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A scholarship is financial assistance for students to continue their studies at a private primary or secondary school, private or public post-secondary college, university, or other academic institution. Scholarships are awarded based on various criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skills, financial need etc or a combination of criteria. The criteria for a scholarship usually reflect the values and goals of the donor or founder of the award. Although scholarship recipients are not required to pay scholarships, the award of a scholarship may require the recipient to continue to meet certain requirements during the support period, such as maintaining a minimum GPA or commitment to a specific activity (such as playing on a school sports team for scholarships on sports or working as a teaching assistant for some scholarship alumni). Scholarships may include a cash prize, a prize in kind (such as tuition or dorm fee waivers), or a combination of both.

Some highly competitive, prestigious scholarships are well known even outside the academic community, such as the Fulbright Scholarship and the Rhodes Scholarship.

This article focuses on post-high school scholarships in the United States. Although these terms are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between them. Scholarships may have a financial need component, but they also depend on other criteria.

Academic scholarships usually use a minimum grade point average or a standardized test like the ACT or SAT to select awards.

Athletic scholarships are usually based on the student’s athletic performance and are used as a tool to recruit high performing athletes to their school’s athletic teams.

Merit scholarships can be based on a number of criteria, including performance in a specific subject or participation in a club or government service.

However, grants are provided on a purely financial basis and are determined using information from the FAFSA applicant.

Merit-based: These awards are based on the student’s academic, artistic, athletic or other ability and are often factors in a candidate’s extracurricular activities and community service. The most common merit-based scholarships, awarded either by private organizations or directly by a student’s intended, recognize academic achievement or high scores on standardized tests. Most of these merit-based scholarships are paid directly by the student’s institution rather than awarded directly to the student.

Needs-Based: Some prizes based on personal needs are mistakenly called scholarships and require FAFSA (Family EFC) results. However, scholarships are often merit-based, while scholarships are generally need-based.

For a specific student: These are scholarships that applicants must initially qualify for based on gender, race, religion, family and medical history, or many other student-specific factors. Minority scholarships are the most common awards in this category. For example, students in Canada can apply for a range of Indigenous Scholarships, whether they are studying at home or abroad.

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