Why are you applying for financial aid?
I am a student and I don’t have any special source of income I was in governmental school which means that I had free education in my country.
I don’t really have money to afford to join top world universities, I had no job and my family income low.
Friends, I plan on adding any certificates I’ve attained to all of my applications/resumes.
I need all the help I can get to land a job, Tricky to prove though.
Getting a full course fee waiver in Coursera is not that difficult. I got a full fee waiver for two courses.
They care a lot about the motivation for taking the course and plausible description of your current economic situation.
I took a course on Python and in the application, I had mentioned about the projects I was undertaking for which I needed the course.
Further, I had elaborately described my academic fee waiver at IIT due to poor financial background and mentioned some of my academic achievements.
Perhaps, mentioning the economic backwardness and lack of opportunities in my native place in Egypt helped.
Just mention your home country and your status as a student and the fact that you cannot afford to pay the fee.
Also, mention how this course may help you in the future, it can be in the industry for getting a job or you may want to go to graduate school.
I mentioned these things when I applied for financial aid for the course “An Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python”, and it was accepted :).
Why are you applying for Financial Aid?
- Tell them about your background.
- Your parent’s individual income and compare it with the nation’s average income.
- Your current educational scenario and future reference.
- Tell Your interest in the topic.
- Your future planning pursuing this course.
How will taking this course help you achieve your career goals?
- Tell them about your future aim of pursuing this course.
- How you will be motivated to complete this course.
- Explain to them how you will contribute to the community and forums.
- Explain you will be abiding by the Code of Conduct and helping others in discussion sessions.
- Also tell them, how you will be benefitted from this course.
If you answered no, please help us understand why?
- Sir, the financial status of the family, is not too good to pay the loan amount.
- We already have a lot of dept in the bank, and my parents are paying it regularly.
- It would make their life even harder to add a new loan over them. Sir, I don’t want to put any pressure over them.
- Sir, it would be a great help for me to get a good job and help my family if I’m able to get this course.
Just be truthful and you will surely get the financial aid.
Explain your situation. They’re good people, so odds are they’ll approve your application. Tell them how you’ll use the knowledge to improve your career and how your current financial situation won’t allow for extra expenses. Just make sure you actually need it.
If you can’t write 4-5 sentences about your need for financial aid, then maybe you aren’t needy.
Low-income students can describe how the lack of financial resources limits their choices and prevents them from fulfilling their potential.
Why are you applying for financial aid?
Briefly mention where do you live, how many people are there in your household, and how much do you spend on food per month as a student. This should be enough to get a sense of why you need financial aid.
That’s one reason to apply for financial aid on Coursera though you are still required to demonstrate how the certificate will be of benefit to you.
Lucky you, you’ve got nine out of 50 words already. This single point can be elaborated to meet the mark. Five more sentences will take you there!
The first thing to note is to be as honest as possible. Another thing is that making sense is more important than meeting the 50-word requirement; you have to do the two anyway.
Apart from writing about your financial status, you could add the present economic situation of the country you reside in, if appropriate.
You already stand a higher chance of getting financial aid if you are from a lower-middle-income country.
Conclusion:
Friends, You just have to expand on top of what you just said.
You don’t have any special source of income and, although you believe that the course is valuable, you still can’t set aside money to pay for it because your needs (and maybe your family’s needs) are more emergent.
You can also be a little more detailed regarding why you are in a difficult financial position. Where you laid off recently?
Is there something that prevents you from finding a job? Elaborate a little on that and there you have your 50 words!
Coursera offers financial aid for people who are in need of improving education.
It is a very basic question. example below.
- Your annual income (I am sure you should be knowing this)
- When participating in this course, how do you intend to demonstrate academic integrity and contribute to the course’s community? (50-300 words) Basically, if the aid is provided how will you give back to the community
Eligibility for Financial Aid
To receive Coursera Financial Aid, you’ll need to complete an application that:
- Describes your financial circumstances.
- Explains how paying the cost of the Course Certificate would cause economic hardship.
- Explains your motivations for taking the course.
- Shows that you will abide by our Honor Code and our Code of Conduct.
- Explain how you plan to contribute to the Coursera community.
Coursera will let you know if there is a problem with your application. You’ll be able to see whether or not you’ve received Financial Aid on your My Purchases page.
So to describe the need. You have to communicate what you actually need. If not you will give another person an opportunity for the same. As there is limited scholarship money available (Source Coursera)
Best Of Luck
