Grants and scholarships, also called Gift aid, are financial assistance for studies that the person needs not pay back. These gift aids for the college form an essential part of a person’s financial planning when it comes to studies.
Even though these two types of gift aids have some minute differences, both are almost always used interchangeably. Grants are the aids given based on your situation in society, whereas scholarships are those which are rewarded based on your merit status.
The grants are based on the entire family status and hence do not changes with your performance in the future but the scholarships may have certain conditions that you have to satisfy in your studies and specific grades you should maintain, to receive them in a continuum.
Key Takeaways
- Grants are financial awards provided to individuals or organizations, primarily based on financial need, to fund a specific purpose, project, or research.
- Scholarships are merit-based financial awards given to students to support their education, determined by factors like academic achievements, extracurricular involvement, or leadership qualities.
- The main distinction between grants and scholarships is their basis for awarding funds, with grants primarily focusing on financial needs and specific purposes. In contrast, scholarships are merit-based and geared towards supporting education.
Grant vs Scholarship
The difference between grants and Scholarships is their meanings. The fund offering for emergencies such as the financial need for further study, career, or development is a grant. Conversely, a scholarship is receivable by one based on particular potential, skill, or grades. Both are non-repayable funds, but their purposes vary. A scholarship can be called a reward that a student earns. And Grants can help NGOs or businesses.
Comparison Table
| Parameter of Comparison | Grants | Scholarships |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | May give for any specific purpose | Almost always given for studies. |
| Criteria for awarding | Based on the need and benefits that can be gained through the grant | Based on the merit status |
| Factors considered in awarding | Based on the financial situation | Based on the merit achievements |
| Students that can be benefitted | Both undergraduate and postgraduate students | Mostly undergraduate students |
| The awarding bodies | Mostly government bodies | Mostly universities |
What is Grant?
Grant is financial assistance that is awarded by the government bodies, which can be federal, state or local governments that are not expected to be repaid by the recipient. Every year over 26 federal agencies award more than 1000 grant programs for the welfare of people who need money for various purposes.
Grants not only help the individual people but also are implanted to save the country’s economic situation, which is one of the Nobel responsibilities of the governing body. The only black thing about the grant is that it needs a complex application process which should be endorsed with an excellent convincing proposal of how the grant will be helpful for the betterment of the local community.
The grants awarded by the government or free from taxes, interest and any other qualities of conventional financial aid but are based on the need and situation of the individual. Grants.gov is a website offering several thousands of dollars in grants annually.
The applicant, however, needs to clear a complex process of submitting a proposal of his business plan or his need. This should get approved before getting grants.
It is also said that in gist, there are only around 4 main types of grants,
- Competitive funding
- Formula funding
- Continuation funding
- Pass-through funding
But the typing of funding in grants varies with the fields we are discussing.
What is Scholarship?
Scholarships are financial aid that is awarded mainly to undergraduate students for their education by universities and other educational institutions. The scholarships are awarded solely based on the merit status of the student.
Scholarships can be either one-time or renewable aid for which the student should maintain considerable progress in their education after the scholarships are awarded. Scholarships, if in some case, covers the entire fee of the education the student opted for, then the excess money can be refunded to the student from the institutions.
These scholarship aids come from one of many sources: clubs, organizations, foundations, business firms, or universities…. But there are some scholarships even students who are not excellent in their academics can avail of them.
All you need to do is search for appropriate scholarship awarding bodies and should apply for it after a thorough analysis of their criteria for the scholarship and checking whether you come into it. The most common modes by which you can get scholarships are:
- Leverage your hobbies and extracurricular skills you are good at. Search for institutions are organizations that are ready to award scholarships for the person excelling in hobbies you are great at.
- Register at an online scholarship website and submit a proposal with a clear portfolio on which you are seeking scholarships.
- Meet with the schools or colleges where you seek admission and check if they offer any scholarships for the students having your score or any of your qualities.
- Consider searching for scholarship schemes for minority students or students from a particular locality.
It would be best if you also considered the time for applying for a scholarship because some scholarship programs conducted each year will have bound off a period within which it can only be applied.
Main Differences Between Grant and Scholarship
- The federal bodies give grants to the local government and for the government’s public services. Scholarships are awarded by the universities or any bodies or organizations directly to the students.
- Grants can be given for any purpose. Scholarships are awarded solely for the education of the student.
- Grants are awarded based on the individual or organisation’s needs and financial status. Scholarships are awarded based on the merit status of an individual, irrespective of his/her family situation.
- Grants have no limitations, but the money awarded should be used only for the purpose for which it is awarded. Scholarship can be used for any purpose when excess to the fee needed for the education.
- Grants always require applicants to file FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The scholarship does not always require filling out FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4020-4012-2_16
- https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3286&context=law_lawreview
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
