2 Steps to apply for financial aid on Coursera to get Paid Courses for FREE
Learn the 2-Step Approach To Answer Questions For Financial Aid To Get Paid Courses For Free.
I was overjoyed when I got financial aid approved for a paid course on Coursera and shared the congratulatory message on my WhatsApp status... It’s a course on KMeans clustering in Python, as you can see below;
Then, I got some messages from some of my friends inquiring how I did it and was about to reply individually when the thought hit me to put it into a blog post too. If it is beneficial to one, it would be beneficial to many others.
I first learnt about financial aid on youtube, and I never took it seriously until I started taking courses on Coursera to advance my data science career. My major challenge was the fees for getting a certificate.
I initially feared the application process would be tedious and tiring, so I never thought about it. But to my amazement, it’s actually a very simple 2-step approach and won’t even take up to 30 minutes to complete.
Coursera runs a subscription-based payment service with a minimum of $39 monthly. For this course, it was $49 to purchase the certificate, and I knew how important it was to me, but it would tell on me financially if I had to pay. Hence I decided to try my shot at financial aid.
There are other ways to get paid courses for free; I will treat them in another post. Some courses are free, but to obtain the certificate, you have to pay, and that’s where financial aid comes in.
Let’s take the google data analytics course as a demo and try to apply for financial aid together;
Basic requirements:
- You cannot use the Coursera app to apply.
- You need to access the Coursera website on your laptop or your phone browser.
- You must not have enrolled for the course or be on the free trial for the course. If you are on a free trial already — you can simply unenroll from the course and refresh the page before you start the application process.
We will be applying for financial aid for the Google data analytics certificate;
- Log in to Coursera if you have an account and select the course you need.
- Note that not all courses have financial aid. For the ones that do, you have to look carefully.
- Just next to the enroll button is the financial aid. I have highlighted it by putting a box around it and a tick by the side.
- Click “financial aid available,” and you will see the following pop-up message.
5. As you can see above, it takes @ least 2 weeks for the application to be reviewed. Hence you have to be patient during the waiting period.
Also, note that the Google data analytics course here is a specialization course consisting of 8 courses.
Next, you will click on “Continue to the application” to continue.
6. Let me explain what we can see here;
- 1/10 applications mean everyone is permitted to make a total of 10 financial aid applications per time pending approval. Once any of them gets approved, you can apply for another aid.
- The specialization course has 8 courses, and you can only apply for one course at a time. To proceed, I have to select only one course.
- You can look at the scroll bar in the black box and scroll through to select your course. I took the first two courses before making this post. Hence I selected course number 3.
- Click “Next” to continue;
7. Next is the “APPLICATION PROCESS.”
This process requires you to be as truthful as possible to allow those that truly need the aid to access it.
- Step 1 of 2
- Select your educational level
- Input your annual income. If you have a job, you can input your annual income.
- Employment status- Click the drop-down to see the options - Student, Part-time, Full-time etc. Select whichever applies to you.
- Next is the Reason for the financial aid: This is the important step;
- The minimum word count is 150 words. That is something you can do easily.
- A simple guide is to ensure it highlights the following:
- Your educational background and brief introduction about your interest in the course. For example, I am a medical student in training and seeking to explore the field of data science with a keen intent to learn how AI applies to healthcare technology.
- The reason you chose the course. For example, You went through the course module and saw that it’s a perfect fit for you. You want to change your career. You want to hone your skills in a new job. You want to learn a skill to survive and take care of your family. You want to get the certificate to stand out in job applications even though you already have the skill.
- The reason you cannot pay for the course. For example, you are a student and unemployed. You are employed, but the cost of a monthly subscription for the course is more than half or up to your monthly salary, or you have other financial responsibilities or are being owed months of salary. You can also highlight your financial background.
- Explain how dedicated you will be if you get the course. The goal is to be truthful, as it’s expected of you actually to complete the course. For example, If I’m granted the course, I promise to be dedicated and complete all quizzes and projects to obtain my certificate.
- You can also add that you intend to help others by extending your knowledge of the course to help them too.
- In conclusion, you can end with a thank you note and a favourable anticipatory response. For example, I hope my application will be considered and will be very grateful for the opportunity.
A Demo response for a Student in Computer Science seeking to learn Data analysis.
I am a Computer Science student in my 3rd-year of undergraduate study seeking to learn data analysis to serve as the foundation for my interest in Business Intelligence Analytics.
I perused different online sites and found the Google data analytics course on Coursera to be the most concise course, and I chose the course to enhance my learning. I seek to prepare myself for industry standards through the hands-on project and certification from this course to stand out.
However, I cannot afford the course cost because I am still a student and currently unemployed. The cost of the course is triple the amount of my monthly allowance, and my parents cannot afford to sponsor the fee because of pressing family financial responsibilities.
