Scholarships

11 min read

2 Nov 2026

Scholarships for African secondary school students: the ones that fund a bachelor's after the bac, and when to start

Yale Young African Scholars from 10th grade, African Leadership Academy, MEXT and GKS undergraduate, Türkiye Bursları, the Chinese scholarship, need-blind US universities, Mastercard: scholarships open to African school leavers, with the age and grade to start.

Espero AKPOLI

Founder · Compatri, the social network for diasporas

Information checked on 2 November 2026.

Yes, some scholarships fund an African school leaver's bachelor's degree: in Japan, Korea, Turkey, China, Morocco, at a few American and Canadian universities and in the Mastercard Foundation network. But you do not apply for them after your exam results: most are prepared in your final year, and some from 10th grade. This guide to scholarships for African secondary school students tells you which ones really exist, at what age and in which grade to start, and what you can do right now. All the pages are in our scholarship directory (in French).

Scholarships for African secondary school students in one table

Programme	What it is	Grade to apply	Age	Verified date
Yale Young African Scholars	Free preparation programme, not a study scholarship	10th or 11th grade	14 to 18 on 15 July 2027	20 January 2027
African Leadership Academy	Pre-university school in South Africa, need-based aid	After 10th grade	Born on or after 1 September 2007	15 January 2027
MEXT undergraduate (Japan)	Full bachelor's, one year of Japanese	Final year	Born on or after 2 April 2002	April and May, at the embassy
GKS undergraduate (Korea)	Full bachelor's, one year of Korean	Final year or graduate	Per the annual guide	September, at the embassy
Türkiye Bursları (Turkey)	Full bachelor's, one year of Turkish	Final year or graduate	Under 21	10 January to 20 February
Chinese CSC scholarship	Full bachelor's	Final year or graduate	Under 25	Depends on the Chinese embassy
Need-blind US universities	Aid based on family income	Final year	-	Depends on each university
Lester B. Pearson (Toronto)	Full bachelor's, nomination by your school	Final year	-	6 November 2026
Mastercard Foundation (bachelor's)	Bachelor's at a partner university	Final year or graduate	29 or under	Depends on the university
AMCI (Morocco)	Bachelor's in Morocco, through your ministry	Final year or graduate	Depends on the field	Spring, depending on your country

From 10th grade: programmes that prepare you

Yale Young African Scholars (YYAS)

YYAS is a free programme run by Yale University for African secondary school students, online or in Rwanda according to our page. It does not fund your studies: it prepares you to apply to universities worldwide, and it is often the first strong line in a file. Conditions:

be 14 to 18 on 15 July 2027 (most participants are 16 or 17);
be in 10th or 11th grade, at a school in an African country;
be a citizen or permanent resident of an African country (refugees living in Africa are accepted);
not be in your final year or already graduated.

The first date (20 October 2026) has passed, but regular decision closes on 20 January 2027, with an answer before 20 March. See the Yale Young African Scholars page (in French).

African Leadership Academy (ALA)

ALA, near Johannesburg, welcomes young people from across the continent for a pre-university programme focused on leadership and entrepreneurship. You must have completed at least 10th grade and be born on or after 1 September 2007; applicants are usually 15 to 18. Good news: you can apply in French, English or Portuguese. All finalists can request financial aid based on your family's income. For the 2027 cohort, early decision closed on 15 October 2026; regular decision closes on 15 January 2027, with an answer in April and arrival in August 2027. See the African Leadership Academy page (in French).

In your final year: government scholarships for the whole bachelor's

MEXT undergraduate (Japan)

This is the big full scholarship open straight after secondary school. The 2027 guide requires you to be born on or after 2 April 2002 and to have completed twelve years of school. The scholarship lasts five years, including one preparatory year of Japanese. It pays tuition, the plane ticket and 117,000 yen a month, but not housing. You apply at the Japanese embassy in your country, in April and May, then sit written exams without a calculator: Japanese, English and maths, plus chemistry and physics or biology if you aim for science. See the MEXT undergraduate page (in French).

GKS undergraduate (Korea)

The undergraduate Global Korea Scholarship also begins with one year of Korean. Places are very scarce: in Kenya, for the 2027 cycle, one place in the general track and one in the R-GKS track, with files received from 15 to 30 September 2026. Strict rule: one track only, or you are disqualified. See the GKS undergraduate page (in French).

Türkiye Bursları (Turkey)

Turkey accepts final-year students who will graduate before August. For a bachelor's: under 21 and an average of at least 70% (90% for medicine, dentistry and pharmacy). Online application, free, from 10 January to 20 February. The scholarship pays tuition, accommodation, insurance, a year of Turkish, the plane ticket and 6,500 Turkish lira a month. See the Türkiye Bursları page (in French) and our guide to scholarships in Turkey, Morocco and Egypt.

Chinese Government Scholarship (CSC)

For a bachelor's, you must be under 25 and sit the CSCA test. The scholarship pays tuition, housing, insurance and 2,500 RMB a month, but not the plane ticket. You go through the Chinese embassy in your country or directly through a Chinese university. See the Chinese Government Scholarship page (in French) and our comparison China, Korea, Japan.

Morocco, Algeria, Egypt: through your ministry

These scholarships go through your country's ministry of higher education. In Benin, final-year students could apply for Morocco (AMCI) in June 2026, subject to passing the bac, with a distinction required. Watch your ministry's website from the spring of your final year.

