One of the most asked questions the International Students Advice team gets is how to find a scholarship. Unfortunately, there are far more students in need of a scholarship, than available scholarships. However, there are a few tips we can give you that might help find funding for your studies.

Tip 1: Start early with your application

The process of applying for a scholarship can take a while. Also, most scholarships have application deadlines early in the year. This is why it’s important to start researching possibilities for funding at a very early stage.

Tip 2: Sort out the requirements and have your documents ready

The required documents can differ per scholarship. So make sure you have a clear overview of what you need. Documents that are almost always needed is an admission letter from the university, recommendation letters, a valid passport and resume. Have these things ready before applying, so you won’t get in a time crunch.

If you found a scholarship and you are already sure you won’t meet the requirements, don’t apply for it. You will put a lot of effort into your application and will end up with ‘no’ anyways.

Tip 3: Have a good letter of recommendation

One of the most asked documents is a letter of recommendation. So think carefully about who you would like to write this letter to. It’s important to ask people that can provide details about your work ethic, drive, sense of responsibility and other positive qualities that support your application.

You also want someone that can write a good solid letter and knows how to make you stand out from other applications. Distinguishing facts are important since everyone can claim to be a hard worker.

Tip 4: Look for opportunities in your home country

The university doesn’t offer many scholarships. Also, half of them are scholarships you have to be selected for instead of applying. However, there are sometimes also possibilities in your home country. Often these scholarships are only for residences. You can find a few examples for master’s on our website.

Are you a bachelor’s students? The scholarship opportunities for bachelor’s are listed on this page.

Another useful website is the Nuffic NESO and Scholarship Portal. They offer an online search engine for students that want to study in the Netherlands and need financial support.

Tip 5: Watch out for scholarship scams

Applying for a scholarship generally does not cost money. Only a few legitimate scholarships ask for a small application fee. If a scholarship requires a fee, do some research to make sure it’s not a scam.

Be careful when a scholarship offers something like ‘this scholarship is guaranteed, or “you’ll get your money back”. Scholarships are in such high demand that there is no legit scholarship that is guaranteed. Also, avoid agencies that “do all the work for you”. It just takes time and effort to secure a scholarship, agencies that do it for you are just robbing your wallet.