What is Scholarship: all you need to know

 

What is a scholarship? All you need to know

What is Scholarship: all you need to know  is one question that is randomly asked, however,  a scholarship is financial support provided to a student on a certain basis, primarily for academic purposes. They can be based on some criteria and eligibility, such as needs, country, state or region of origin, gender, field of study, race, etc. All you need to know about scholarships is that the money does not necessarily have to be paid back, as it is not a loan. They come in many forms, such as grants, tuition waivers, and fellowships.

Scholarships are a wonderful way to assist students in getting through their various stages of education, usually higher education. However, they are awarded to relieve students (prospective and previously enrolled) and their families of a significant part of the huge financial commitments and burdens of higher education. Different organizations and bodies undertake the award of scholarships for both undergraduate and postgraduate studies in colleges, institutes, and universities.

Scholarships are able to cater for various costs typically related to higher learning, from lab fees to books, room and board, transportation, tuition, rent, and even more.  Most scholarships, at times, are a one-time payment. Other scholarship awards are renewable, depending on the student’s academic performance. They provide students with funds each academic year or semester for some number of years or the entire duration of study. Scholarships may sometimes be fully funded or partially funded, which means they might cover all the cost or just a fraction of it.

In most cases, the scholarship money is made in the student’s name and/or paid to them directly. On other occasions, the money is given to the institution or school of the student or paid to their guardian. In these instances, the institution is then paid by the student for the discrepancy and charges any money due for tuition, room and board, and other related fees. In the event the scholarships are ample to provide for the direct higher education costs, the surplus fund is then reimbursed to the student.

Scholarship awards usually contain several details, including the obligations of beneficiaries and rules of engagement. A scholarship may be stopped for one reason or another based on the scholarship provider, their specific criteria, or the terms and conditions as provided.

For example, a scholarship provider may decide to halt a scholarship because the student dropped in academic performance (CGPA), was involved in illegal activities, or spent the provided funds inappropriately.

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Types of scholarships

The most common scholarships may be classified as follows:

• Merit-based: These awards are based on a student’s academic performance, artistic, athletic, or other abilities and are often a factor in an applicant’s extracurricular activities and community service record. Most merit-based scholarships are paid directly by the institution the student attends, rather than made directly to the student.
• Need-based: Need-based scholarships are awarded based on the financial needs of the student. However, they are eligible for each year of college enrollment.  Some private, need-based awards are mistakenly called scholarships. Scholarships are mostly merit-based, while grants are referred to as need-based.
• Student-specific: These are scholarship awards for which applicants must initially qualify based upon gender, race, religion, family, medical history, or many other factors.
• Career-specific: This is a career-sensitive-based award; these are scholarships that a college or university awards to students who plan to pursue a specific field of study. Oftentimes, the most generous awards go to students who pursue careers in high-need areas, such as medicine, education, or nursing. Many schools in the United States give future doctors and nurses full scholarships to enter the field, especially if the student intends to work in a high-need community.
• College-specific: College-specific scholarships are offered by individual colleges, universities, and institutions to highly qualified applicants. These scholarships are awarded on the grounds of academic and personal achievement. Some of these scholarships have a “bond” requirement.  Recipients are most often required to work for a particular employer for a specified period of time or to work in rural areas; otherwise, they may be required to repay the actual value of the support they received from the scholarship. This is particularly the case with education, medicine, and nursing scholarship programs for people prepared to work in rural and remote areas.
• Athletic: This is a scholarship program awarded to students with exceptional skill in a sport. Oftentimes, this is so that the student will be available to attend the school or college and participate in the sports activities of their team, although in some countries, government-funded sports scholarships are available, allowing scholarship recipients to train for international representation. School-based athletic scholarship programs can be controversial, as some believe that awarding scholarship money for athletic rather than academic purposes is not in the overall institution’s best interest.
• Brand: These scholarships are awarded by a corporation that is trying to gain media publicity and attention to their brand. Sometimes these scholarships are referred to as branded scholarship awards.  A typical example of a branded scholarship is the famous Miss America beauty pageant.
• Creative Contest Scholarship: All You Need to Know: These scholarships are awarded to students based on their creative ideas and submissions. Creative contest scholarships are also called mini project-based scholarships, where students can submit entries based on unique and innovative ideas on the part of the student.
• “Last dollar”: This is a form of scholarship provided by private and government-based institutions and is intended to cover the remaining fees charged to a student after the various grants are taken into account. However, to prohibit institutions from taking last-dollar scholarships into account and thereby removing other sources of funding, these scholarships are not provided until after financial aid has been offered in the form of a letter. Also, last-dollar scholarships may require families to have filed taxes for the most recent year, received their other sources of financial aid, and not yet received loans.
• Open: This simply refers to a scholarship that is open to any applicant.