In your final year: universities that pay according to your family's income

A few American universities admit foreign students without looking at whether their family can pay ("need-blind"), then cover all the calculated need. Harvard says it in black and white: your aid application never affects your chance of admission, international students receive exactly the same aid as Americans, and a family earning under 100,000 dollars a year pays nothing. Princeton gives aid as grants, with no loans, and requires an English test (TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo or PTE) if you have not spent at least three years at an English-language secondary school. Our page also covers MIT, Yale and Dartmouth. You apply in your final year, with each university's own dates. See the need-blind universities page (in French).

In Canada, the University of Toronto's Lester B. Pearson scholarship pays tuition, books, fees and residence for four years, for about 37 students a year. But your school has to nominate you (one student per school): for the 2027 intake, nomination closed on 9 October 2026 and the scholarship application closes on 6 November 2026. If your school does not take part, talk to your head teacher from 11th grade. See the Lester B. Pearson page (in French).

Mastercard Foundation: a bachelor's at a partner university

The Mastercard Foundation funds full bachelor's degrees for brilliant young Africans who cannot afford to study, with an age limit of 29 for the bachelor's. You never apply to the foundation, but to a partner university: at Makerere, 245 bachelor's scholarships were open for 2026-2027; at the University of Cape Town, the 2027 bachelor's closed at the end of September 2026; the African Leadership University and Ashesi also have their scholarships. Everything is explained in our guide to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars scholarship.

Note: the Ashinaga scholarship, often mentioned for orphaned school leavers, now targets French-speaking students already in the third year of a bachelor's, for a master's in France. Keep it in mind for later. See the Ashinaga page (in French).

At what age and in which grade to start

Grade	What you do
10th grade	You work on your grades (report cards count), start English seriously, apply to YYAS and ALA
11th grade	You take on a responsibility (club, association, helping younger students), sit a first English test, list the scholarships that fit you, talk to your school about the Pearson nomination
Final year, September to November	American and Canadian universities, Lester B. Pearson, GKS undergraduate, asking for recommendation letters
Final year, December to February	Türkiye Bursları, the Chinese scholarship, finishing American applications
Final year, April to June	MEXT undergraduate at the Japanese embassy, AMCI and scholarships through your ministry
After the bac	Your ministry's scholarships (Algeria, Egypt), and Mastercard Foundation partner universities

The rule: start a year earlier than you think. Our article on preparing your file from 11th grade details each step.

What to prepare right now

1Your grades. Almost every scholarship looks at your report cards from 10th grade to the final year, not just the bac. Revising with past papers helps a lot: read revising for the bac with past papers.

2Your stream. Science scholarships (Japan, Algeria, many Chinese scholarships) require solid maths and science. If you are still hesitating, read bac C or bac D: which stream to choose.

3English. It is the language of almost all these files. Our comparison IELTS, TOEFL or Duolingo helps you pick the right test.

4Your commitment. A real project counts more than a list of clubs.

5Your letters. Ask early for them from two teachers who know you: see the recommendation letter for a scholarship and the motivation letter.

If you are torn between leaving and studying at home, read after the bac in Africa: stay or leave. And show your parents our article on supporting your child from the bac to departure.

Be realistic, and keep a plan B

These scholarships are highly selective. One or two GKS places per country, about 37 Pearson scholarships for the whole world: aim for several programmes at once, and also register at a university in your own country. Beware of any "agent" who promises you a scholarship for money: none of these scholarships costs anything. Our article on scholarship scams shows you how to spot them.

Moving forward with Compatri

On Compatri, you can join your class group ("Terminale D, Kétou", for example) and find students in the same class in other cities: you share your questions, and whoever asks a question marks the best answer. The exam archive (in French) is built by members: if you are 16 or older, you can submit a paper (in French) after the exam, with no student names. For scholarships, turn on alerts (in French) with your nationality and open an application tracker (in French) from each scholarship's page. And diaspora students volunteer as mentors: send them a connection request with a message so they can review your project. For the big picture, see our guide to fully funded scholarships for African students.

Compatri awards no scholarship: only the programmes' official websites are authoritative.

Sources

Scholarships High school Baccalaureate Study choices Africa

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Which scholarship to study abroad after the bac in Africa?

The full bachelor's scholarships open to African school leavers are mainly government scholarships: MEXT in Japan, GKS in Korea, Türkiye Bursları in Turkey, CSC in China, AMCI in Morocco. Add to these aid from need-blind US universities, the Lester B. Pearson scholarship in Toronto and the Mastercard Foundation at its partner universities. Most are applied for during your final year.

At what age should you start looking for a scholarship?

From 10th grade, around 15 or 16. Yale Young African Scholars accepts 10th and 11th graders aged 14 to 18, and the African Leadership Academy those who have completed 10th grade. Bachelor's scholarships are applied for in the final year, but they look at your report cards from previous years, your English and your commitment.

Can you apply for a scholarship in your final year, before getting the bac?

Yes, it is actually the rule. Türkiye Bursları accepts those who will graduate before August, MEXT undergraduate requires twelve years of school completed by arrival, the Pearson scholarship targets final-year students nominated by their school, and in Benin the call for Morocco accepted final-year students subject to passing the bac.

Is Yale Young African Scholars a study scholarship?

No. It is a free Yale University programme for African secondary students aged 14 to 18, in 10th or 11th grade, which prepares you for university applications. It does not fund a bachelor's, but it strengthens your file. For 2027, the regular decision deadline is 20 January 2027.

Do you need good English for these scholarships?

For most, yes: files are often filled in in English, and Princeton requires a test (TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo or PTE) if you did not spend three years of secondary school in English. But the African Leadership Academy accepts applications in French, and the Japanese, Korean and Turkish scholarships include a year to learn the country's language.