Scholarship is an award- this award is may be for excellent academic record or for some other achievement. Scholarship comprises of money or assistance that a student receives to cover the expenses of further education. Generally, scholarships are based on the merit. Merit refers not only to academic excellence but also to some achievement in sports or music etc. Also scholarships can take the form of money or credit given to a student directly or of money given to a college or university in the form of tuition or residence payments for a student.
While talking about Scholarships another thing comes to mind is Fellowships, Scholarships and Fellowships are not same things, both are considered grants but not exactly same. Most fellowships are also scholarships, but scholarships may not be fellowships. Scholarships tend to be given to undergraduate college students, primarily for the purpose of general education expenses based on superior school performance. On the other hand Fellowships tend to pay for internships or fieldwork, so that students, usually at the graduate level, can enhance their training in their field of interest.
One more difference between a fellowship and a scholarship is that most fellowships are not based on need. They are usually based on skill, CGPA, and qualifications to work in a certain field. Another distinction between a fellowship and a scholarship is that most fellowships are payment for some type of work, such as teaching at the college level, while obtaining a master’s degree or Ph.D.
TYPES of SCHOLARSHIPS:
Merit-based Scholarships
These scholarships are award of money; these awards are based on excellence in academics, leadership, volunteerism, athletic ability, and other areas.
Renewable Scholarships
Renewable scholarship is awarded for more than one year. Usually the student must maintain certain academic standards or grade point average to be eligible for subsequent years of the award. Renewable scholarships may require the student to reapply for the scholarship each year and also require a report on the student's progress in his/her career field.
Grants/ Scholarships
These are financial awards that are usually dispensed by the financial aid offices of colleges and universities. The awards may be need or merit-based. Most are need-based. Merit-based awards may be awarded on the basis of excellence in academics, leadership, volunteerism, athletic ability, or special talent.
Rotary Scholarships
Rotary International offers a number of scholarships worldwide for periods of 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years.
Note: R.O.S.E. (Rotary Overseas Short term Exchange) is a program under which a student exchanges homes directly with student of a foreign country at the same time, conducted by Rotary International.
Goodwill Scholarships
Goodwill Scholarships are college-level scholarships created and fully funded starting in 2003 by two private citizens in Virginia, to aid International students (Indians) who study at the Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC).
POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS
There are number of scholarships for candidates Engineering/ Technology/ Architecture/ Pharmacy/ Sciences at engineering colleges/ institutes in the country.
One of the important scholarships is MHRD Scholarship, which is funded by Ministry of Human Resource Development. Candidate is eligible for the MHRD scholarship only if he/she qualifies in GATE.
Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation also offers scholarship to the IIT candidates.
Likewise, government funded scholarships there are also private scholarships which are funded by a person or by some private organization etc. and scholarships which are offered by the Institute itself. Some of these private scholarships for M.Tech programme are as follows:
TCS (Tata Consultancy Services)
Selection procedure for this scholarship is through Electrical Engg. Deptt. & TCS consent based on interview of interested student at the beginning of 1st Semester.
Forbes Marshall
Selection is through Energy Systems & Engg. Deptt. & Forbes Marshalls. This scholarship is totally based on interview of the students at the beginning of 1st Semester.
Crompton Greaves
Selection is based on the decision of the Head of Department.
Larsen & Toubro Ltd.
Selection for this scholarship is also based on the decision from the department.
Scholarships are for a candidate to pursue his/her higher/further studies after graduation, but also to cover higher studies outside India. These scholarships depend on the various factors like availability of scholarship, eligibility required for that scholarships etc. Terms and conditions to apply for a scholarship also vary and not only based on the academic record of the candidate.