Scholarships in the USA

What is a scholarship?

A scholarship is a grant provided by universities and colleges to students. This is a financial aid to help the student to cover some or even all the expenses of studying abroad.
Scholarships are handed out not only to Americans, but also to international students. This gives you a perfect opportunity to experience college in the united states, see new cultures, and meet people from all around the world on budget friendly costs.

What does a scholarship cover?

A scholarship can be either partial or full. A fully funded scholarship is exactly what the name hints about: a scholarship that covers all the college costs. The costs are for instance the tuition fee, accommodation at the dorm, and books.

A partial scholarship means that the scholarship covers some of the costs of studying at college in the US and it often covers 60-70% of the costs. Even if this type of scholarship does not cover all the costs, it is often still less expensive to study in the US with a partial scholarship than studying an equivalent degree program in the home country.

What are the different types of scholarships in the US?

Academic Scholarship

Academic scholarships are awarded to students with exceptional educational records. This is often based on the student’s high school GPA (grade point average), but also high scores on college admission tests such as SAT, ACT and GMAT. Some other merits can also be taken into account, such as extracurricular activities on your resume, recommendation letters from previous school and own personal statement.

Sport Scholarships

Sports scholarships on the other hand are awarded to student-athlete who compete for one of the college teams. The student’s sport skills are of course crucial when applying for this type of scholarship, but the student’s educational performance is also an important part in the scholarship reviewing.

Need Based Scholarship

Need based scholarships are scholarships based on the student’s economic situation and ability to pay for higher education. A need based scholarship can be rewarded to students by the government, but also by the universities themselves. To be eligible for a financial need based scholarship, the student might need a GPA above a certain level. Additionally, the income background is often considered.

Other Scholarships

There are many more types of university scholarships than listed above. To mention a few, there are state scholarships, scholarships offered by foundations and non-profit organizations, international student scholarships and scholarships for specific degree programs. The application process varies between each one of them, just like the requirements for the applicants.

How do you get an academic scholarship?

The application process for academic scholarships can differ among colleges and universities. Some schools have their admission office rewarding the applicants with academic scholarships based on GPAs and test scores. Other schools require students to apply separately for academic scholarships and it also may have different requirements and criteria. We at uniexperts have great knowledge when it comes to academic scholarships in the US, and we will support you the entire way. Find out more about how to apply for an academic scholarship, test preparation and the overall process.

How do you get a sports scholarship?

The process for applying for sports scholarships slightly differs from applying for an academic scholarship. Apart from the academical records and mandatory college admission tests, the student must also apply to the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) or National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to have the student’s athletic status approved. NCAA or NAIA will look into both previous and current sport performance. Read more about applying for sports scholarships, how to prepare for admission tests and the scholarship process.