College Board announces scholarships at India Global Higher Education Forum

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 9: The College Board, a US-based educational non-profit, announced the launch of the College Board India Scholars Program at India Global Higher Education Alliance Forum. Under this, students who take the SAT and score highly will be recognized for their achievement, while low-income, high-achieving students can earn full-tuition scholarships to Indian member universities of the Alliance.

India Global Higher Education Alliance is a consortium of institutions in India and abroad which have come together to collaborate and share best educational practices to advance access and excellence in higher education. The Forum was a gathering of universities and secondary schools from across India and the world that focused on Indian university admissions and enrollment. Linda Liu, College Board’s Vice-President for International said, “We are pleased to partner with India Global Higher Education Alliance member universities in India to expand access for underprivileged students in the country. By accepting the SAT as an entrance exam, Alliance members will simplify the application process for students across India, and the associated fee reductions for testing and scholarships will make a high-quality undergraduate education a possibility for high-achieving, low-income students throughout India.”

There are three simple steps for students in India to qualify as a College Board India Scholar-

Step 1: Take the SAT

To be considered as a College Board India Scholar, students simply need to take the SAT in Grade 12. For the inaugural year, the October, December, and March exam scores will be used as qualifying exams for the Merit cum Means based scholarships. To ensure low-income students are able to sit for the SAT, the College Board has engaged Buddy4Study to distribute SAT fee reductions to low-income students across India. The reductions for year one of the program will bring the test fees to INR 0 for students from families with annual household income less than ₹6,00,000.

Step 2: Earn “Top Performer” Status

All students in India who achieve above a score of 1350 (out of 1600) on the SAT will be designated as College Board India Top Performers every April. Top Performers will receive a communication via the email address provided during registration with further instructions on how to apply for the scholarship.

Step 3: Low-income “Top Performers”

Top Performers from households that earn less than INR4,00,000 per year may then apply to be College Board India Scholars and earn full tuition scholarships to participating Alliance member universities in India.

Selection of final recipients will be made by Alliance members by July of each year. The scholarships are only open to residents of India. The student must be offered admission to the university, have demonstrated the financial need, and ultimately enrol in an Alliance member university.

Dr Meena Chintamaneni, Registrar, NMIMS commented, “Using the SAT as a common measure, with the possibility of fee reductions, inclusive education can now be a reality especially at premier institutions.” Dr Sanjay Sancheti, Vice Chancellor of SRM Institute of Science and Technology further added, “As a founding member of the Alliance, the College Board India Scholars Program is deeply important to our university. In addition to attracting students from across India and the world, we want to open our doors to students for whom a private university education may not otherwise be possible.”