I promise to be committed and fully dedicated to completing the course if I am given the opportunity because it is important to my future career goals. I also plan to help others like me who would like to learn to guide their growth through the knowledge I obtain from this course.
I hope my application will be considered and will be very grateful if I am given the approval. Thank you for the opportunity.
The word count of the demo response above is 197 words, and the minimum word count is 150 words. As you can see, it is concise and straightforward.
Note: This is just a guide, and I would not advise you to copy it verbatim, as many others would also have access to it too. Your story and application are unique to you.
Now, onto the next phase of the application:
Step 2 of 2
How much can you pay for the selected course?
This is completely dependent on you. You understand that the course is valuable, and hence you are required to indicate how much you can afford, no matter how little. At the bare minimum, I will advise you to select $5. It’s better than selecting zero and shows that you are indeed ready to spend if you have the capability. Plus, you appreciate the efforts of the authors.
The next important question: How will your selected course help with your goals?
- This is also straightforward. They want to know your goals and how this course will help you advance toward the said goals. An easy way is to use a challenge-based approach. Note: Emphasis is on the course.
- What goals and challenges have you had? E.g., based on our demo application, the goal is to become a business intelligence analyst to gain relevant skills to either apply for a job confidently or be good enough to gain internships.
- Your challenge can be that you have tried learning from youtube or other sources, but you cannot get concrete information plus a certificate that is industry standard to make your job/internship application stand out.
- You cannot find a structured course elsewhere that will take you from a beginner to an advanced level or be good enough to take on projects unaided.
- You plan to add the course projects to your portfolio to give your job/internship applications an edge.
- Your goal is to take part in cutting-edge innovation by working for top firms and gaining access to showcase the skills obtained from this course.
Demo response:
I have a keen interest in the world of data and seek to understand how data is relevant in helping companies make optimal decisions to drive industry growth. My goal is to take this course as a foundation in my journey to becoming a Business Intelligence analyst.
I have tried other online resources, but none has been able to provide a structured pattern of learning as I found in the course module to take me from a beginner to an intermediate/advanced level.
In addition, the google data analytics certificate is one of the standard certifications that is required for a data analyst to possess, and I believe strongly that this certificate will give my application a competitive edge in applying for internships or entry-level roles.
I plan to document my learning progress and add the capstone project to my portfolio as proof of my course completion and my confidence in handling future projects.
The style of the course is well suited for my learning, with quizzes in between to reinforce my understanding and peer-reviewed assignments that will give me the opportunity to learn from my mistakes and also learn from fellow learners to understand what I need to do to improve my skills.
Ultimately, this course is essential to my foundational development as a business intelligence analyst as I look forward to unravelling the world of data to make groundbreaking innovations.
Simple right? Yes! Now, I believe you are equipped with all you need to ace these applications and get yourself started with intensive learning.
The word count here is 232 words and well above the minimum requirement of 150 words.
Again, Note: This is just a guide, and I would not advise you to copy it verbatim as many others would also have access to it too. Your story and application are unique to you.
If you want to get more information about financial aid, you can check this link on Coursera’s website.
FAQs:
How many times can I apply?
You can only have a maximum of 10 pending proposals to be approved. If any of them gets approved, you can apply again. At the time of this post, there is no limit to the number of financial aid applications. If the course has a financial aid option, you can give it a shot.
How long does it take to get approval?
According to Coursera, it takes at least 15 days (Minimum of 2 weeks).
What happens after I get approved?
Once you get approved, you will get a congratulatory message in your registered email, and you will be automatically enrolled in the course. You will also see a link in the email to join the course.
If I am denied, can I apply again?
Yes, you can apply again. The good news is that you will get a reply highlighting what you need to change in your application to re-apply.
If I don't take the approved course eventually, will it affect my next application?
While it won’t be fair to get a course and not commit to finishing it, it still doesn’t stop you from applying again for another course. Hence I suggest you only apply for a course you know you are ready to commit to.
While I am waiting for approval, can I use the free trial to take the course?
If you have selected a free trial before, you have to unenroll from the course before you can now begin your application. However, in the meantime, you can audit the course for free.
The course I took was free, but I was asked to pay for a certificate upon completion. Can I still apply for financial aid?
This was actually my experience. I selected a free course and completed it, but I could not get the certificate. Luckily I found that financial aid was available, so I applied. The day I got the approval for the financial aid, I was given the course certificate because I had completed the course already
Can I use the same application for different courses?
Well, you are still the same person having the same challenges, so yes, you can give it a shot. Your reason for the financial aid may be the same, but the second question on how the course will help your goals may differ from course to course. But, at the bottom line, they all have a shared template.
For more inquiries, you can check the link on Coursera's website.
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