Most bachelor's scholarships for international students are few and competitive, but a handful of schemes change the budget completely: US colleges that meet full need, full scholarships at Toronto, UBC, UCL and Oxford, Imperial's £15,000-a-year Inspires awards, Italian regional grants open to every nationality, and state grants for EU students in France, Ireland and Spain. Three rules for families:
- Apply early: many awards close with, or soon after, the admission application (US early rounds 1 November, Toronto's Pearson nominations in early October).
- Need-based vs merit: need-based awards ask for family income documents (CSS Profile, ISEE parificato in Italy); merit awards are often automatic.
- Do not count on one: plan a budget that works without the scholarship, and treat the award as a bonus.
On uniacross, each child's suggestions show the scholarships that fit (nationality, need for aid), a full scholarship can make an over-budget university "possible if awarded", and the deadlines go into the action plan.
United States
| Scheme | Who | Amount | How / deadline | |
|---|
| Need-blind admission with full financial aid (6 universities) | Any nationality, financial need | Meets 100% of demonstrated need for international students; asking for aid does not affect admission | Apply for aid with the application (CSS Profile, college forms); With the application: early rounds 1 Nov, regular rounds 1–15 Jan | link |
| Full-need aid (need-aware for international students) (10 universities) | Any nationality, financial need | Meets full demonstrated need of admitted students, but asking for aid can lower an international applicant's chances | Apply for aid with the application (CSS Profile); With the application | link |
United Kingdom
| Scheme | Who | Amount | How / deadline | |
|---|
| UCL Global Undergraduate Scholarship (1 university) | International students, financial need | Full tuition fees, some with a maintenance allowance, for overseas-fee students from low-income households (guide: household income up to £42,875) | Separate application after applying to UCL; Late April (27 April in 2026; the 2027 date is not published yet) | link |
| LSE Undergraduate Support Scheme (1 university) | International students, financial need | Need-based award for overseas-fee (including most EU) students, usually £15,000–25,000 a year, renewed each year with satisfactory progress | Application after receiving an offer; Spring after the offer (check LSE) | link |
| Reach Oxford Scholarship (1 university) | International students, financial need, citizens of low-income countries receiving OECD development aid, unable to study in their own country (not medicine) | Full tuition, living grant and one return flight a year; 2–3 awards a year | Separate application, only after receiving an Oxford offer; Early in the year after the UCAS application (check Oxford) | link |
| Imperial Inspires Scholarship (1 university) | International students, merit | £15,000 a year for at least 300 overseas-fee students (most EU citizens included) in engineering, natural sciences, medicine or business; very competitive | Apply to Imperial on UCAS by 13 Jan 2027 (15 Oct 2026 for medicine); eligible applicants are invited to a short scholarship form; Scholarship form by 5 February 2027; results by 30 April 2027 | link |
| Imperial IB Excellence Scholarship (1 university) | International students, merit, IB Diploma students | £5,000 a year for the whole course (23 awards for 2026 entry), for overseas-fee IB Diploma students in engineering, natural sciences or business | No application: departments nominate during admissions; Nomination by late April (24 April in 2026) | link |
Canada
| Scheme | Who | Amount | How / deadline | |
|---|
| Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship (1 university) | International students, merit, nominated by their school (one student per school) | Tuition, books, incidental fees and full residence support for four years | School nomination, then application; School nomination by 9 Oct 2026, apply to U of T by 16 Oct 2026, scholarship application by 6 Nov 2026 (2027 entry) | link |
| UBC International Scholars Program (1 university) | International students, financial need, merit | Need- and merit-based, up to the full cost of tuition and living (Karen McKellin, Donald A. Wehrung, International Impact, Vantage One awards) | Separate application (school nomination for some awards); Autumn before entry (check UBC) | link |
