How to Secure Fully Funded Scholarships Abroad With HND, 2:2 and Third Class
Do you seek to secure a fully funded scholarship abroad with an HND from a polytechnic or a Second-Class Lower [2:2] or a Third-Class grade from the university?
Studying abroad via fully funded Masters or PhD scholarships have often been misconstrued to be available to only candidates with First Class and Second Upper grades. This post has been created to show you that your HND, 2:2 or third class grades can get you a fully funded scholarship in Canada, United States, United Kingdom and the rest of Europe.
In order to prove to you that this is not a tongue-in-cheek story, take a look at the pictures below;
Now that you are convinced that it is not just possible, it has been done, below are proven ways to securing your lifelong fully funded scholarship.
Table of Contents
Obtain a WES Equivalent of Your Result
Your HND result can be converted to its Bachelors equivalent by the World Educational System (WES) credential evaluation services.
WES helps academic institutions, professional licensing bodies and employers by evaluating degrees and diplomas earned abroad to determine their U.S. equivalencies. WES-evaluated results are accepted by universities all over the world. This is why universities request “a Bachelors degree or its equivalent.” You must have seeen from the image of Sheriff up there that his combined ND and HND degrees amounted to a whopping 3.93/4.0.
So what about a 2:2 or a third-class graduate?
WES evaluates the courses relevant to your degree. A course-based evaluation would remove irrelevant courses you probably borrowed or the boring GNS/GST/GES courses, hence a rise in your CGPA probably to a Second-Class Upper grade!. Is that not interesting?
Take up Top-up, Postgraduate Diploma or Pre-Masters Degree
A Mop-up degree is usually a two-semester course that is designed by some universities to upgrade an HND degree to BSc. The programme, also provides a platform for Nigerian University graduates in a bid to remedy the results of those who were unable to standout academically during their first degree due to one challenge or the other.
The following institutions in Nigeria offer top-up degree/HND conversion programmes (the polytechnics offer them as affiliates);
- Federal University Oye-Ekiti
- Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin
- Kwara State University, Ilorin
- Bells University Abeokuta, Ogun State
- Southwestern University Nigeria Oshodi-Isolo, Ikeja
- Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State (EKSU)
- Delta State University Abraka, Delta State (DELSU)
- Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Oyo State
- Babcock University, Ilisha-Remo Ogun State
- Lagos State University, Ojo Lagos (LASU)
- Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rumuolumeni Port Harcourt, Rivers State
- Federal Polytechnic Ilaro, Ogun State (Degree Programme)
- Federal Polytechnic Ado, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State (Degree Programme)
- The Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State (Degree Programme)
- Best Solution Polytechnic Akure, Ondo State (Degree Programme)
- Federal Polytechnic Offa, Kawara State (Degree Programme)
- Osun State Polytechnic Ire, Osun State (Degree Programme)
- Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, Lagos (Degree Programme)
Visit United Kingdom to check out many more Scholarship opportunities.
Garner Enough Relevant Research and Work Experience
Research and Work experiences are core graduate school admission requirements everywhere in the world. This is not restricted to only students with low grades or HND degrees.
So your 2 or 3-month Student Industrial and Work Experience Scheme (SIWES ) programmes should not be a waste if you intend to pursue a postgraduate study abroad. There is also a 1-year SIWES for HND and 6-month Industrial Training (IT) programmes for universities students in science and technology fields.
Sheriff there had 2 different relevant work experiences while the guy with the 2:2 had four whopping years of experience. No admission commitee would turn that down.
Nice post