University is expensive, especially when you are a parent or prospective student looking to study in the United States. People on lower incomes can’t afford to get into the kind of student debt that comes with borrowing money for further education fees.
This explains why scholarships are so highly sought after. If a student is awarded a scholarship, their place at university is financially backed by the institution. There are a broad range of scholarships being awarded by American institutions. Parents and prospective students should hone in on a niche in which you or your child will be valued by the awarding institution.
Here is a very brief guide to some of the more popular scholarship avenues that students have gained funding through.
Military Scholarships
If you or your family are active-duty members of the military or have a veteran amongst your clan, you may be eligible for a military educational scholarship. There is a huge range of scholarships available for those with military backgrounds, and these generally fall into two camps:
Educational Grants Offered By The Military
The military invests heavily in educating its officers and specialist staff. If you are an active-duty officer who wants to study naval law, for instance, you can apply for a scholarship provided by the US navy or coastguard. You’ll be expected to use your expertise to further your military career.
Charitable Or Institutional Grants Offered To Military Families & Personnel
These scholarships are not provided by the military, but given by schools and charitable trusts that seek to help military families, whose educational opportunities are often limited. You’ll need to shop around for these scholarships, as each charitable trust is focused on certain groups or educational fields.
Sports Scholarships
Highly popular and highly competitive, sports scholarships are a route into higher education for those who show talent in the sporting field, even if they lag behind slightly in academic development.
There are thousands of different sports scholarships offered by schools all over the country. Using an aggregator website such as ASM Scholarships can help with finding the one that is the best fit for you or your child. If you or your child are talented in an area of sports that is less popular, they will have more of a chance of getting a scholarship.
Academic Merit Scholarships
The most traditional kind of scholarship on this list. Universities are always keen to bring in talented academic students. The benefits for the school make it worth their while as they thrive on having good academic reputations.
Academic merit scholarships can be very hard to get. If you or your child have a talent or a passion in academia, it can help if they pursue research projects outside their regular school curriculum.
First-In-Family Scholarships
Are you or your child the first in your family to attend university? Many institutions offer scholarships for those who are educational pioneers within their family. These scholarships are intended to help people from a variety of backgrounds come into higher education.
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