Frequently Asked Questions

There are literally thousands of study abroad scholarships for African students. These scholarships may be offered by the institution itself, by a government (for example, the Fulbright Scholarships administered by the US Embassy) or corporate partners (such as the Mastercard Foundation). There might also be funding available offered by other outside organizations, including your home country’s Ministry of Education, your place of study, your employer or other organizations that offer funding in your field of study. An engineering firm might provide a scholarship for engineering students, for example. 

There is a lot of information online and there is a lot that is not. Depending on your academic record, your university and course of choice, you may have options open to you. However, remember that nearly all scholarships are partial scholarships (in order words, they cover a certain percentage of your tuition fees only) – see the next question for more information on this subject. It is also important to note that a scholarship may not always represent the cheapest option: University A may offer a 50% scholarship on tuition fees of $30,000 but that still represents $5,000 more than University B where tuition is at $10,000 per year.

It is always important to review the conditions of any scholarship and how to apply for one: some universities automatically consider students for any merit scholarships that they offer, so no need to do anything apart from to submit the university application; other universities may require a specific scholarship application form to be submitted.

At Seed Educational Consulting we will certainly give you advice and guidance on the best scholarship options for your Study Abroad journey. However, even more importantly, we commit to finding you the best value education for your budget, whether that includes a scholarship or not.

The short answer is probably not, especially at Bachelor degree level. It is not impossible – Ivy League universities do offer a limited number of fully funded scholarships for example. However, these are extremely limited in number and competition is intense. Most universities do not offer fully funded scholarships in any circumstance but, even among those that do, most may offer one single full tuition scholarship (so still housing, food, insurance and personal costs need to be met) – that’s one full-tuition scholarship for thousands (maybe tens of thousands of applicants).

At Master’s level, a free ride is still highly unlikely though many universities do offer a limited number of Graduate Assistantships to highly qualified and motivated students. These typically offer a stipend as well as reduced tuition fees. However, it is important to understand that Graduate Assistantships are generally only awarded after you have arrived at the university.

You need to consider various factors when calculating the cost of studying abroad. The cost of living and tuition fees are the two most important expenses. These fees vary widely within and between countries.

The average annual tuition at public universities in the US is $26,290, and $35,830 at private universities. Before you begin to panic, remember that these fees do not take into account any scholarships that you might be eligible for and that this is an average – in reality, you may find tuition fees starting from around $8,000 per year at many community colleges. When budgeting, you also need to keep in mind a budget for housing, food, medical insurance, transportation costs, etc. The I-20, the letter of admission issued by each institution for you to begin the student visa process, will estimate annual expenses for you. It is only an estimate but it is a good guide and you will need to provide evidence of sufficient funding to be able to afford one year’s estimated expenses in order to be issued with a student visa. As a guide, we generally say that estimated annual tuition and living costs start from $18,000 could rise to $80,000 at top institutions such as Harvard. At Seed, we will generally recommend US institutions where the estimated annual expenses will not go above $30,000, unless you request otherwise.

In the UK, international student tuition fees vary considerably, starting from around £10,000 ($14,000) and potentially going up to as much as £26,000 ($36,000) per year for a lecture-based undergraduate degrees (Times Higher Education, 2020). Most programmes however tend to have tuition fees between £15,000 ($21,000) and £20,000 ($28000). In addition to your tuition fees, the UK Government has estimated living expenses over a 9-month academic year at £9207 ($13,000) outside London and £12,006 ($16,500) within London.  As part of your student visa application you will need to be able to show sufficient funding to meet this anticipated costs for one year of tuition and living expenses.

According to Statistics Canada, the average tuition fee for an international student was CAD $29,714 (US $22,500) per year. In general, expect to pay between CAD$20,000 and CAD$30,000 per year at a 4-year university and between CAD$13,000 and CAD$20,000 per year at a college. However, be aware that there are large differences depending on the province where you plan to study with Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec, the three most populous provinces, typically having higher costs of study and living costs . Living expenses will also vary widely by province but, as a guide, expect to spend between CAD$12,000 (US$9,500) and CAD$16,000 (US$12,500) per year. 

With these annual expenses in mind, remember that undergraduate programs in the US and Canada tend to last four years and Master’s programs 2-years. In the UK most students will require a foundation year before joining a Bachelor degree lasting 3-4 years; a UK Master’s will normally take 1-year.

We understand that these costs may seem very high and we stress once again that these are estimates and do not take into account any scholarships for which you may be eligible. That said, we also know that not every African student will be able to study in one of these three countries. This is why we are in the process of adding more affordable countries, such as Germany (where public universities are more or less free and annual expenses for living costs are estimated at 10,600 euros) and Turkey. We will be adding some new articles about studying in these countries in the near future but private universities in Turkey, offering courses in English, have tuition fees starting from around $2,500 (USD) per year.

If you are relying on your family to cover your study costs then we generally recommend that the link between you and your sponsor is as close as possible: your parents make the ideal sponsor as it is obvious to any Consular Officer at an Embassy why parents will invest in their child’s education. We have seen Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents and Brothers/Sisters successfully sponsor students abroad, though typically you may find that you will be asked more questions about your source of funding in such cases. You may also have more than one sponsor – for example, a parent and an uncle. 

Remember that sponsors will need to provide proof of funds (in the form of bank statements and may also be asked to sign Affidavits of Support confirming that they agree to be responsible for the cost of your studies).

Some of you may be eligible for scholarships covered by your home country’s government. In this case, a Financial Letter of Guarantee can be provided by the Ministry sponsoring you, as an alternative to providing a bank statement from a family member.

This very much varies by country and by institution. When applying to institutions in most countries, you will be asked to pay a (refundable) deposit towards your tuition fees in order to receive the Letter of Admission required to start the visa application process. The deposit may be anything from around $2,000 – $10,000. 

The main exception to the above is the USA, where you will need to provide evidence of funding in the form of bank statements but upfront deposits to universities are generally not required (in a few cases, you might be asked to pay deposits of around $200-$300 after receiving the visa in order to be able to reserve campus housing. 

Tuition fee payments typically need to be made at the start of each semester for the full semester. Again, there may be some universities, especially in the USA, that offer more relaxed instalment payment schemes that allow you to pay tuition fees across the semester. However, the earlier you pay the current semester’s tuition fee, the earlier you can register for your classes in the next semester (and therefore you are more likely to ensure that you get your first choices).