Studying outside the country is expensive. Between tuition, flights, and just trying to feed yourself, the costs can look terrifying.
So, what do you do? Give up and stay local?
No. You get a scholarship to study abroad.
But getting a scholarship isn’t easy either. If you think someone is going to hand you $30,000 just because you asked nicely, you’re dreaming.
Scholarship hunting is a job. It is a hustle. And frankly, most students are doing it completely wrong.
They apply for two or three famous scholarships, get rejected, and then say, “Well, I guess I’m not smart enough.”
Nonsense.
Today I’ll show you how to actually get someone to pay for your education overseas.
It requires sweat, thick skin, and a strategy that goes beyond just having good grades.
Are you ready to stop making excuses and start packing your bags?
Let’s dive in.
1. Stop Obsessing Over Your Grades (and Look at Your “Other” Assets)
I can hear you already. “But I didn’t get a straight A in Math! I can’t get a scholarship to study abroad.”
Stop it.
Yes, academic merit scholarships exist. But if you think that is the only way to get funded, you are dead wrong, fortunately..
Universities across the world are desperate for one thing: Diversity.
They don’t just want a classroom full of locals who get A’s. They want musicians, athletes, leaders, and people with unique cultural backgrounds.
This is where you have a massive advantage.
Being a multi-talented student from a place like Kenya isn’t a hurdle; it’s a superpower.
International universities need students from Africa to diversify their campuses. They need your perspective. They need your culture to make their campus look global.
So, when you are looking for scholarships, don’t just look for “Academic Excellence.”
Look for scholarships based on leadership. Look for ones based on community service. Look for grants for students from developing nations.
Dig deep into what makes you unique.
Are you a girl in STEM? There’s a scholarship for that. Are you a poet? There’s funding for that.
Your grades are just one part of the story. Sell the whole book.
2. Use the Right Tools (Stop Googling Aimlessly)
Most students start their search by typing “scholarships abroad” into Google.
This is a great way to waste 10 hours of your life and end up with a headache.
You will find millions of results, broken links, and scams.
You need to work smarter, not harder. You need a sniper scope, not a shotgun.
This is where Kampusville becomes your best friend.
We have built a database specifically for this. We didn’t just dump a bunch of links in a pile; we organized them so you don’t have to suffer.
Use the filtering options on the site.
You can filter by your country of origin (hello, fellow Kenyans). You can filter by the subject you want to study. You can filter by the destination country.
Instead of reading through 500 scholarships that you aren’t even eligible for, you can narrow it down to the 20 that fit you perfectly.
This saves you time. And in the scholarship game, time is money.
Use the database to find the programs that align with your specific attributes, the ones we talked about in the first point.
3. The “Cheat Code”: Talk to the Winners
I am going to let you in on a secret that 99% of students are too scared to use.
You don’t have to guess what the scholarship committee wants. You can just ask the people who already won.
We live in the age of the internet. You can find almost anyone.
If you are applying for a specific scholarship, go to LinkedIn or social media. Search for the name of the scholarship and see who won it last year or the year before.
Then, reach out to them.
Send them a polite message. Say, “Hey, I see you won the [Name] Scholarship. I’m applying from Kenya this year. Do you have any advice on what they are looking for?”
You would be shocked at how many people are willing to help.
Why? Because they were once in your shoes. They know the struggle.
They might tell you, “Hey, focus on your community service in the essay,” or “Don’t worry too much about the interview, just be yourself.”
This is inside information. This is the stuff you won’t find on the official website.
Getting guidance from a past winner gives you a massive edge over everyone else who is just guessing.
4. Cast a Wide Net
Here’s some hard truth, you will get rejected a lot.
I know students who applied to 30 scholarships and got rejected by 29. But guess what? They won one. And that one changed their life.
You need to develop a thick skin.
If you apply for one scholarship and sit by the phone waiting, you are setting yourself up for heartbreak.
You need volume.
Apply to the big, famous scholarships, sure. But also apply to the small ones.
Apply to the ones that offer $500 for books. Apply to the ones that cover half tuition. Apply to the ones in countries you hadn’t initially thought about.
Speaking of countries, don’t just look at the USA and UK.
Look at countries that are actively seeking African students, like China, Turkey, or Germany. The competition might be lower, and the education is still world-class.
Treat this like a part-time job. Set aside a few hours every weekend to apply.
It is going to be boring. It is going to be tiring. Writing essays over and over again sucks.
But do you know what sucks more?
Staying in the same place, doing the same thing, and wondering “What if?”
Wrapping It Up…
So, are you going to do the work?
The money is out there. There are organizations and universities begging to give money to a talented, diverse student like you.
But they aren’t going to come knocking on your door.
You have to go get it.
Use Kampusville to filter your search. Dig deep into your unique traits. Message the past winners. And apply until your fingers hurt.
If you are willing to put in the work, you will be packing your bags sooner than you think.
All the best.