If you need serious funding, stop treating every scholarship page as the same thing. For international undergrads, need-based and merit-based money reward different evidence, so they should change where you apply and what you prepare. 🎓💸

1. Need-based: ask “Will this school assess my family finances for internationals?”
If yes, gather income docs, parent employment details, unusual expenses, currency context, and whether aid can meet full need or only part of it.

2. Merit-based: ask “What wins the award?”
Usually grades, scores, ranking, major fit, portfolio, or separate scholarship essays/interviews. Merit often has score thresholds or limited slots. 📌

3. Split your list into 3 folders:
need-based possible
merit-target
unlikely to fund me
This prevents wasting application fees on schools that admit internationals but rarely fund them. ✅