Scholarships can be loosely defined as money, that helps the eligible pay their way through college or higher education institutions and other necessities such as tuition, room, board and textbooks. Unlike loans, scholarships are not expected to be paid back. It is granted by multiple organisations such as governments, corporations, universities or any goodwill organisation.
Scholarships can be loosely defined as money, that helps the eligible pay their way through college or higher education institutions and other necessities such as tuition, room, board and textbooks. Unlike loans, scholarships are not expected to be paid back. Scholarships are granted by multiple organisations such as governments, corporations, universities or any goodwill organisation.
Scholarships don’t just have criterion such as a 4.0 GPA but many scholarships have different criteria such as extra-curricular activities or athletics etc. Students might also need to study at certain universities or even pursue certain subjects to obtain or be eligible for consideration for some scholarships.
Let us have a look at some of the most common types of scholarships:
Academic or Merit-Based Scholarship
This is the most common form of scholarship which is granted to the student based on his/her academic performance. This scholarship is granted either by a private organisation, public institutions or even the university itself from where you will be pursuing your further education. In a merit-based scholarship, the student is purely assessed based on his marks and also his work experience.
Sports Scholarship
If you are a sports enthusiast and have many laurels and awards on your name for winning various sports competitions, then your achievements are surely going to raise your chances of getting a sports/athletic scholarship. There are different scholarships too, for different sports like volleyball, football, cricket, basketball, swimming, etc.
Creative Scholarship
Creative scholarships look at the extracurricular side of a student. Students having an outstanding talent in creative fields such as art, music, theatre, dance, etc can apply for a creative scholarship. One just needs to look up for such scholarships. If you intend on entering a design or art school, you can apply for such scholarships. Lookup for university or institutions offering such scholarships and apply for it.
Specific Scholarship
If you belong to a different nationality, religion, race or ethnic group, there are specific scholarships that are designed to suit your needs and help you get into your desired course. There are scholarships for the differently-abled as well. You must be aware of these and be able to make the most of it.
Need-Based Scholarship
If your financial condition or income is less and falling short for the course you have decided to pursue, a need-based scholarship can come to your rescue. However, you will be required to fulfil some special criteria which will depend from scholarship to scholarship. Need-based scholarships are mostly offered by the public, government or charitable institutions.
Scholarships can be funded by a number of sources that can include but are not limited to
Businesses
Business organisations offer scholarships in order to contribute to the wellness of society. Further, they also seek to derive profit in the future by giving out the money to the student in the name of scholarship. If an employee of a company is planning to pursue higher education, the company will willingly offer a scholarship with the motive of expecting the student to return back to the company and offer the benefits of his/her gained education to the firm.
Religious groups
To uplift an individual and support his/her education, religious groups offer scholarships to those belonging to their religion. These groups offer scholarships to those individuals who contribute to the religion and take an active part in various religious activities.
Private Institutions
Private education institutions are always looking out to admit students with high academic and other rich skills in their institution in order to improve their reputation and popularity among all. This is one of the main reasons why private institutions offer various types of scholarships.
Public Organisation and Government
Government and public institutions are bodies that are always expected to help those in need. Those who cannot afford education usually seek the aid of government bodies to fund their education. This is when government scholarships come into play.
Other common sources are philanthropic organisations, college departments, universities, etc.
An important thing to know is that a scholarship, however, differs from a grant. In a lot of cases, they are used interchangeably but scholarships are usually merit-based whilst grants are usually need-based. What this translates to is the fact that to be eligible for a grant, generally your family income or your income is taken into consideration. Grants are generally government-funded to provide the impetus for education or setting up of businesses or community service work.
Scholarships also have different advantages. They contribute towards the diversity of an institution by enabling different sections of people who otherwise could not have afforded to enrol in the institution. Secondly, this diversity inclusion in the institution increases the competition among students in the institution. Awarding scholarships also result in the redistribution of resources. Charging students what they can afford and redistributing resources among those who can’t help maintain an institution’s equity.
Scholarships also help increase the outreach of institutions and increasing equity among the student body in higher education institutions. Many universities now have established a process of needs-blind admission. Under this system, students are admitted purely based on merit criterion with complete disregard to their ability to pay the fees. The students are then charged in proportion to what they can afford thus encouraging higher education and preventing higher education from becoming a burden upon students for their entire lifetimes.
Thus, if you are looking to pursue higher education and are busy arranging for funds for the same, do not forget to research about the various scholarships that you can apply for that will aid your higher education.
Scholarships don’t just have criterion such as a 4.0 GPA but many scholarships have different criteria such as extra-curricular activities or athletics etc. Students might also need to study at certain universities or even pursue certain subjects to obtain or be eligible for consideration for some scholarships. Scholarships can be funded by a number of sources that can include but are not limited to businesses, religious groups, philanthropic organisations, community organisations, college departments or alumni endowments.
A scholarship, however, differs from a grant. In a lot of cases, they are used interchangeably but scholarships are usually merit-based whilst grants are usually need-based. What this translates to is the fact that to be eligible for a grant, generally, your family income or your income is taken into consideration. Grants are generally government-funded to provide the impetus for education or setting up businesses or community service work.
Scholarships also have different advantages. They contribute towards the diversity of an institution by enabling different sections of people who otherwise could not have afforded to enrol in the institution. Secondly, this diversity inclusion in the institution increases the competition among students in the institution. Awarding scholarships also result in a redistribution of resources. Charging students what they can afford and redistribute resources among those who can’t, help maintain an institution’s equity.
Scholarships also help increase the outreach of institutions and increasing equity among the student body in higher education institutions. Many universities now have established a process of needs-blind admission. Under this system, students are admitted purely based on merit criterion with complete disregard to their ability to pay the fees. The students are then charged in proportion to what they can afford thus encouraging higher education and preventing higher education from becoming a burden upon students for their entire lifetimes.
