Do I need to submit a separate application for scholarships for master's programs in the USA, or are some scholarships automatically considered based on my academic profile during the admission process?

Assuming every scholarship works the same way at every university is the mistake that costs applicants real money, since even within a single university, funding can split across automatic, nominated and separately applied categories that each carry different deadlines and requirements.

How US Scholarships Typically Split

• Automatic merit scholarships: many programmes evaluate your GPA, academic record, essays and overall application automatically when you apply for admission, with no extra scholarship form. The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, for example, states that all full time master's applicants, including international students, are automatically considered for certain merit based tuition scholarships.
• Department or programme nominated awards: you do not apply directly. Your department nominates you based on your admission application. The University of Michigan's Rackham Merit Fellowship works this way, with master's students nominated by their graduate programmes.
• Separate application scholarships: these carry their own essay, deadline and recommendation requirements distinct from your admission application.
• International student specific funding: the University of Michigan's International Student Fellowship, for graduate students who completed their undergraduate degree outside the United States, is one example worth checking for eligibility as an Indian applicant.

What To Look For While Researching Each University

While shortlisting programmes, specifically search each university's funding page for phrases such as no separate application required, automatically considered, or separate scholarship application, since that language tells you which bucket a given award falls into before you invest time on it.

This Information Is Also Available On

• University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, Master's degree funding page
• University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School, Funding and fellowships pages

My Advice

Do not wait until after receiving your admission offer to start researching scholarships, since automatic awards are usually decided alongside the admission decision itself, not afterward. Build a simple tracker of each shortlisted university's funding page, noting which awards are automatic and which need a separate application, so you never miss a scholarship deadline that falls before or alongside your admission deadline.