Students want a quality education but do not come cheap. Specifically, when students think of countries which have an excellent education system then there without having a budget of five-figures and it looks impossible usually. Additionally, university fees, as well as other living expenses, are continuously rising across the countries, as students are looking for options to pursue a recognized degree that too without feeling too much burden on their pockets. So to question raises that can students study abroad for free. Though students will be relaxed to hear that theoretically, it’s possible. Thus, It is possible to study abroad for free but there are a lot of elements to it. So there are many aspects that can help students in covering their tuition fee partially or fully. Students should be aware of the fact that how they can get a quality education at minimal cost or for free.

• Scholarships-

Numerous scholarships that too fully funded are one of the ways of pursuing higher education without feeling too much pinch on students pocket. Though, getting a fully-funded scholarship is extremely difficult, as the number of applicants is huge whereas the number of scholarships awarded is limited in numbers as well. Also, there are different types of scholarships like general scholarships and some are specialized funding schemes too. Besides, scholarships are offered by individual universities and government agencies as well as ad charitable institutions and some private enterprises.

• Two types of expenses covered under scholarships-

1. Tuition fee

2. Living expenses

Additionally, there are some scholarship schemes are which are given to some specific groups like- Central Sector Scheme of National Overseas Scholarship for SC etc. candidates. The fellowship is awarded by the government of India to SC students whose family income does not exceed INR 6 lakh annually.

• Scholarship granted by Individual Universities-

Various universities automatically consider those students for scholarship whose profile is above 50% of the class medium. In other words, it is said that some universities automatically consider students for a scholarship if their profile is above 50% of the criteria set by the Universities and colleges. Moreover, some universities also consider students for need-based scholarships, so, they can pursue higher studies without worrying about tuition fee and related expenses.

• Education Exchange Programs -EEPs

The Indian government has signed MOUs or Education Exchange Programs -EEPs or Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI’s) with 54 countries globally in education fields. So the aim of such agreements is to promote an exchange of students. Also, the List of countries and their agreements can be accessed at the official website of the Ministry of Human Resource and Development- MHRD. Additionally, the eight countries namely South Korea, China, Mexico and Commonwealth Scholarship -UK as well as Commonwealth Scholarship -New Zealand, Israel, Hungary, and Italy offer a scholarship to Indian students to pursue higher education in their countries respectively. So the Interested students can apply online for getting these scholarships and MHRD facilitates the nomination process for these scholarships accordingly.

There are six ways you can cut some of those costs down and study abroad for cheap or free of cost by following means-

• Enroll Directly in a Foreign University or Language School-

The universities in the United States tend to be quite expensive and many countries offer free or low-cost schooling even for foreign students. Paris’ La Sorbonne- for example, has no tuition fees and only a modest registration fee of  $200 approximate. Also, French universities teach in French so there is a language prerequisite to enroll and for non-francophones, Australia’s University of Tasmania comes with a reasonable price tag hovering $6,000 dollars approximately and New Zealand’s University of Auckland is a touch more expensive at just under $9,000. Moreover, the English language programs are not confined to English speaking countries. So the University of Nottingham’s campus in Ningbo, China offers programs in English with tuition coming in at just under $7,000 approximately.

• Volunteer Abroad Instead-

It is not necessary that studying abroad has to be carried out at a university. The Immersive volunteer experience is the perfect opportunity to gain valuable foreign language knowledge along with hands-on experience without paying any tuition fees at all. Additionally, some programs charge students to pair them with volunteering programs overseas and one free option is WWOOF that is a, worldwide organic farming network that pairs eager volunteers with farmers in need of extra hands and help. Thus, In exchange for students work, they are be provided with free housing and food, and if they put in the effort to learn the local language, they will come away with far more than callouses.

• Complete a Work/Study-

Doing professional Work while studying abroad is often complicated for international students as for who do not have the requisite visa to be employed in a foreign country. Though some programs afford the ability to bypass this sticky situation so that students can offset the cost of their study abroad program by earning a paycheck. Besides, to Consider enrolling in a course to become a teacher of English as a foreign language or choosing a country that allows students to work during their program, such as Australia or New Zealand.

• Work as an Au Pair-

For students, going overseas as an au pair may be the best way to offset the cost of their study abroad programs. So, not only does working as an au pair ensure that the cost of housing is taken care of but also, most au pairs overseas also have phone and transport covered along with earning a bit of pocket money too.

Therefore, international students can choose which ever course and scholarship that best suits them according to their interest to study abroad for free of cost so as to excel in their career.

Reference— https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/studying-abroad/where-can-you-study-abroad-free