Your first rule of survival as an international student is to rely primarily on your personal financial resources and that of your immediate family in your home country or here in the US. According to Open Doors (2002), international students in the US obtained 75% of their funding from overseas sources. This correlates with findings by the Institute of International Education that about 87% of international students rely solely on personal and family assets to finance their education.

There is very little financial aid for international students available from private sources. Of the few private scholarships available for international students, most require that you apply from your home country. If you are already in the US, you might not be eligible.

International students (F-1 visa or F-1 status), enrolled full-time (12 credit hours or more) are eligible to work part-time on campus for up to 20 hours per week.

Please check with campus departments for available openings. You might be eligible for Curriculum Practical Training, Optional Practical Training or/and Off-Campus employment based on economic hardship. Please see your District or Campus DSO's for appropriate advice, guidance and/or approval.

Students in F1 or M1 status who have completed 24 Broward College credits and have an overall Grade Point Average of 3.0 are eligible to apply for the International Student Merit Scholarship. Please visit the following links for the Scholarship Application Requirements and the Scholarship Application.

Some Broward College Foundation Scholarships are available for international students who maintain a 2.5 grade point average. These scholarships are advertised in Foundation Scholarships with a specific deadline set for each academic year. Some departmental/talent awards (Student life, Student ambassadors, music, athletics), are also available. Please check with the specific department to see if you meet the eligibility requirements.

Broward College International Student Merit Scholarship Application Requirements

Broward College Scholarship Application

International student scholarships to study in the United States are quite limited and highly competitive. Please note that some scholarship search firms charge a fee for information that is available free of charge. Please do not waste your money by subscribing to them!

Listed below are some suggested web sites:

http://www.internationalscholarships.com

http://www.fastweb.com

http://www.internationalstudent.com/

http://www.financialaidofficer.com/scholarship_search/

In several countries, cooperative and thrift societies are viable sources of loans for international students. However, such sources of loans are severely limited in the United States. Most of those available are quite expensive and require international students have a US citizen or permanent resident as co-signer. Some suggested web sites that require co-signers include:

http://www.teri.org (needs co-applicant to be a credit worthy US citizen/Permanent Resident who has resided in the US and worked with same employer for at least two years.)

http://www.fastweb.monster.com/ib/edupass-22f

http://www.edupass.org/finaid/undergraduate.phtml

http://www.chase.com/cm/cs?pagename=Chase/Href&urlname=cef/general/page/studentloan.jsp

http://www.key.com – for parents/guardians of international students. The loans are available to US citizens/permanent residents.

Sources of financial aid are publicized exclusively in foreign language newspapers and web sites that are published in the US. We suggest you try calling the editor of such newspapers/web sites to see if they know of any possibilities For example, a member of the community might be willing to sponsor your education. You could contact your countries nearest educational advising center/consulate for information about local sources of support. Your home government may have financial aid available. Please consult the cultural section of your embassy or your ministry of education for more information. Some awards may require you to be nominated by your government. There may also be private organizations, businesses, foundations, and religious groups in your home country that may provide support for study in the US.

About Florida’s International Linkage Institute Programs

Recognizing the need to prepare its students and citizens for participation in the expanding international marketplace, the Florida Legislature created the International Linkage Institute Program in 1986. The goal of the Institutes is to assist in the development and promotion of commercial, educational, and social exchanges between Florida and foreign countries determined to be of strategic importance to the state. Over the last several years, the value of the Institute program to the state has become more readily apparent.

Since international trade and investment has become Florida’s leading source of revenue, Florida must build long-term educational and cultural ties to our strategic trading partners throughout the world in order to provide high quality job sand incomes for its residents into the 21st century.

The Linkage Institutes are each jointly administered by one or more state universities in partnership with a state community college, and are linked to counterpart organizations of higher education in the selected foreign countries.

The Linkage Institutes have developed innovative programs to bring Florida business leaders into direct contact with educators who have expertise and close working relations in targeted countries. Equally important networks are formed when students from overseas return to their home countries, often to assume important professional and business positions, and take with them the friendships they cultivated in Florida. This type of personal connection to the world outside of Florida translates into immediate and long-term benefits to the state.

The state of Florida permits each Institute to award up to 1,050 credit hours, per academic year, to partner country students through the Non-Resident Tuition Exemption Program. Students in the program must be enrolled in one of Florida’s state universities or community colleges and meet certain established academic and state-legislated criteria in order to qualify. These awards allow the foreign country students to study at in-state tuition rates.

Florida’s Linkage Institutes