citizens. 

Funding from Private Organizations

There are private organizations throughout the world that are interested in building relationships between certain countries and the United States. Their interests may be tied to anything from economic aims to social connections, goals, and obligations. Their funding, therefore, may be meant to facilitate their main goals and missions. Therefore, if you search for private organizations that want to pay for students to study in the United States, make sure that their missions and values align with yours. If you are rewarded money to study in the U.S. from a private organization, you will likely be intimately tied to them for the duration of your studies.

Funding from Non-Profits and Non-Governmental Organizations

Non-profits and non-governmental organizations often times offer funds to international students who want to study in the United States. To find such organizations, look for service-oriented non-profits or non-governmental organizations that have an interest in increasing global travel and cultural interaction. International service organizations and NGOs may pay up to 100% of students’ tuition and often times set up housing, internships, and other opportunities associated with studying in the United States. Just as you would when requesting funding from a private organization, strive to ensure that your non-profit or NGO organization’s values and mission are consistent with your own.

Loans, Grants, and Scholarships

The most common grants in the United States, such as Pell Grants, are not available to international students. Loans, however, are sometimes available to international students if those students have a citizen of the United States as a co-signer. Scholarships may also be available to international students, even without U.S. citizen sponsorship. To find a list of scholarships available to international students, talk to the financial aid departments at the colleges and universities you would like to attend. They will be able to direct you to scholarship sites devoted to helping international students or students from certain countries find funding.