If helping our clients get into top universities was not rewarding enough, when the admission is coupled with a scholarship it is pure bliss. We are proud to report that our clients were awarded over US$900,000 in scholarships in the 2022-2023 application cycle. Considering the high cost of graduate education, most people are keen to access these funds.
Just as corporations seek to provide competitive compensation to hire top talent, universities use scholarships to compete for the best and brightest in the marketplace. Dangling scholarships in front of admitted students is aimed at improving their yield (the number of students that enroll divided by the total number of admissions), which is an important element in the university ranking metrics. There is a lot of confusion about what constitutes a scholarship. Since there are many types and flavors of scholarships and awards out there, this post will cover the most common categories and provide examples.
Need-Based Scholarships
Need-based scholarships are allocated based on the financial need of the applicant. The school will evaluate the person’s assets, sources of support, and earnings to determine the amount of the award. To be considered for this, applicants will need to fill out a need-based scholarship application.
Check out this page to understand how Harvard Business School determines its need-based financial aid.
Merit Scholarships
If one “merits” something, it means they deserve praise or reward. A merit scholarship is an applicant’s reward for possessing outstanding abilities or having done exceptional work. While the concept of being outstanding is objective and ambiguous, the school will take a variety of factors into consideration to make this determination, including academic performance, standardized tests scores, quality of work experiences, and other achievements or unique aspects of the person that indicate potential to contribute to the program.
Merit scholarships originate from a variety of sources. The funds could come from the university’s endowment or have been donated by an organization or individual. The organization or individual may request that the funds be allocated for certain causes, such as people dedicated to diversity, demographic groups such as women or LGBTQ+, or students in particular fields or with certain career goals, such as healthcare. Universities have different procedures for allocating merit scholarship funds. At many schools, admitted students will be automatically considered for all scholarships that they are eligible for. Applicants are informed of merit scholarships at the time they are admitted. However, some merit scholarships require an application, usually in the form of a supplemental essay that requests the applicant to explain why they are both eligible for the scholarship and merit the award due to certain actions related to the core value of the organization’s mission.
External Scholarships
External scholarships are merit or need-based awards offered by various for-profit, non-profit, or governmental organizations. The main difference between this and the merit-based scholarships listed above is that the funds have not been granted for the schools’ scholarship committee to allocate. The organization itself will receive requests and disburse the scholarship funds to various individuals. If this type of scholarship is received the funds could be used to pay for expenses at the school of the recipient’s choice. Many schools offer lists of external scholarships on their financial aid pages but only offer this information as a resource, and will not get involved in the application or decision process.
Research & Teaching Assistantships
Assistantships are a way of supplementing your educational expenses by working in part-time positions within the university. The assistantship may either be offered as a monthly stipend or a reduction in tuition.
Teaching assistantships involve assisting a professor in administrative or teaching tasks such as grading assignments, tutoring sessions or conducting office hours. Teaching assistants generally help professors with undergraduate or, in some cases, graduate-level courses.
Research assistantships involve assisting members of the faculty with a research project. The nature of the work depends on the specific research project. Assistantships will often be posted on the university’s careers or jobs page.
[Conclusion]
Crafting a well-rounded application that will result in not only an admission, but an admission with a scholarship takes dedicated planning and a concerted effort. If you are interested in learning how our strategic approach can help you obtain difficult-to-access scholarship funds, check out our consulting services.