Scholarships and financial aid for students

Financial aid is often given based on need, allowing those who could not otherwise afford an education to enroll in college. However, several types of financial aid (grants, scholarships, loans) are not based on need. These kinds of aid allow students who don’t qualify for need-based assistance to receive financial aid for college.

An education loan is a form of financial aid that must be repaid, with interest. Education loans come in three major categories: student loans (e.g., Stafford and Perkins loans), parent loans (e.g., PLUS loans) and private student loans (also called alternative student loans). A fourth type of education loan, the consolidation loan, allows the borrower to lump all of their loans into one loan for simplified payment. A recent innovation is peer-to-peer education loans.

Undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships are forms of aid that help students pay for their education. Unlike student loans, scholarships and fellowships do not have to be repaid. Hundreds of thousands of scholarships and fellowships from several thousand sponsors are awarded each year.

Generally, scholarships and fellowships are reserved for students with special qualifications, such as academic, athletic or artistic talent. Awards are also available for students who are interested in particular fields of study, who are members of underrepresented groups, who live in certain areas of the country or who demonstrate financial need.

An education grant is an agreement that provides funds to an educational institution or other nonprofit organization in order to capture student interest and/or improve student performance in science, mathematics, technology or related fields.

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 1249