What is the scholarship? A scholarship is any assistance given to a student or group of students to support their academics.
It could be given by one person, group of persons, companies, foundations, fellowship, society, community, non-governmental organisations or government sectors.
A scholarship comes in different ways but for the virtue of this article, I shall be concentrating on the commonest form of scholarship which is a financial assistance given to a student by the aforementioned entities in a bid to proffer support to their academic pursuits.
Scholarships can be given at any level of education, starting from the least to the highest tertiary level. This depends on the goal with which a particular scholarship scheme is set to achieve.
The impact of scholarship schemes in the lives of students cannot be overemphasized. A lot of students have been helped through one or more scholarship programmes.
Due to the cost of education in some countries of the world and some fields of study, a lot of people have been less privileged to go into academics and especially into those seemingly costly areas.
All credit to those who introduced scholarship schemes. Some students are still going to school today or were able to graduate from school because they were given scholarships, while others have been encouraged a great deal through the supports that come from scholarship programmes.
On the other way round, a scholarship can also be regarded as a succour to the hopeless in academics. Many destinies have been secured through the scheme and more are yet to be secured.
Methods of giving scholarships
Scholarships are given to students through various means. Methods selection of scholarship beneficiaries differs from one scheme to another depending on the objective of the scholarship and the particular body where the scholarship is coming from.
Here, I am going to show you different ways that selection of scholarship beneficiaries can be made and what determines such selection. The following are how scholarships can be given to a student or group of students.
1. Academic performance
A scholarship can be given to a student due to the smartness and intelligence that is observed in the student’s academic performance. The objective of this scholarship could be to encourage the student to put more effort into his/her performance.
It could be to encourage other groups of students to work hard and to let them understand that it pays to be hardworking in life.
2. Examination:
This is the most common method of giving scholarships to students. Due to advertisements for any scholarship programme, criteria for shortlisting of candidates are usually given.
Those who meet these requirements will be shortlisted to write a particular examination or test, and a particular cut-off point is placed amongst other requirements.
This would be the basis for selecting the beneficiaries at the end of the process. Running scholarship schemes is a big task. If the organisation giving the scholarship decides to select everyone who applied for their scholarship programme, the organisation might run into bankruptcy and the objective for the scheme will not be achieved.
3. Outstanding performance in competition
In some competitions, like sports, people who made it to the top are usually considered for an award and a scholarship is one of such rewards that could be given to such individuals.
4. Charity
Some charity organisations or individuals might decide to give out scholarships to some students out of their benevolence and empathy for humanity. This is to ensure that the human development index is raised.
It could be also to encourage education in a particular locality, especially in underdeveloped places.
5. Gender-specific
Some particular scholarships are gender-specific and as such only, the gender specified during the scholarship advertisement shall be considered if the requirements are met. For example; the following scholarships are gender-specific:
- African Scholarships for Undergraduate Women
- Association of Women in Aviation Maintainance Scholarships
- Association of Women in Mathematics Travel Grants
- BSc and MSc Scholarships for African Female Students
- Diamond Education Grants for Women etc.
6. Age Range
They are some scholarships that are given to individuals within a particular age range, say 15 – 25 years old.
7. Research Purposes
A researcher can also decide to give scholarship students in a bid to seek to help hands in a particular project.
Some projects can be so complex that the researcher could get exhausted if not assisted by other collaborators. In such case, scholarships can be given to those who are interested in that area of study.
As they study more to make some findings, the project is being undertaken gradually to the end.
8. Political ground
Those who seek fame could introduce a scholarship programme to ensure that their names and portfolios go public. It is one of the strategies used by public figures to get them announced to the world.
9. Geographical Location
A scholarship can be given based on citizenship of a country, state of origin, continent, region and other related scenarios. It could also be given by the government or organisations to those who are from areas with great comparative advantages. Example; mineral resources.
However from the scholarships may come, the most important thing is for you to get them to help in supporting your education.
How you can secure any undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships.
Are you an undergraduate student, postgraduate student or low-income earner? Are you scared of the cost of education especially in your area of specialization? Do you wish to have at least one scholarship to support your academic hustles?
Are you interested in any particular scholarship programme in Nigeria or any international scholarship? Have you found yourself in any of the above-mentioned categories? You don’t have to worry about yourself anymore.
I have come up with surest tips on how you can secure scholarships to support your academic programmes both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Endeavour to read these tips to the end if wish to secure any scholarship grant.
The following are what you are expected to know about securing any scholarship assistance.
- Be determined to study
- Let hard work be your watchword
- Study the course you have a passion for.
- Read hard
- Ensure that you score very high in JAMB before you get admission
- Maintain a good Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) at least 3.5 on the scale of 5.0 CGPA or 3.0 on the scale of 4.0 CGPA. See how to calculate CGPA
- Always go online to look out for any available scholarship.
- Prepare for scholarship examination especially.
- Do not use false details about yourself during any scholarship application.
- Read Will
- Ensure that you have your academic transcripts ready at all times (for postgraduate scholarships)
- Follow the given instructions for any scholarship application.
- Pray for God’s grace while you apply for the scholarships.
I must inform you that everything written in this article has been practised by some students who have their respective testimonials about the scholarship grants that they have gotten.
In the same way, if you would be able to do these things as listed above, you are going to get at least one scholarship before the end of your studies or even before you get started in school.
For more inquiries about any available undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships programmes, kindly contact the emonprime team for assistance through the comment section below this article.