Everyone likes the word ‘Scholarship’ for obvious reasons. It is the most wonderful word in the College applications, but most often, it is the most misunderstood word as well. There is a lot of uncertainty when it comes to scholarships. Though there are ample scholarships available in the universities, yet unfortunately, most applicants fail to obtain them. And thus, we are going to give you a clear understanding about it by sharing some secrets about scholarships and how students can ensure admission offers accompanied with them.
First, what you need to know is that there are essentially three different kinds of scholarships. And they are:
Merit Based Scholarships:
As the name suggests, this scholarship is based on merit, meaning that a student’s academic grade, test scores, profile and the activities the student has participated in forms the core of the application. This is the easiest scholarship to attain. Most universities offer merit scholarships but be sure to check the university since there are some universities that do not offer any scholarships, and if you are an international student, you must research scholarship opportunities thoroughly.
Need Based Scholarships
Need based scholarships are given to people in need of financial aid. You must understand that ‘Need-based’ is majorly for the citizens of the same country, so if you are a US citizen applying to US universities, you will be eligible for need-based consideration, but in case you are an international student, getting need based aid is highly unlikely.
Also, even if the parents’ income is low but they have enough savings or investment in properties, the student’s will not be eligible for need based aid. In short, getting a need-based scholarship in case of an international student is very rare.
Speciality Based Scholarships
The third and last type of scholarship is ‘Speciality Scholarships.’ Now these scholarships could be sports based, specific community based for example, Christain, African, or it could be trustee scholarship given to specific students. There are many speciality scholarships in almost every university but it takes a lot of time to search the university database.
Now the Big Question is,‘How to get these scholarships?’ For this, we have to understand the Science of Scholarship. If your child is applying to Private colleges with a High Tuition fee, getting a scholarship sounds fair. So, what determines the chances of your ward getting those coveted scholarships.
Well, scholarship is given after considering all the parameters of the student’s profile. These parameters include academic grades, test scores, co-scholastic activities, SAT/GRE/GMAT score and application including essays and LORs. In short, universities will take a holistic picture of your child’s profile before considering him/her for scholarship.
But How do colleges actually give out scholarships? Let's find out.
Imagine a university having 1000 seats to be filled for an academic year. Now, this university gets 10,000 applications for admission but must select the top 1000 students from the application pool of 10,000. Evidently, the admission rate is just 10%, which is already quite low. The second point to be noted is that the university gives out scholarships on the availability of funds, and that also to the top 100 of the selected applicants out of 1000.
In this scenario, it can be well interpreted that of the 10,000 applicants only top 100 students can avail scholarship, which is about 1% of the application pool. Admittedly, it also means that the student has to be amongst the top 1% of the applicants in this university’s case.
As mentioned earlier, universities will evaluate a student’s overall profile including his/her grades, profile, essays and everything that is a part of application, to select top 100 students. Now the pertinent question is whether you can qualify to that top 100?
Hope you are getting the scholarship math here.
Let me simplify even further.
Scenario 1
Let’s say, the student scores 90%, on an average, in academic and overall profile. Now if the student applies to a university with an entry requirement of 90% and above, the student will be able to get an admission, but the chances of getting a scholarship is minimalistic. Why? Because we are just fulfilling the entry criteria and not amongst the top 1% of applicants.
Scenario 2
Now, when a student applies to a university with 80% entry requirement, he/she has a great chance of not only admission but also scholarships, because with this university the student stands amongst the top 1% of students.
You can take our Financial Strength Analysis to see how much Scholarship you need for your education and apply accordingly.
Download a copy of Financial Strength Analysis Worksheet
So, the idea is to select universities intelligently to maximise your scholarship chances. Every university is different and so are their scholarship requirements. Considering whether you are a citizen or international student is equally important. Though some universities are very generous with scholarships, while others are not. And if scholarship is really important for you, don’t apply to universities which don’t offer scholarships. Remember not all universities are the same when it comes to scholarships, and hence, careful selection of the university is a must.
Happy Applying!!