5 Surefire Ways to Win Travel Scholarships

Affordability is often the number one concern for people interested in travel, yet most have no idea how much financial support is available—often in the form of travel scholarships! Yes, those two magical words mean big things for you. Not only might they be the difference between getting three scoops of gelato or splurging on four, for some individuals, having the financial help of travel scholarships might mean the difference between going abroad or staying back home.

Yes, they really do exist!

We love scholarships to travel abroad! So, here’s everything you need to learn how to win travel scholarships and travel the world fo' free.

How to win travel scholarships

Writing the words that win isn’t rocket science. In fact, by following these pointers, you’ll be well on your way to the sweet life of a travel scholarship recipient (and trust us, it’s an awesome one). Whether you’re looking for travel scholarships for college students, travel scholarships for high school students, or you’re already in the post-grad working world, here’s our best advice on scoring scholarships to travel abroad:

1. Apply for multiple awards.

The trick to upping your chances of being an award winner is to apply for many travel scholarships. This can seem disheartening at the time, because there is a waiting period before most winners and recipients are announced. But, you can put the odds in your favor by digging deep to find your motivation and applying for many (not just one) travel scholarship.

2. Customize your applications.

We know it is tempting to reuse your application materials across multiple awards. Work smarter, not harder, right? But a word of caution — we recommend applying for each travel scholarship independently and individually from your other applications. Sure, you can reuse some data with some slight tweaks, but ultimately, having unique answers to application requirements will serve you in the long term.

You can win!

3. Action verbs are your friend.

If you’re required to submit long form answers or essays when applying for scholarships, make sure they’re chockful of the kinds of words that scholarship reviewers love — AKA action verbs. Instead of telling us what you “did” or “ran” or “saw” or “worked on,” use some sexier terminology. Swap the boring ones for something like “administered” or “generated” or “handled” or “guided.” Rack your brain for more colorful verbs and see those travel scholarships come rolling in.

4. Have a friend proofread your apps.

No matter how many times you read your applications, there’s also that one, teeny, tiny, dinky typo that ends up being the wedge between “winner” and “loser.” Don’t let a comma determine your future! Recruit the help of a friend (or two — bonus points if one of your “friends” is your English teacher/professor) to help you polish and sharpen your final copy. It may delay your application for a bit, but this step can potentially earn you hundreds of dollars. So in short — it’s worth it.

P.S. Having your mom read it doesn’t really count.

If only it were this easy to make a ton of money

5. Follow up with the sponsoring organization or company.

Every scholarship provider loves the additional touch point of a follow up message. Scour the webs to find an email account related to the organization providing travel scholarships, and send them a short and sweet message. Something along the lines of

“Hi <name!> ( ← research a direct address!),

My name is <X Y Z> and I recently applied for your travel scholarships! I know I’m a great fit as a recipient as I plan to travel to <country> to <study/volunteer/intern/teach/etc.> abroad later this year. My goals are both lofty (learn more about the world so I can help make it a better place!) and tangible (try a dozen different types of dumplings). I won’t just see the world, I will change it, and I know I will be one step closer to making that happen with your travel scholarships. Thanks again for your time and consideration.

Signed, <YOU>

Who knew getting on their radar was THIS easy!?

Student travel scholarships are yours for the taking!

Everyone wants travel scholarships for college students!

Traveling abroad doesn't have to cost you a fortune. With the help of travel scholarships for college students and high school students, you could actually GET PAID to travel the world—and save your hard earned cash for planning your next great adventure (teaching English in Korea, maybe?!). No matter your end goal, stay organized and on top of your applications really maximize your chances of winning student travel scholarships. Then watch the monies roll in!