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How Do You Get a Scholarship? All you need to know

Each scholarship will have different guidelines depending on the criteria and requirements. Read all scholarship guidelines carefully, and be sure you fully understand what you will be responsible for.

Beyond figuring out the rules and requirements of how to get a scholarship, it is important to have a strong, positive mindset as you begin the scholarship application process. Like applying for a job, you’ll want to stand out by presenting your best self. While you likely won’t be seated on an interview panel, you will need to showcase your strengths in the forms you’ll be filling out and the essays, which are typically necessary.

How to make your scholarship application stand out

• Present yourself professionally
•  Organize and prepare your materials
•  Pay attention to detail
• Write an original essay each time

 

What can a scholarship mean to you?

A scholarship can mean quite a lot to you. It can positively change the course of your entire life, especially if you are not from a privileged background. This is because several students might not be able to achieve their higher education dreams without benefiting from one scholarship program or another. No thanks to the costs of higher education that keep rising with each passing day. For instance, masters and doctoral degrees in certain fields are usually costly, and you might need to obtain these degrees to achieve your personal vision and goals in life.  A scholarship can grant you that lifelong opportunity.

Also, winning merit-based scholarships usually serves as motivation since you have to continually make high grades to sustain these scholarships. This ultimately culminates in a brilliant result that improves your chances of employment and career progression when you graduate.  Similarly, with scholarships covering some or most of your basic expenses, you don’t have to feel pressured about those things that can distract you from focusing on your education.

You will have to focus on your studies squarely and put in your best. Imagine not having to worry about healthcare or the costs of books and other related materials as a student; this eases some of the stress of studying and allows your mind to be in a healthy state for learning.

Scholarships also offer you the platform and opportunity to travel and explore other countries, cultures, and continents. You might not have the option of leaving your locality for all of your life, all other things being equal. However, international scholarships can help you meet new people and cultures from across the globe in order to learn and gain exposure where necessary. For example, as an African or an Asian student, you can get to visit and study in the United States of America or Europe through a foreign scholarship. This is capable of changing your worldview and your life forever.

Why is scholarship important?

Higher education is quite expensive wherever you are in the world, and the truth is that higher education has the capacity to significantly increase your chances of a better life.

Scholarships represent a great opportunity to close the gap between your higher education budget and ever-increasing tuition fees. Surely,  there is a scholarship out there that you are eligible for, irrespective of your background.

A scholarship is essential because it can help you achieve your higher education goals with less stress and tension. Consequently, most families might not be able to send their words to higher institutions, but a scholarship program can make higher education possible for anyone who meets the specific eligibility criteria.

A scholarship can also open up other global opportunities. It can birth a lifelong association with notable individuals, bodies, institutions, organizations, or countries. Several beneficiaries of scholarships have formed lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with their scholarship providers—universities, non-governmental organizations, corporations, foundations, governments, nations, notable individuals, etc.

These are fits that might not have been attained if not for a scholarship. Also,  whether it is Royal Imperial College or UC Berkeley, MasterCard or the United Nations, or the USA or the UK, a scholarship program might just be the ticket you need to form a beneficial relationship with that university, organization, individual, or country you have in mind.

Name of scholarship with institution and sponsoring organization

• Chevening Scholarship: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (UK)
• China Scholarship Council Scholarship: Government of China
• Commonwealth Scholarship: Commonwealth governments
• Coca-Cola Scholarship: the Coca-Cola Company
• Endeavour Awards: Government of Australia
• Erasmus Mundus: European Union
• Fulbright Scholarship
• Gates Cambridge Scholarship: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; University of Cambridge
• Jardine Scholarship: Jardine Matheson; Universities of Oxford and Cambridge
• Marshall Scholarship: UK universities
• Mitchell Scholarship: US-Ireland Alliance
• Morehead-Cain Scholarship: University of North Carolina
• Foundation Scholarship: Trinity College Dublin
• Rhodes Scholarship: University of Oxford
• Schwarzman Scholars: Tsinghua University