Institutional Aid & Scholarships

This page will help you to understand the concept of institutional scholarships and the difference between merit-based and need-based aid. 
The term “scholarship” is generally interchangeable with other terms like “award” or “aid”.

Institutional scholarships are funds which an educational institution (a college or university) offers to its students, for them to use at that institution. Generally scholarships and grants are considered “gift aid” which means that the money does not need to be paid back. 

Make sure to always read the details of the scholarship, as many are very specific in what kinds of charges they can pay toward – some can only be used toward tuition, or toward room and board. Some scholarships are also not “stackable” with any other aid. Many schools will also have rules for how scholarships “stack” on top of each other and what the upper limit of that stacking is. Read carefully.

Merit-Based vs. Need-Based

A “merit-based” scholarship is a scholarship based on academic achievement. A student’s GPA or standardized test scores are usually the big factors in merit-based awards. Sometimes your class rank is important too. Merit-based scholarships often have very “cut and dry” requirements – you either meet the requirements or you don’t – so it is important to prepare accordingly: do well in your high school courses, take (and re-take) standardized tests, and do your research on what scholarships are available. 

A “need-based” scholarship is a scholarship based on your family’s financial situation. Your family’s financial situation is usually determined by data that comes from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). For most schools, you need to do the FAFSA to get any financial aid or scholarships. Need-based scholarships are usually offered to students from lower-income families who are less likely to be able to afford the basic costs of higher education without help.

A Note About Properly Understanding Institutional Scholarships and College Costs

Contrary to popular belief, institutional scholarships are not coupons. The giving of a scholarship is an instance in which the college or university itself is paying toward the cost of your education. 

A college education is expensive, and you should expect to pay for it – especially if you choose a highly-specialized degree like Nursing or Engineering. Some students assume that their college education should be cheap or free, but consider The Tale of Two Laptops below. 

The Tale of Two Laptops 
A man walks into an Apple store, examines the latest MacBook model, and asks to buy a new laptop. The Apple employee tells the man what a new MacBook costs, and some of the discounts Apple offers which the man is eligible to use toward the purchase of a new MacBook. Upon seeing the final cost, the man tells the employee that it is ludicrous that he should have to pay so much for a new MacBook when he saw a Chromebook at Walmart for a fraction of the price. Of course he does not want a Chromebook, he says, because it is not nearly as powerful or as capable as a MacBook; that is why he is at Apple. He demands that Apple sell him a new MacBook for the same price as – or lower than – the Chromebook he came across earlier.

Of course, it is absurd for someone to demand that Apple sell a premium and cutting-edge MacBook to them for the same price as a cheap and underpowered plastic Chromebook made with third-rate parts. A computer might be important to have in order to work or be productive, but a college education is also an expensive commodity in high demand – and is a privilege to have. An education is not the same at every college or university, just as every laptop manufacturer does not make an equivalent product. It is important to recognize that and to prepare accordingly.

Also remember that an education at a specific institution is not a right, that it is not cheap to employ experts in a myriad of fields to teach the next generation, and that colleges and universities often bend over backwards to maintain an affordable price tag and competitive scholarships to help you and others earn a degree from their school; despite what your teachers might say or what you see in the movies, getting a “full ride” to a school is exceedingly rare and even students with full-tuition scholarships will almost always still pay something each semester.

While schools often offer many scholarship opportunities to reward high-achieving or needy students, you should expect to pay for your education – after all, it is your investment in your future. And ultimately, it is up to you – not the school – to find ways to make your education as affordable as possible.