As time goes by, things are not only getting advanced but are getting costly also; from healthcare to utilities, everything is becoming more and more expensive. Especially a quality education, which is the basis of development in every sector; there are many policies made by the governments and several organisations which state to provide free elementary education to every child, which is great. However, getting basic education is not enough for the development and better life of students; they need to get quality higher education to gain knowledge and necessary skills to make a bright career. But because of the high expenses of further education, many students drop out or end up taking an educational loan; which is no better as they are required to pay the loan amount with interest even after completing their studies. To help students and parents governments and organisations started providing scholarships to able and needy students.
Scholarships are financial aid provided to students by the Government, Private organisations, colleges and universities or NGOs; scholarships are provided to students to help them in paying for their tuition fees for college or university and other educational expenses like books, uniforms or their online classes fees. The scholarship is provided to students on various grounds, and according to that scholarship has been divided into various categories. Let’s know about the types of scholarships for which students can apply.
Merit-Based Scholarship: Merit-based scholarships are given to the students who are good at academics and other co-curricular activities, the students who earn good marks and a high GPA are offered such scholarships. Colleges and Universities that provide such scholarships aim to attract more meritorious students to their institute who can make their institute’s name shine. If you are a student who scores well in academics then you can apply for such scholarships.
Need-Based Scholarship: Some students are good at studies but cannot afford higher education, because the financial condition of their families is not strong enough. A need-based scholarship is provided to such students who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, the scholarship is provided to them based on their yearly income. If the yearly income of their parents is lower than a set threshold, they can apply for this scholarship; other than this there are other criteria like academics, the behaviour of students, and representation of skills like communication and leadership skills are also counted.
Athletic Scholarships: Other than academics some students are good at sports and extracurricular activities and want to make a career in the sports field. Such students need support not only to boost their morale and confidence but also to help them in getting better facilities like quality sports kits, training, club membership etc. And often the parents of such students find it hard to bear the expense of their academics as well as sports; that’s why to support them, athletic scholarships are provided by the Government or Sports association. The grant given to the students covers their training and expenses related to it, and if students perform well and catch the eyes of coaches or higher-ups they can even get selected for professional teams.
Partial Scholarships: There are various types of scholarships which cover all the expenses of students related to education, but there are scholarships which only cover half of the expenses; say only the tuition fees are covered in it and other extra expenses are to be borne by the student themselves. Students can apply for these scholarships if they think they only need aid for their tuition fees and they can cover up the rest of the expenses on their own.
Major-Specific Scholarships: Students who have completed their graduation and want to study further and do their major in a specific field or subject can apply for these scholarships. Major-specific scholarships are scholarships which are given to the student if only they are going to do a major in a specific subject, for example, after doing a bachelor’s in Elementary education, a student can get a scholarship for doing a major in the education field only, to get more educated and learn how to teach online or offline better like doing major in Elementary Special education.