Scholarship funds available total more than a whopping $3 billion every year and are sourced from hundreds of thousands of sponsors. Scholarships are awarded each year and surprisingly, the fund is never empty. Moreover, scholarships are no longer just for the top students.
What is a Scholarship?
Scholarships provide full-time and part-time students with financial aid. This can pay for tuition, books, and course fees. Some scholarships may even contribute to living costs. Unlike student loans, scholarships do not need to be paid back. Therefore, there are no interest costs to worry about when graduation day arrives. By receiving financial aid, students can focus more on their chosen fields of study. It eases the stress of having to find work as a student. Depending upon the type of scholarship awarded, applicants first need to qualify. They may also need to demonstrate certain qualities or standards to keep the award throughout the year.
Different types of scholarships may be offered as a merit-based reward, as an incentive to underrepresented groups, or as an opportunity for those less fortunate. Only 10% of scholarships are offered based on academic, athletic, or artistic talent. In this case, grade point averages (GPA) should be above a level of 4.0. It’s interesting to note that 90% of scholarships do not concern themselves with grades. Most scholarships prioritize values treasured by donors, a certain ethnicity, or those demonstrating a genuine financial need. Award panels widely consider the sociological and socio-economic backgrounds of applicants.
Finding Scholarships
Organizations may sponsor a scholarship to select students of online universities, colleges, or schools. However, those students must present certain qualities or a commitment to the values of that organization.
They award scholarships for merit, racial and religious background, an incentive to increase areas of skill, special interest group support, and/or to meet financial needs. Since there are thousands of scholarships, but a smaller percentage of scholarships that are appropriate for each student, do your research. This process is easier with countless online databases.
Each university or college provides links to scholarship databases. Applicants register their profile. So when they do a search, it returns appropriate matches of prospective scholarships. From these results, students can apply for scholarships that meet their needs. Applications are usually online. While scouring the internet for financial aid options, consider a scholarship.
Are you looking for more? Then read A+ Students Aren’t the Only Ones Who Can Win Scholarships.