How to get Coursera courses for free?

Hi everyone! Today, let us look at an important topic that really helps to build our careers, secure jobs, and grow in life. In this article, I am going to go through a step-by-step process of how to get Coursera courses for free in a completely authentic and legal way. This is not a trick.

We all know that a Coursera certificate carries a lot of weight in our Resume and interviews. But most of us simply don’t take Coursera courses because they are costly and we cannot afford the subscription plans.

But do not worry, there is a way. A perfectly authentic way that Coursera itself offers for people who cannot afford its courses. It is known as ‘Financial Aid.’ I am sure most of you have seen this option when you visited the Coursera website but might not have tried it because you thought it won’t work. There is also a chance that you did not observe this option at all. Today, let us know what it is.

Let us look at the steps you need to follow to get a Coursera course for free!!

Step 1

Visit the Coursera website and pick the course that you want to enroll in. You will be seeing the Enroll for free option. But this is a  free trial and you need to pay afterward. So we don’t need this.

Next to this button, you will be seeing the ‘Financial Aid available’ option. Click on that.

Step 2

Then you will see a pop-up window informing you that it takes 15 days to review your application. So remember this, exactly 15 days after is when you will get your application review.

 This window also has a ‘Continue to the application’ option. You have to click that to proceed.

Step 3

We will see one more pop-up window asking for the confirmation of the course that you would like to apply for. If it’s a specialization, select one course among them and click ‘Next’.

Step 4

This is the actual application form that you need to fill. It is divided into two steps. Every word you write here matters. You are asked to fill in the below information.

1. Educational Background.
2. Annual Income.
3. Employment Status.
4. Reason you applied for Aid.
5. How much can you pay for your selected course?
6. How will your selected course help with your goals?

Background details are easy to fill. Remember to fill the amount in dollars. If the income is a bit high, I would suggest you scale down the amount.

The tricky and essential questions are that of 4^th and 6^th. They decide if your application gets accepted or rejected. Most people get confused and fill a similar matter in both of them. Do not do this mistake. They are completely different from one another, though they are interlinked.

Suggestions to get approved

While filling the 4^th question, emphasize your financial status. Explain your family’s weak financial situation. Also, write why your family income is not sufficient for you to take these courses through the subscription model. Make your ‘willing to pay, but cannot pay’ intention clear. Add just one or two lines about the course content and how it helps you. This pattern worked for me. I am sure it will work for you as well.

Now, coming to the 6^th question, keep the financial situation thing away. Write about the course content and how it is going to help you. Mention where would the course take you in your career. Add a line that tells the importance of a Coursera certificate on your resume and interviews. Also, mention what you would do next after completing this course. It is all about what part this particular course plays in your career. Do not go over the top.

After filling out the 6th question, Accept the terms and conditions. Tick the boxes and fill the sentence in the empty box as instructed in the window.

Then click the Review button.

What’s Next?

Now you are one step away from submitting the application. You can edit the application if you want to. If you are ok with everything, click the Submit Application button.

After clicking the submit button, you will see a page saying that Coursera has received an application from you.

You will also get an email regarding the confirmation of your application. You will know if your application is accepted or rejected exactly after 15 days.

Confirmation email

Exactly after 15 days, you will receive a confirmation email. If you fill in the details and questions properly, your application will surely be accepted. So, make sure you get a ‘Your financial aid is approved’ mail. This is how you will get Coursera courses for free.

Tip

If you are doing a specialization, it is obvious that you want to complete further courses in that specialization. Do not wait to complete one course to apply for another. Apply for all the remaining courses of that specialization at once. All your courses will be approved at once. Below, you can see how my applications are approved for all the courses in one specialization.

This is not only applicable for the specialization. You can apply for another course that you want to do after completing the present one.

Most importantly, do not forget to change the matter in the 6^th question a bit for every application.

So this is how to get Coursera courses for free. I hope this article helps you.

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