Three things to remember when applying for grants

Here are three factors that many students miss when it comes to applying, if you want to apply for financial grants as a student.

There are about 15.000 registered Danish funds, and many of these give grants to students in different situations regarding studies. This article is for both students applying for grants when it comes to studying in Denmark, as well as the increasing number of students who study or do an internship abroad.  

1. Application cycle

When students apply for grants for their education, it’s crucial for one’s outcome to do so based on an application cycle, which maps out how you, as an applicant, intend to fund your education.

On the internet, there are plenty of tales about how it’s important to apply “ahead of time”. It is, however, just as important to prepare a strategy for applying to funds you qualify for, and when you’ll apply. Danish funds are self-owned institutions, and they don’t all have the same application process. Many funds prefer to give grants to students before they begin their studies or travel abroad. Other funds prefer to give out grants a certain number of months before the money is to be used. There are also funds that only give out grants to students who have completed a least a year of study in the program for which they’re applying for support for. Furthermore, you can fund funds and grants that can provide multiple grants to the same applicant – for example, to fund an entire education abroad. That’s why it can be a good idea for many students to identify the funds and grants they qualify for and then make a plan for submitting their applications.

2. Financial need

Many students are well-aware of the importance of including a strong budget in their grant application but find it difficult to nail down their budget’s financing need.

When students apply to funds and grants for funding for their education, their financing need can be found by first figuring out their total expenses for their education or stay abroad, and then deducting their total income for their education. A financing need is the amount that then generally allows the student to receive grants. However, many students are unsure of whether items like “SU-loans”, “SU-debt”, “savings” and other financial entries that indirectly affect their financial situation should also be included in their budget.

In this case, it’s recommended to focus mainly on the sources of income and expenses that directly relate to the education in question.

3. Attachments concerning other grants you’ve applied to

Many students dedicate a lot of time and energy to considering how they should document “other funds applied to” to funds and grants, as well as the amounts applied for. There can be good reason for this, since many funds ask for this information from students in their respective application forms. At the same time, the majority of funds and grants have an open application process, which means that they don’t use an application form, and in these cases, it’s up to the individual student to account for these factors in their grant application. It’s important here that the number of funds applied to, and amounts applied for, are well-considered in relation to your financing need.

Many funds, for example, want to make a real difference for their applicants through giving out a large grant amount. It should be noted, however, that many funds also want to see that you, as an applicant, have done your best to cover your total financing need by applying to multiple funds and grants.

This article was written by Søren Madsen, who has helped students with applying to funds and grants as the founder of the company www.fundraising.how.