| UBC International Major Entrance Scholarship (1 university) | International students, merit | CAD 10,000–25,000 a year (2026/27 values), renewable for up to 3 more years; automatic consideration when applying by the admission deadline | Considered with the application; With the application (January) | link |
| France–Québec agreement (French citizens) (2 universities) | Any nationality, French citizens | French citizens studying full time for a bachelor's in Québec pay the Canadian out-of-province rate without the extra international charge, instead of the international fee | Automatic with French citizenship; None | link |
Australia
| Scheme | Who | Amount | How / deadline | |
|---|
| Melbourne International Undergraduate Scholarship (1 university) | International students, merit, citizens of eligible low-income countries (official list) | 25% fee remission for high achievers from countries where opportunities are limited by financial disadvantage (at least 110 awards); no application | Automatic consideration with the application; With the application | link |
Singapore
| Scheme | Who | Amount | How / deadline | |
|---|
| Singapore MOE Tuition Grant | International students | Lowers tuition at NUS, NTU and SMU in exchange for working 3 years in Singapore after graduating | Apply after accepting the offer; After the offer | link |
Netherlands
| Scheme | Who | Amount | How / deadline | |
|---|
| NL Scholarship (formerly Holland Scholarship) | From outside the EEA | €5,000 one-off in the first year, for students from outside the EEA at participating institutions | Apply to the participating Dutch institution; 1 February or 1 May (depends on the institution) | link |
Germany
| Scheme | Who | Amount | How / deadline | |
|---|
| Deutschlandstipendium | Any nationality, merit | €300 a month (usually one year, renewable), any nationality; grades plus social commitment | Apply to the university once admitted; Each university (often spring or summer) | link |
France
| Scheme | Who | Amount | How / deadline | |
|---|
| French state grant (bourse sur critères sociaux, CROUS) | EU/EEA citizens, financial need, EU/EEA citizens; other nationalities only after 2 years of residence in France | Income-based grant plus exemption from tuition and the CVEC; amounts by income band | Dossier social étudiant (DSE) on messervices.etudiant.gouv.fr; Spring before entry (DSE campaign, usually until mid-May) | link |
| Sciences Po Émile Boutmy Scholarship (2 universities) | From outside the EEA, financial need, merit | For non-EU students admitted to the bachelor: covers part or all of the €14,900 yearly fee (amount varies) | Application with the admission file; With the admission application | link |
Italy
| Scheme | Who | Amount | How / deadline | |
|---|
| Italian regional right-to-study grant (DSU) | Any nationality, financial need | Income-based: tuition waiver plus about €2,850–7,100 a year and often housing; non-EU students use an ISEE parificato | Regional agency (ER.GO, DSU Lombardia, DiSCo Lazio…) with the ISEE; Summer before entry (July–September, by region) | link |
| Bocconi International Award (undergraduate) (1 university) | International students, merit | 50% tuition reduction for the top first-year applicants; no separate application (2022-23 terms) | Automatic consideration; None (automatic) | link |
Spain
| Scheme | Who | Amount | How / deadline | |
|---|
| Spanish Ministry grant (beca MEC) | EU/EEA citizens, financial need | For EU citizens: the tuition part of the general grant (same income and grade rules as Spanish students) | Ministry online application; Spring (7 April – 18 May in 2026) | link |
Ireland
| Scheme | Who | Amount | How / deadline | |
|---|
| Free Fees and SUSI grant (Ireland) | EU/EEA citizens, financial need, resident in the EU/EEA/UK/Switzerland for 3 of the last 5 years | Free tuition (student contribution only) and a SUSI fee grant; maintenance only for residents of Ireland | SUSI online application; Spring to summer before entry | link |
Several countries
| Scheme | Who | Amount | How / deadline | |
|---|
| Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program (5 universities) | International students, financial need, young people from Africa with financial need | Full scholarship (tuition, living, travel) at partner universities | Apply to each partner university (bachelor's applicants usually 29 or under); Usually autumn to winter before entry (each partner) | link |
Sources
Each line links to its source; amounts and deadlines change every year: check the official page before applying. Data file: kb/data/scholarships.json.
