SCHOLARSHIP SECRETS

How to Find Hidden Scholarships That No One is Talking About

Feb 19, 2026 | 7 min read

Are you tired of getting rejection emails? When you apply for Chevening, Erasmus, or fully-funded government scholarships, you are competing against 50,000 other smart students. The secret to studying abroad for free is not applying to the famous programs. It is finding the hidden money.

The “Big Name” Trap

Everyone knows about the Mastercard Foundation or Turkiye Burslari. Because they are famous, the competition is brutal (often a 1% acceptance rate). If you only apply to these, you are playing the lottery.

Instead, you need to look for University-Specific Endowments and Departmental Grants. These are funds controlled directly by the university, and sometimes, they only get 10 applicants a year!

Strategy 1: Search the “Financial Aid” Page Directly

Do not search Google for “Scholarships for African students.” Instead, find a university you like (for example, University of Alberta in Canada), go to their official website, and search for their Financial Aid & Awards page.

💡 The Filter Hack

When you are on the university’s award page, use their internal search filters:

Filter by: International Student

Filter by: Automatic Consideration (This means you don’t even need a separate application; they give you the money just for applying!)

Strategy 2: Cold Emailing Professors (Graduate Assistantships)

If you are applying for a Master’s or PhD, this is the most powerful method in the USA and Canada. Universities have millions of dollars for research. Professors control this money.

📧 How to get a Graduate Assistantship (GA):

Find a professor researching a topic you love.
Read one of their recent publications.
Send them a short email saying: “I loved your paper on X. I am applying to your department. Do you have any open funding or Assistantship positions in your lab next Fall?”

If they say yes, you get full tuition paid PLUS a monthly salary for helping them grade papers or do research.

Strategy 3: Niche & Community Scholarships

Look for scholarships that target your specific identity. The more specific the scholarship, the lower the competition.

Gender: Are you a woman in Tech or Engineering? Search for “Women in STEM scholarships.”
Location: Search for funds specifically for “East African” or “Horn of Africa” students, rather than just “International.”
Disability or Background: There are massive funds for students who have overcome specific hardships.

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