Can I study abroad for free?

How to study abroad for free?

With perseverance, patience, a lot of hard work, and determination, you can study abroad for free of cost. Let's know how.

Browse countries that offer free tuition, such as the Scandinavian countries like Norway, Denmark, Sweden, European countries such as Germany, Italy, Asia’s favourite, South Korea, Singapore, and the list goes on.

Hunt for fully-funded scholarships, grants, and participate in education exchange programmes (EEPs). Albeit, it gets competitive here because you need to be the best and the most deserving candidate to get access to a 100% scholarship. Ensure that you apply for these scholarships way before time because the applicants is plenty and of course, you don’t want ot miss the golden opportunity. 

To make things easier, we have listed below the best scholarships available across the world:

GKS Scholarship for South Korea

The Ministry of Education in Korea launched the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) programme in 2010. This provides international students with the opportunity to study in South Korea. GKS Scholarship 2025 is open to students from 150+ countries worldwide. This funded scholarship fulfills the dreams of many students who want to study abroad in South Korea but have financial difficulties.

Keep reading because it gets interesting from here…

The GKS scholarship gives a FREE economy flight ticket for students, and that too, round trip. It also covers a tuition fee up to 5 million KRW, which is roughly ₹3.05 lakhs. Wait, it doesn’t end here. They also offer special allowances, Korean proficiency grants, medical insurance, and a whopping academic incentive of up to 630,000 KRW per month (₹38,493).

DAAD Scholarships for Germany

Backed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst or the German Academic Exchange Service (popularly known as DAAD) is one of the leading organisations in Germany that offers scholarships to meritorious students.

What are the benefits of the DAAD Scholarship?

No matter whether the student has opted for full-time, part-time classes, or a blended learning process, the scholarship applies to all modes of learning. There are more than 180 scholarships offered by DAAD and they promise to cover either the semester fees, tuition fees, examination fees, research fees or internship.

During your entire course of stay in Germany, you will be able to avail free healthcare services with this scholarship. Please note, this scholarship is applicable only for graduate and doctoral, and research students. 

Fulbright Scholarship for USA

The United States India Educational Foundation (USIEF) offers the Fulbright-Nehru Scholarship for scholars wishing to apply to universities in the USA. This grant covers tuition fees, living costs. Research-based programmes also get a certain amount of fee-waiver for their Ph. D courses.

The Fulbright scholarship also allows deserving candidates to receive valuable insights from experts throughout their course, upskill themselves with leadership and technical skills.

Best places to study abroad for free

Now that you know the most beneficial scholarships for your career, it’s time to know the most preferred places to study abroad for free. Let’s take a look.

Study abroad in German for free

Did you know… more than 350k international students reside in Germany as of 2023/2024. The interesting fact is, according to recent studies, Germany expects to see a significant increase in student intake, giving rise to a student population over 400k. Most of the universities are seeing a stable increase of the number of international enrollments.

There’s no reason why one shouldn’t choose Germany as a country to pursue their studies from. With low crime rates, vibrant atmosphere, friendly people, and regional communities of your home country, it is one of the most preferred countries to pursue higher studies from.

The best part is that your tuition fee is absolutely free. Yes, you heard it right. Public universities in Germany have an enriched history of excellence in academics, global reputation, and industry-level competence. More than 90% of the public universities in Germany do not charge any tuition fees, no matter which country you are from.

Here are some of the notable public universities in Germany that make your study abroad journey seamless with zero tuition fees:

• University of Hamburg

• University of Stuttgart

• Humboldt University of Berlin

• Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

• University of Cologne

… and the list goes on.

Study abroad in Singapore for free

Did you know… Singapore is one of the most preferred study abroad destinations for students. With more than 55k enrollments, students choose to enjoy a peaceful life in Singapore with friends from almost every part of the world. The National University of Singapore ranks under top 0.5% worldwide, making it a dream university for many people across the globe.

Singapore offers no-cost education to all its official citizens. This has been mandated by the Ministry of Education, Government of Singapore. For international students, Singapore offers attractive scholarships like NTU Nanyang Scholarship, SINGA Scholarship and other university-specific fee-waivers that cover tuition costs, living expenses. Hence, it is a boon for international students to choose their study abroad destination, Singapore.

Here are some of the most well-known institutions in Singapore that make your study abroad journey free with scholarships covering education, accommodation, and more:

• National University of Singapore

• Singapore Management University

• Singapore University of Technology and Design

• Nanyang Technological University

• Singapore Institute of Technology

Study abroad in Norway for free

After the global pandemic, Norway has seen a huge rise in international enrollments. Lockdown might have house-arrested people but it also instilled in them the intellect of choosing the best place for study abroad.

Most Norwegian public universities offer free education to students regardless they are from Norway or other parts of the world. The tuition fee is absolutely free however, there might be a need of a nominal fee for each semester. The state-of-the-art infrastructure, equipped labs, constant faculty support, free medical facilities, and superior quality education make this a favourable place among study abroad enthusiasts. 

2 Fun facts about Norway: 

• You can enjoy seeing the Northern lights.

• The sun doesn’t set in summer, so don’t be surprised if it's bright at 12 AM.

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Here are the names of public universities in Norway offering free tuition costs. Bookmark these at the right time before the application dates are gone:

• University of Oslo

• University of Bergen

• UiT The Arctic University of Norway

• Oslo Metropolitan University

• Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Where do I find the best study abroad websites?

Educafic is your one-stop destination for pursuing overseas education at free of cost. Our study abroad experts will guide you through the entire process, be it selecting the right university from your preferred country or sorting out your LOR, SOPs, visa requirements, and so on. Most importantly, you will get detailed information on the best scholarships available to waive off the maximum tuition fee. Hurry! Get access to a whole world of benefits with you join our network of education professionals.

Also Read: MBBS Abroad Guidelines by the National Medical Commission (NMC) for Indian Students