What is a Scholarship?

A scholarship is a grant that will provide you with the access to pursue your academic study. It could be a financial grant, with tuition, classes, books (together with boarding as well as other expenses depending on the grant), paid for by someone else, other than yourself or your parents. It is money awarded to a student or scholar for the only purpose of furthering their education. There are lots of criteria for selection and eligibility requirements, which typically underscore the views or purposes of the original philanthropist, donor or founder of the award(s) to be given. Free money for college will enable the mastery and pursuit of what is your future education.

What kinds of scholarships are available?

* Complete or partial scholarships– depending on the nature and extent of the award, scholarships might just be able to cover classes and/or books, boarding and more.

* Merit-based – where financial need isn’t used as the main criteria for the award of the grant or the scholarship. The recipient may be determined by a student’s athletic, academic, artistic or other abilities, achievements or accomplishments. This can be mostly given for recognition and motivation, with the monetary award being either small or substantial, dependent on the nature and purpose of the scholarship.

* Based on need - financial help of which the student and family’s financial situation is a main factor in determining the receiver. More often than not, such scholarship will cover all or part of the tuition and might even cover costs of living.

* Some scholarships come with a "bond" requirement, recipients might need a specified time to work for particular employer, to work in rural or remote areas, and otherwise they might have to repay the cash value of the free money for college they received during the scholarship.

* Scholarships are also known as ‘financial aid’ packages the intention if which is to assist scholars or students with tuition and related costs. However, they can also be loans, so you must clarify all the details and read the fine- print on all award documentation before signing or committing yourself to anything.

More? click to the next page: What are Scholarships? 2