Scholarships are a form of financial aid awarded to students to help further their education. These special financial grants are offered by governments, corporations, universities, or any organization that would like to invest in a student’s future. Recipients are not required to pay back the scholarship amount like a loan but are required to continue to meet specific requirements during their academic year. This could mean maintaining a grade point average or engaging in a certain activity for athletic students. 

There are several kinds of scholarships, and each of them has separate criteria. Some popular criteria are academic merit, athletic skill, financial need, diversity, and inclusion. Scholarship criteria usually reflect the values of the donor or founder of the award. 

Types of Scholarships

There are various of scholarships that students can apply for. These vary in amounts as well as competitiveness

    1. Merit Based: These scholarships are given to students based on their academic performance at their previous level of study.
    2. Need Based: These scholarships are given to students who can prove that they are in need of financial assistance and an not otherwise join the university
    3. Country Specific: These scholarships are competitive and are awarded to specific nationalities. These vary from university to university 
    4. Sports Scholarships: These are awarded to sports persons who have a notable ability to play any sports 
    5. Alumni Scholarships: These are given to students who have already studied one degree at the university and are returning to study.
    6. Scholarships for Women: These are awarded to female students who have a good academic performance.
    7. Course Specific: Some departments /faculty’s have their own scholarships that they award to deserving students.
    8. Industry Specific: These are awards to students who plan to pursue a specific field of study like education, nursing, etc 

 

  • Creative Scholarships: These are given to students who are looking to study in the creative arts like music, dance, theatre. 

 

  1. External Scholarships: These are awarded by a third party ( agency or organization )based on need or academic performance. Either government or non government organizations offer these.

Scholarship Application and How It Works

All scholarships are competitive. Some candidates are automatically eligible for scholarships when they put in their university application, and some have a separate application process. Since most scholarships need you to write a personal essay and we recommend that you put your best self forward and think through exactly how you want to be seen by the scholarship awarding body! You must do your homework on what the eligibility criteria are, and while putting your scholarship application or admissions application together, always be honest and forward about requiring help with financing your education. Scholarships are not always easy to find online since there are so many of them, so reaching out and asking for help is up to you!

While putting your scholarship application together you need to keep in mind the deadlines! Since they are competitive in nature, there are a lot of students like yourself applying for them! In some cases, scholarships are given out on a first-come, first-serve basis, and some the scholarship committees go through everything in detail and can take longer to hear back from them! So patience is also a key factor when applying for scholarships! 

When you get your scholarship the money usually goes directly to the school or in your bank account. If your scholarship award is toward your tuition fees, it usually goes directly to the university account. If your award is housing and living, it gets deposited into your account. Winning any sort of financial aid is a bonus but don’t lose sight of your Global Ed Journey!