If you are thinking of going back to college or continuing your tertiary education but you do not have enough funds for tuition, you have the chance of going through college for free. That is, if you apply for a scholarship and get approved.

College Scholarship Grants

Colleges and universities allot a certain amount of funds for financially needy students who want to continue studying. There are three common types of scholarship grants: academic scholarship grant, athletic scholarship grant, and departmental awards. A student must fill out an application form and indicate which scholarship type he is applying for. Of course, he must be eligible for that particular scholarship.

Students must have a good record of grades to be able to qualify for academic scholarships. The high grades must be maintained all throughout his stay in the university or the scholarship will be discontinued. An athletic scholarship is offered to students with excellent sportsmanship or mastery of a particular sport. The schools that give out athletic scholarships are usually competitors for division or national sports competitions.

Departmental awards are given to students who show interest in a particular field. For instance, the Social Studies department of a college may offer scholarships to students who show interest in a related subject area.

Information on college scholarship grants can be obtained from the university. Needless to say, there are so many students applying and you might feel like quitting just because of the sheer number of competitors for one scholarship grant. However, you should know that there are many more scholarships or financial assistance programs you can apply for. There are scholarships that are provided by federal agencies and private organizations.

Religious organizations usually allocate educational funds for deserving members. If you are not aware of these, you’d better ask your religious head if there are some scholarships offered by the church. Corporation-given scholarships are rather common; as companies often look for ways to give back to the community in a constructive manner. In addition, offering scholarships might indicate the company’s willingness to invest on the youth sector.

There are also charitable organizations that dole out scholarship grants to financially needy students who show excellent academic potential. Sometimes, the scouts for these scholarships look for high school students who show promise. However, these scholarships may be offered up until graduate school so it’s worthwhile to ask your university registrar about these scholarships.

What you need to understand is that so many grants go un-awarded because not many know about them. It may be hard to believe but some grants are shelved because of the scarcity of eligible applicants. If you find a scholarship option, apply. You will never know whether you will get accepted or not if you don’t send an application.

Union-based scholarships are awarded to children of union members. If your parents are members of a union, you’d better ask about the existence of grants within the union and talk about your intentions of applying.

One other source of free grants is your local government. There are scholarships that are offered only to citizens of a county and their children. The good thing about regional scholarships is that the beneficiary usually has a job waiting for him at home as soon as he graduates.

Financial assistance is offered to college and university students. These gifts are bestowed by charitable organizations, the government, and the school itself. Financial aid for students are not to be repaid. These are not loans that need to be paid back after a certain amount of time. These are free to use and any student who meets the eligibility requirement may apply.

In general, student financial aids are categorized as grants, fellowships, scholarships, loans, work study programs and waivers. Many students and their parents are confused about these different types of financial aid available. These are all meant to help students with their college tuition, but there are certain differences in these types of financial assistance.

Grants, fellowships and scholarships

A grant is a financial award given to students and the beneficiary is under no obligation to pay this back to the benefactor. A fellowship is awarded to a graduate student in a college or university. A scholarship is a kind of financial assistance usually awarded to students who excel in academics, sports or any other criterion. Some of these financial assistance programs are purely based on merit or academic achievement, while some are based on financial need. Most of the time, a review committee decides who should be awarded the grant, the scholarship and the fellowship, so the criteria for selection could vary.

Loans

A study loan is offered to students who are in immediate need of financial help. However, unlike scholarships and grants, these loans need to be repaid after the student finishes his course. Most of these loans are offered at zero interest by charitable organizations, but some loan programs have repayment provisions and repayment interest rates.

Work Study

Another form of financial aid is the so-called work study program. A student is offered the chance to be an employee in the institution, thereby earning cash for his studies. Many colleges and universities offer these jobs to reliable students who could use the extra cash. They can earn their school fees and living expenses just by working as an employee in the school.

Waivers

Sometimes, a college or university allows students to study free of charge. Unlike a scholarship, the decision is solely dependent on the college of the university. Certain eligibility requirements have to be met by the student.
If you want to know whether or not you are eligible to apply for a certain program or financial aid, ask the information desk at your university. Talk to your guidance counsellor or your professor for information on grants and college-based financial aid. You may also go online and look for scholarship lists on government websites. Just be careful not to fall for scams that ask money in exchange for application submission services.