Behind billions of dong scholarships

For many American universities, granting scholarships is a policy to "stimulate demand", the amount of a few billion dong is actually insignificant in the study abroad journey.

Bui Minh Duc , 30 years old, a student majoring in Communication at Clark University, Massachussetts, USA, under the Fulbright scholarship program sponsored by the US Government. In the process of applying for scholarships and studying in the US, Minh Duc said that it is necessary to look more realistically with the value of billions of VND of scholarships.

Compared to about 10 years ago, I find that the understanding of Vietnamese parents and students about studying abroad is much more realistic. Studying abroad is not a red carpet, spreading in front of students and ensuring a good job after returning home, and multi-billion scholarships are not entirely rosy.

Of course, how much scholarship money you get is also valuable, especially for schools with fiercely competitive rates. But it must also be noted that education in the US is a huge business and awarding scholarships is also a strategy of universities. They have calculated carefully enough to know that if they give away one or more billion dong of scholarships, the profits will be commensurate or not.

Firstly , if you put a billion dong (as an illustration) in the full picture of tuition fees of an American university, you will see a big difference.

According to US News , the average amount a student has to pay for tuition in 2020-2021 at private universities is about $ 35,087 (more than VND 820 million), public $ 21,184. Reputable, high-ranking schools will have tuition fees 2-3 times this level. At Clark University where I'm studying for a master's degree, college tuition is about $50,000 a year.

Universities often offer scholarships on a percentage basis, for example 25-50% for four years, or for 100% in the first year and later, students have to pay tuition. The generosity of the scholarship also depends on the reputation of the school. I find that scholarships at small, less prestigious schools are mostly higher than at large schools.

In general, with a scholarship of one billion dong, not counting the case that the tuition fee will increase year by year, the family still has to pay at least another three billion for the four-year tuition fee.

It should be added that, there are still cases where students receive full tuition scholarships from American universities. However, the competition for these scholarships is fierce. Government scholarships, which usually cover 100% of tuition fees, are mainly at the master's level.

Minh Duc at the campus of Clark University, USA, May 2023. Photo: Character provided

Secondly, tuition usually only accounts for 40-60% of the total cost of studying abroad, so even with scholarships, the actual amount families have to pay is still very large.

In addition to tuition fees, students will have to pay visa fees, air tickets, accommodation costs, study materials, insurance, travel expenses..., depending on the area that the international student chooses.

For example, I live in Worcester, Massachusetts. Worcester is not a big city like Boston next door, but Massachusetts is generally expensive. This is considered a college town (a city with many universities) so the cost is also higher. If not in the school dormitory, students lose about 600-900 USD for rent outside, 300-400 USD for monthly meals, excluding other living expenses. About $1,500 is considered basic for student living expenses in the city where I am studying.

Full scholarships for university tuition are difficult, and full scholarships to cover living expenses are even rarer. Therefore, when adding the above numbers, many parents will have a relatively more realistic view of the cost of studying abroad and realize that a billion scholarships is only part of the long journey to study abroad.

For many universities, the actual granting of scholarships is just a policy of "discounting" products to stimulate consumer demand - here are parents and students. It is like a sales negotiation: The two sides will bargain back and forth until they find a common number. On official paper, the deal was called a "scholarship".

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