Sadly, there just aren’t too many of these dream scholarships going around. Full scholarships are rare, and those that are available are very competitive. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply for them – read on to discover how to increase your chances of being awarded one of these prestigious scholarships.

First things first, where do you actually go to find full scholarships? Your first port of call should be your chosen university’s official website, as they may offer their own funding opportunities for students from your location or in your subject, or possibly list external scholarships you could apply to.

As well as your university, you could check sites like InternationalScholarships.com or FastWeb.com, plus our own Scholarships to Study Abroad page, which lists funding opportunities in different study destinations, scholarships focused on particular subjects and scholarships aimed at particular student groups (e.g. African students).

Alongside scholarships offered by universities, QS also offers scholarship opportunities. These include study abroad scholarships. Some of the scholarships that QS offers are:

• QS ImpACT MBA community scholarship - for MBA students who have done something notable to help their community
• QS ImpACT MBA leadership scholarship - for MBA students who have exceptional leadership and innovative thinking skills
• QS ImpACT social responsibility scholarship - for Masters students who have mad an environmental or social sustainability impact
• QS ImpACT academic excellence scholarship - for Masters and PhD students who can demonstrate exceptional academic skills and achievements
• QS ImpACT women's scholarship - for female students who have a strong sense of social justice and aim to reduce social inequalities through their studies
• QS ImpACT undergraduate scholarship - for undergraduate students who aim to contribute to the completion of the 17 sustainable development goals set out by the UN

To apply for a QS ImpACT scholarships, you must have an offer with a compatible programme at an accepted university. You must also have attended a QS Event. There is information on how you can find a QS Event near you and how to register your interest on our website.

ImpACT scholarships will also require students to submit an essay detailing their background, their interests, why they are passionate about the programme and university or business school that they have chosen, how this qualification will impact their career and how they intend to incoporate the theme of the scholarship into their studies or future career.

If you know you’ll need a full scholarship to help you to attend university, it’s important to start preparing as far in advance as possible. This is especially important if you find you need to attend an interview - some universities conduct special ‘scholarship weekends’ in which 50-100 students will be invited on campus to interview with a faculty member, answering questions on their goals and motivations and how this fits in with that university and course.

If you need to attend a scholarship interview, you should treat this as you would any other formal interview, dressing smartly and coming well-prepared with good answers for their possible questions, as well as having a few questions ready to ask them when invited to at the end of the interview. Find out how to answer common admission interview questions here.