Graduate and undergraduate students have a wide range of scholarships available, originated from diverse sources. Awarded scholarships support college education through specialized funding usually referred to as Student Financial Aid.
Undergraduate scholarships available for international students generally include the President's Grant, President's Scholarship, and Trustee Scholarship. The President's Grant is also available for students who plan to study abroad.
For graduate students, financial assistance for scholarship may focus on graduate assistantship, teaching or research fellowship. Graduate assistantship, is granted in exchange to up to 20 hours of work. Students receive a tuition waiver and a monthly stipend for this.
Fellowship financial assistance consists of full tuition waiving and a monthly stipend intended for teaching and research duties. In addition, regular scholarships are available nationwide, depending on external funding, college or departmental competition
Most colleges have their own scholarship money to develop financial packages known as College-Specific Awards. Applicants that are granted admission to college may apply for this scholarship, which terms vary from college to college.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) offers also scholarships for undergraduate students, available through colleges and aimed for athletes. It is estimated that over 126,000 students receive full or partial athletic scholarship for nearly $1 billion awarded each year.
Other scholarship's are granted through either Departmental Awards or Academic Awards, merit-based scholarships awarded for academic achievement, or attract and retain students in a specific department's field of study. Students often receive this type of scholarships directly from their college, rather than applying for them.
Scholarships offered by corporations and private organizations totals into thousands of dollars just in the United States. Private scholarship awards range from $50 to $20,000, depending on the organization and the applicant, while scholarships coming from corporations are granted for attracting and retaining employees, or the encouragement of a well-defined business field of work, especially within communities.
In addition, when it comes to talk about communities, there are unions, chambers of commerce and religious organizations, which award scholarships to community members that otherwise, cannot afford the cost of a college education, although some requires that a family member be affiliated to any of these groups.
The Federation of labor organizations (AFL-CIO) allows student the benefit of union-sponsored scholarships for up to $4,000,000 in total available funds. Checking with your local union or group, you can find availability of scholarships in your community.
School districts also participate in scholarship programs, which award high school students that are nearing graduation. Ask your school when planning for your future to make sure you are eligible for a scholarship award.
Otherwise, there are different state and federal financial aid sources, including the Air Force ROTC program, paying full tuition and stipend for books, although military scholarships are only awarded in return for a tour of duty under a branch of the military.
Perkins Loans and Stafford Loan are awarded as scholarship option, but the federal budget for post-secondary education is about government $33 billion a year, covering financial options such as Federal PLUS loans, Alternative Student Loans, and others similar to Stafford Loans.
Other scholarships are provided in the form of need-based federal aid, including Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Pell Grants, Federal Work Study in addition to Perkins Loans.
