What is the difference between a scholarship, bursary, loan and grant?
It can be confusing when you are investigating financial support for your education. It is important to know what type of money you are actually applying for!
Scholarships
A scholarship is a monetary prize that has traditionally been awarded for academic merit (but this trend is now changing as you’ll learn from myscholarshiptutor.com). Scholarships do not need to be repaid to the donor. Often scholarships have clear stipulations that need to be met in order for you to receive your money. For example, you could apply and receive an entrance scholarship from a college for $5000, that is renewable over your four year degree, provided you maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Your grades are reviewed every spring, and if you continue to meet their requirements, they would give you $5000 again for the following year. Ultimately this could be advertised as a $20000 scholarship, but you will only receive the full amount if you meet their requirements over four years. Every scholarship has different rules. Not all scholarships are renewable. Some are a simple lump sum payment that is delivered to the individual’s bank account, or to the university directly, to be applied to your student account. If your award is larger that your tuition expenses, this can be applied to your residence fees or you can have a credit on your account to be used the following year.
Bursaries
A bursary is a monetary prize that is awarded to strong candidates who often, but not always, have demonstrated financial need. Bursaries are offered by universities, but also can come from charities, businesses and individuals. Bursaries are usually not renewable, and are delivered in a lump sum payment to the student or their university account. These do not need to be repaid, and are usually not dependent on your academic standing. Instead, bursaries often are awarded because of your extracurricular choices and personal affiliations. For example, your parents could be in the military, be affiliated with a specific charity or health concern. Academically, your grades need to be very good, but not stellar. Often donors request evidence of financial need, and ask for proof of earnings.
Student Loans
Student loans are available from government bodies to help with the expenses. Every country, province and state has different rules. You apply for a student loan formally online, and your family’s financial situation is reviewed in detail. If your family is wealthy, you will not likely be able to get a large student loan compared to a student who has less financial support from their family. The applications usually takes 4-8 weeks to be processed. If you are denied or unhappy with the amount you have been allocated, there will be an appeal process. Student loans need to be repaid, and repayments usually need to start six months after you graduate. At that time, you can determine a payment plan and start repaying this debt over many years.
Grants
A grant is a lump sum of money that is awarded to an individual or group, to be used for a specific task, activity or item. For example, you can apply for a grant to get funding for something like a new laptop, books or wheelchair. You have to stipulate how you are going to use the money when you apply for a grant. If accepted, you may have to purchase the item(s) up front and get reimbursed from the donor. You can find a wide variety of grants online. Schools, governments, businesses, charities and non-profit organizations can offer grants. This money does not need to be repaid. The only drawback is that you usually need to write a small report after the purchase or event to the donor, justifying the expenditure and proving that you actually spent the money as expected.
If you have any questions or want help playing this game, contact info@thescholarshiptutor.com This is a contact sport, and it’s time to get your game face on.
