SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIAN LAW STUDENTS

Author- Ananya Walia*

Editor- Alan Baiju

INTRODUCTION

Many Indian and international institutes have collaborated with different universities to design a framework to provide scholarships and waivers for tuition fees to students applying for their higher education under various educational programs. Some scholarships are annual, while some are course-based, depending on the institutions providing them. The scholarship schemes cover admission fees, tuition fees, accommodation costs, and food costs.

MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF SCHOLARSHIP

The scholarship word was derived in the late 1530s by combining two words, "scholar" and "ship," which means learning, erudition. The scholarship is a financial aid or source of funds provided to learners. Scholarship can be explained as a monetary gift to a scholar to pay all the expenses incurred in academic education given by different institutions. The primary purpose behind the introduction of the scholarship is to help learners fulfilling their educational dreams, which are barred due to their economic conditions. The fundamental motive for providing scholarship programs is to help learners who cannot attend classes due to their poor financial condition.

Some students get a merit-based scholarship, while some get a scholarship that is deployed on need. It attracts majorly the economically weaker section of students. The institutions offering fee waivers range from 25% to 100%, depending on the scheme of a scholarship program.

Every learner needs financial support to admit themselves to universities of their own choice and afford high fees structure. The scholarship is considered as an outstanding academic achievement or a kind of reward to a scholar. It provides a significant opportunity to acquire knowledge through excellence in academics and qualifying interviews, which helps to boost the morale and self-confidence of a scholar.

TYPES OF LAW SCHOLARSHIP

Generally, there are five types of scholarships based on merit, need, college-specific, student-specific, and career-specific. Student-specific scholarships are given out depending on race, gender, medical history, and many other specific factors. E.g., the Gates Millennium Scholarship program is a minority scholarship funded by Bill and Melinda Gates for excellent African American, American Indian, and Latino students who enroll in college.

Career Specific scholarships are specifically for pursuing a single profession, e.g., lawyers, medicos, management, and others. Law Scholarships are explicitly provided for legal education by different law schools and other institutions. The scholarship programs for lawyers and advocates allow them to explore different legal opportunities.

DIFFERENT INDIAN AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTES WHICH OFFER LAW SCHOLARSHIPS

Scholarships, especially for Indian law students

The procedure to apply for this scholarship is through an online application process which begins at the time of June/July every year.

Aditya Group Scholarships:

This scholarship is based on the late Aditya Vikram Birla philosophy, who was known to be a great leader. This scholarship is attained through fostering outstanding academic excellence and great leadership values. This scholarship collaborates with many institutions such as IIT, BITS (Pilani) IIMs, and law campuses. Law campuses that offer this scholarship are NLS of India Bangalore, NALSAR Hyderabad, NLU Jodhpur, Gujarat National Law University, and W.B. National University of Juridical Sciences Kolkata. They offer a scholarship package of Rs 1,80,000 per annum or fees, whichever is low.

The procedure to apply for this scholarship is through an online application process which begins at the time of June/July every year. The application form is to be submitted to the Dean of the respective college. In the end, there is an interview round for the final selection of candidates.

Birla PNB Housing Finance Limited Protsahan Scholarships: This scholarship is available for students pursuing the third or fourth year of their five-year B.A.LLB program. Law schools that offer this scholarship are Indira Institute of Management, ICFAI Hyderabad, IMT Nagpur, Army Institute of Law, BIMTECH Greater Noida. This scholarship provides 3 Lakhs per scholar every year. The application process for this scholarship is available in Dec- Feb. Applications are managed online through Buddy4study.

Kapila and Nirmal Hingorani Foundation Pegasus Scholarship Program: This scholarship offers cross border Legal Ecosystem and Practices at the Barristers of Chambers of London, U.K. Every advocate with prior seven years of practice can apply for this scholarship through their official website. This scholarship provides living expenses for eight weeks.

Sussex India Scholarship Program is a PG-taught course at the University of Sussex. This scholarship is for Indian nationals eligible to pursue their master's courses at the University of Sussex. The new postgraduates who wish to study need to show their interest in scholarship through the P.G. apply, and then course registration is done. This scholarship provides an award of GBP 3000 reduction in tuition fees.

College of Law and Business Scholarship for Indian Students, Israel: This scholarship is offered by the College of Law and Business school of Israel. Application for this internship is available between August and October on their official website. This scholarship includes a USD 4500 discount on the tuition fee per academic degree. A total of 8 scholarships are available under this program. The Indian students who have passed the 12th standard willing to pursue Law are eligible for this scholarship program.

Few International Institutes offering scholarships to law students

7Sage 7k law school Scholarship: The candidates apply for this scholarship through an online application in March and April. Selection is made based on two short essays. The winner of this scholarship gets a $7000 reduction in the total cost of legal education. In addition, the candidate may get a 12-month subscription to 7sage's ultimate and LSAT preparation package. This scholarship is available for all candidates who wish to apply to American J.D. programs.

Bader Scott Future Lawyers of America Scholarship: This scholarship focuses on undergraduates from financially disadvantaged families. The applicant can apply for this internship in June. The candidate applying for this scholarship must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. The recipient gets a scholarship of $2500. The applicant has to write an essay of about 1000 words and submit it before the due date to be eligible for this scholarship.

BluePrint LSAT Law School Scholarship: For this scholarship, candidates are randomly selected from the eligible candidates. The candidates applying for scholarships get the LSAC fee waiver. The relaxation in tuition fee applies to the LSAT live course program of 4 months and self-paced course packages of 6 months. The eligibility and request fee waiver is to be done on the LSAC website itself.

LGBT Public Interest Scholarship Program: This scholarship is being provided by the American Bar Association commission through Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity(SOGI). This scholarship specifies the candidates appearing for bar examination who are identified as LGBTQ+ or wish to work in the Public Interest of the LGBTQ+ community. To be eligible for this scholarship program, one must be a good-standing student of ABA-accredited law school. The application process is done online by submitting a resume along with a Law school transcript and a personal statement of 500 words.

University of Birmingham Law School Scholarship: This university offers scholarships to scholars pursuing graduation and post-graduation in the field of Law. Application for this scholarship is available in the month of March-May on their official website. The award is up to a euro5000 fee waiver is provided for the LLM program. The applicants need to apply by May to get the scholarship benefits.

CONCLUSION

These scholarship opportunities have successfully helped students to reach the heights of excellence in overall growth and development by providing them global exposure. Different reputable foundations are formed by different private individuals, enrichment centers, external organizations, and companies to fund the scholarship to reach out to needy people. The best time to apply for a scholarship is in Summers as scholars have less class load even though the competition is low as many have gone enjoying their summer break. Any scholarship program, whether it is national or international, never asks to pay any monetary value. So, be aware if someone asks you to pay for applying for the scholarship.

*The Author is a 4th-year B.B.A.LLB (Hons) student at Chandigarh University

Disclaimer: The opinions and views in this article are personal and independent opinions of the author. VAIDHA does not hold any liability arising out of this article.