Although winning scholarships from outside funding sources is rarely successful for an overseas applicant, some students will have a better chance of getting funding directly from the universities they apply to. Although international applicants are not eligible for student loans and many other university based financial aid programs, there are some schools that offer aid for outstanding international applicants.

Small private liberal arts schools are more likely to have assistance for international students than larger public universities. These schools may offer aid in pursuit of a goal to develop a multi-national student body or to attract the best international students from under-represented regions of the world. However one can be guaranteed that competition for these scholarships is keen. Often dozens or even hundreds of students will apply for the same award.

The key to being competitive for merit based scholarships is obtaining a strong academic background. Study habits, teacher recommendations, and above all exam scores are important criteria considered by admissions committees when selecting award recipients. Attending Form 6 is almost always a good decision for the college bound student. Not only are applicants with high A-level results preferred to those with only an O-level certificate, but some universities will offer credit for A-level results. This means the student may be able to take fewer classes to graduate and thereby save additional tuition money.

A-level classes will also introduce students to the level of work one can expect at a university. Students with only an O-level certificate may not have the language or study skills needed to succeed at the university level. University study is a lot different than high school. At the university level, students are not "spoon-fed" the information they are required to know to pass the exam. College students must be able to seek out information on their own, write original research papers, and have the self-motivatation to complete assignments with little prompting from the instructor. These abilities are rarely developed adequately in high school. To consider an analogy with football, before one can play in the World Cup, he must first learn the fundamentals at the village level, school league and national team. Preparation in Form 6, and other training such as typing and computers, will all enable a student to achieve higher grades at a university and hence be more competitive for financial aid sources which become available to students after they have been in school for a year.

When evaluating academic ability, many colleges look more favourably on students with a strong science background than other streams. Commercial courses like accounting and business management are viewed more as professional training for the workplace, and do not require the same level of analytical thinking and abstract analysis needed for higher academic achievement. In addition, accounting and business practices in the U.S. are not the same as taught in The Gambia, and so it may be difficult to get credit for these classes, even if taken at the Form 6 level.

In general, there is more financial aid available for graduate study than undergraduate work. This is true for citizens and foreign students alike. Hence a good option for some students with limited financial resources is to earn a bachelors degree from a regional university (such as in Ghana, Sierre Leone, or Nigeria) and then look for ways to apply for graduate study abroad. Regional universities are significantly less expensive than universities overseas, and offer a similar quality of instruction. Students with a local bachelors degree and a strong undergraduate record in course work and research will have a greater chance of getting graduate school assistance than those who are right out of high school applying for undergraduate programs.

To be considered for admission or a scholarship, all colleges require candidates to fill out an application. This form will ask information about the student's educational background and must be accompanied by original copies of school transcripts and exam results. Universities in the U.S. are also required by immigration law to receive documentation of financial support before making an offer of admission. The better universities, and certainly those that offer merit based scholarships, also require applicants to complete one or more original essays. The topics for these essays are usually open-ended and designed to demonstrate an applicant's writing skills and creative thinking ability. "Describe a significant experience that helped shape your personal values" and "How have you tried to effect change to an issue of personal, local, or national significance?" are two essay questions typical of college applications.

The decision to apply to one or more colleges must also be made in consideration of the application costs. Virtually all universities require a fee just to consider an application. In the U.S. this fee can range from 15 to 60 dollars. In addition, international students are usually required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. This exam is offered in Banjul but costs another $30. Finally, many schools will require students competing for merit based scholarships to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) which costs $31.50 and is only offered in Banjul once a year. Purchasing study guides to prepare for these exams will increase the total cost even higher. Due to these high costs of applying, students with minimal financial resources and less than outstanding academic backgrounds might be better off investing their savings in vocational or professional training locally.

There are other options for students who are not likely to win a merit based scholarship. If the student has a relative or friend living abroad with whom they can stay, two-year community colleges are often much more affordable. After completing an associates degree at a two-year college, the student might be able to transfer to a university for an additional two years to earn a bachelors degree. (In general, the term university refers to a four-year school, while college can refer to either a two-year or four-year school. However the actual amount of time spent at either kind of school could be longer, depending on the degree sought and whether one attends full-time or part-time.)