For most high school students, paying for college isn’t cheap. Even if you work hard enough to get into the college of your choice, sometimes the price you have to pay is just out of reach. That’s why many juniors and seniors are interested in scholarships.

Unfortunately, there is not a lot of scholarship money set aside for international students. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other scholarships you may be eligible for.

For example, if you are returning to your home country for college, there is a good possibility your country may have money available. But before you start applying, there are many different types of scholarships you need to know about.

Merit scholarships are based on academics. These include things like grades, classes you’ve taken and SAT scores. Merit scholarships are the most common and probably the easiest way to get some financial aid. Once you apply to a university and are accepted, the school will give you a figure of how much money they can offer you. Many colleges, especially in the US, offer more money depending on your SAT scores. The higher your score is, the more money you may be offered.

Another way international students can get scholarships is through their parent’s company. Employers like Chevron and your company’s embassy often have money set aside for scholarships.

In order to get more information on these types of scholarships, you need to talk to your parents and their employer. Oftentimes the application for these is fairly simple and has no limits on GPA or SAT scores, so it is definitely something worth checking out.

For juniors, there are websites you can make an account on to register for countless scholarships you may be eligible for. Websites like fastweb.com will connect you with scholarship opportunities from all around the globe and from a variety of different companies. All you have to do is fill out questionnaires about yourself and your academics. However, if a company ever asks you for money to register, it is a scam you should be wary of. You should never be paying money to these companies.

For some students financial aid is another option. Talking to your parents is imperative to see if this is the best approach for you. If you do decide to apply for financial aid, or any other scholarship for that matter, the most important thing is to be honest. Many kids worry that applying for need-based aid will hurt their chances of getting into university. This may be true for some schools, but if you can’t pay the tuition after you get in, all your hard work will be for nothing.

For native Thai students, a rare but incredibly prestigious grant is the King’s Scholarship. Only nine are awarded annually to native Thai students who also work here in Thailand. In order to be eligible, students must complete a few qualifying tests.

For those applying to America, work-study money is one of the most common ways to get a little extra cash for school. In exchange for agreeing to work on campus, your university will give you a certain amount of money that is agreed upon before the start of the school year. When applying to schools you can fill out a form that tells them that you are interested in applying for work-study money.

With colleges typically costing around 40,000-50,000 dollars per year, even a small amount of scholarship money can help. And with such hard working and talented students as ISB, there are lots of great opportunities available. If you have any questions about applying for scholarships, talk to your counselor for help.

Madeline Grove (12)