Financial Aid. Scholarship– is not the only way one can fund higher education be it college or university, undergraduate or postgraduate studies. Undoubtedly, scholarships are a great way to reduce or eliminate the chasm between budget and rising tuition costs. But there are other amazing funding avenues for study that one can explore to make higher education dreams come true if scholarships are not forthcoming.
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Some of them are as good as scholarships even. Below is a list of other funding avenues for study (apart from scholarships) available to students who want to start or continue their higher education.
Loans: – Financial Aid
Obtaining a private or public student loan is a better alternative when savings as well as grants and scholarships are not adequate to fund your higher education fully. This involves getting a loan to finance education and paying back after graduation. It’s essential to look out for the best possible deal while also ensuring to engage a reputable lender. It’s equally wise to go for a loan that has rational interest rates as well as borrower-friendly terms of repayment so that one won’t be burdened with inordinate debt upon graduation.
Subsidy: – Financial Aid
Subsidy for higher education is typically undertaken by the government, and usually involves the reduction of tuition fees to the minimal level by higher institutions who get grants from the government. This means that the high costs of tuition, fees, room and board are subsidized usually by the federal government so that students can afford them.
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Financial aid:
Students who were not successful with the aforementioned funding avenues can try financial aid. It is usually provided by the government. Financial aid might come in two forms namely: grants and loans. Grant is a bit similarly to scholarships, but defers in the sense that it comes usually based on the financial need of the recipient and not necessarily on the academic merit. Grants is usually seen as free money. But it can be reverted to standard student loan which occurs when the recipient does not meet a certain obligation, the free money becomes a debt.
Grants:
Grants can be offered to eligible students by the federal or state government likewise private organizations and agencies. However, there are different eligibility criteria which is somewhat dependent on the interest of the provider and not necessarily the recipient. While grants are considered as free money, there is considerably a huge expectation attached to it. Most students find it hard to obtain and retain study grants because of the processes involved as well as high level of scrutiny to recipient’s performance.
Fellowships:
This is typically meant for graduate students who need support to pursue graduate or professional studies. Students who receive fellowship assistant have the advantage of concentrating on their academic dreams with no stress of obtaining student loans, part-time jobs or even associated research or teaching responsibilities. Nevertheless, this graduate student fellowships are strictly merit-based awards (external or internal) to fund a student to a professional level. It is usually full-time course of study lasting for months or years.
Endowment:
Endowment funds is another source of funding avenue for study. It is usually established as an investment fund by a foundation that withdraws consistently from the invested capital within a stipulated time. The donations made are deductible for the donors and the capital is channeled to different bodies to solve a particular need. By this, students can benefit from education endowments from universities or other agencies. The beneficiaries are not expected to pay back the donors or foundation that provided the fund. It is often seen as a legacy or free will donations made by individuals or bodies to promote the growth and development of the society.
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Stipend:
The word “stipend” is refer to a fixed payment amount given. Unlike a grant, a stipend often comes with a work and duty conditions attached to it. In contrast to a wage or salary, stipend is not paid on the basis of hours worked; it means that whether the beneficiary works for one hour or two, as long as he/she indicates presence, the mandated stipend is sure. Educational stipends can also be awarded as a scholarship but smaller than scholarship.
Tuition waiver:
In this type of funding, the management of an institution signs off the tuition fee for the beneficiaries. Tuition waivers are granted largely on the basis of the strength of a student’s application and there are quite a number of tuition waiver universities available for students. The status of the student might also be a contributory factor to this benefit example, ex-military or a minority. There is generally no strings attached to this type of fund and it might be partial tuition waiver or full waiver.
Studentship:
A studentship is an academic scholarship. By extension, a payment or grant to support a student’s education awarded on the basis of academic accomplishment and qualifications. Categories of studentships differ among countries and universities. Studentships are at times referred to as teaching and research assistantships. They are almost entirely granted to research students, preferably those at the doctoral level.
Awards:
This is basically one of the best funding avenues for study. Here, Higher institution, Corporate bodies or private Organization offer awards to students which usually includes financial support to cover their cost of study and living expenses in subsequent school years or year, upon graduating with an excellent leadership and/or academic performance. By implication, this type of funding is strictly merit-based. However, it has no rule or criteria for continues renewal of the offer. It is done once and lasts for the designated period of time.
These are some of the available options education can be funded alternative to scholarships. The student however, have an obligation to seek for the right information about these opportunities and the universities that offer them.
