Scholarship

Note: The term "scholarship" can mean either the methods employed by scholars (see scholarly method) or an award of access to an institution and/or money for an individual for the purposes of furthering their education. This article is about the latter meaning.

A scholarship is an award of access to an institution and/or a financial aid award for an individual for the purposes of furthering their education. A scholarship is generally awarded based on any number of arbitrary criteria, including:

financial need
academic achievement
athletic achievement
public service
nationality or ethnicity

Scholarships are generally funded by education institutions and/or non-profit foundations. In the United States of America, scholarship foundations are classified as 501(c)(3) organizations to which donations made are tax-deductible.

Scholarship awards can range from just a few dollars to full tuition. Locating scholarships can be arduous work. However, in recent years, locating scholarships has become easier due to the Internet.