What is a Merit Scholarship & How to Get One?

Posted by Mohit Verma on February 5th, 2021

Merit-based scholarships assist in paying for college by rewarding talent. The majority of scholarships are given to students who stand out with strong academics. However, a few merit scholarships may also consider financial need, but academic excellence is often the key factor in winning a scholarship. 

How to Get a Merit Scholarship?

Merit rewards are different from needs-based ones. To attain a merit scholarship, you should have a good GPA, SAT/ACT scores, and strong academics. In contrast, a need-based scholarship employs family income to make informed decisions. For merit scholarships, the sponsors mostly begin with a goal or aim to why they are providing it. It might be to collaborate with smart minds or invest in their college and community's future. 

There are multiple criteria to qualify for a merit scholarship. Occasionally, you need to be a member of a particular link or enrolled in the university. Other scholarship providers may precisely provide it to minority students, female students for specific majors such as STEM.

You'll have to see if you qualify to be eligible. Students must display strong academic performance, the effect on the community, and leadership. It is important to go through the scholarships and their eligibility requirement before you begin the process of filling out an application. Reach out to the admission or scholarship counsellor to help you with the eligibility, process and other processes/ 

Some merit scholarships view academic performance, test scores, and your suggestions. Others may only consider your SAT/ACT scores. However, all these organisations focus on your dedication and performance in a particular field of study. It can be anything from music to math and others. 

Several private companies, groups, nonprofits, universities, and colleges fund merit scholarships. You can even find charitable foundations providing merit aid which consider financial needs as well. 

Do Your Research

Now that you know precisely what a merit scholarship for college is, it's time to start applying. But how can you find the perfect scholarship for your unique skill set and future academic goals? Well, don't worry, there are numerous online resources to help you recognise merit-based scholarships. It could be a great idea to make a list or spreadsheet of all the merit-based scholarships that you are interested in, so you can keep track of due dates and application needs. It could help relieve some stress as you start the application process.

Maintain Your Scholarship

In the end, remember that some merit-based scholarships could need the scholarship recipient to maintain a specific grade point average (GPA) at their international school in Tokyo. You may need community involvement and grades to continue getting scholarship funding. So, you need to be ready to do the hard work to secure the scholarship and maintain it. After all, what merit scholarship is good for if you can't sustain it and avail its financial benefits. 

Generally, recipients of a merit scholarship are high academic performers or they have strong athletic artistic and other skills and values. All the eligible students must also exhibit a yearning to serve the community or leadership qualities.