Cut in scholarships melts foreign dreams

BANGALORE: Reduced scholarships and a shrinking job market are forcing students to defer their plans of studying abroad.

The economic meltdown is said to be sharply impacting scholarships given by foreign universities, especially those in the US. Most US varsities get financial aid from companies and are heavily dependent on private endowments. Companies give grants on scholarships, research and equipment. ���For companies , it is not a big amount, but for universities it is substantial support. Considering the recession, money allocation on scholarships is likely to reduce,��� says Jaideep Chowdhary, GRE Programme head for Triumphant Institute of Management Education (TIME).

Scholarships typically come out of varsity endowments. And most US universities have seen a slump in the value of their endowments, following the collapse of the stock market. The Harvard endowment, which was worth $36.9 billion at the end of June 2008, is said to have come down by at least 22% since then, and is expected to reduce further for the fiscal ending June.

Yale University���s endowment is said to have lost about a quarter of its value during the second half of 2008, from a high of $22.9 billion on June 30. Stanford University���s endowment, which stood at $17 billion in June���third only to Harvard���s and Yale���s���is also said to have reduced drastically.

Many smaller endowments in smaller colleges are also reported to have seen drops in value. The precise impact on scholarships will be visible only in a few months, when students start applying for them for the next academic year, but there are already signs that the aspirants are taking no chances. ���Candidates are no longer confident of getting a job after the course. They see opportunities in India,��� says Chowdhary.

Atish Dipankar, an IT professional who had plans to go to the US this year and graduate by April 2011, says he foresaw trouble when Citibank pulled out of their loan tie-ups with business schools in the US.

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