The official definition of a scholarship is “a grant or payment made to support a student’s education, awarded on the basis of academic or other distinction”. In truth, there are a number of different scholarships awarded for a variety of reasons. Each US scholarship is different and can be worth different amounts.

What kinds of US scholarship are there?

US scholarships come in all shapes and sizes and can be worth anywhere from $1 to the cost of your whole university experience covered.

Athletic scholarships will make up the majority of our athlete’s scholarships. This is money that coaches are allowed to allocate to their top athletes to keep them on their team. The amount of scholarship you receive will be based on your ability and performance. If you perform well for the team, you’ll be rewarded with more scholarship money. If you don’t keep up with expectations, there is a chance that your scholarship money will be reduced and allocated to a player that is performing well.

Students will also get the opportunity to get academic aid. Each colleges requirements will be slightly different but on the most part, if you have excellent grades then you will most likely be offered scholarship money. Although academic aid awards are generally smaller, it all adds up over the 4 years you’re in college and can help to make college in America more affordable.

It’s important to note that the higher the academic level of the university, then the harder it will be to receive academic aid. These universities only accept students with the highest level of academics, therefore only stand-out students will be up for receiving academic aid. They can differentiate these students through their extracurricular activities, high SAT scores or the application essay that your required to submit – it all depends on the university’s entry requirements.

Some universities may also have different grants and international waivers available. For example, certain universities can give you scholarship depending on factors such as the country that you’re from, your economic background or family situation. The aim of these grants is to make higher education as accessible as possible to anyone that wants it.

What’s covered in a US scholarship?

If you’re lucky enough to receive a full scholarship, this can include absolutely everything you need at college such as classes, books, accommodation, food and all your athletic gear, however it can get confusing as each institution will consider a full scholarship something different. Some may cover everything apart from housing, some may cover everything apart from books.

To make this process simpler, we work with something we call an ‘out of pocket’ expense. This is the total cost that you will pay to the college each year. This means you don’t need to worry about working out the details on where your scholarship is coming from, you’ll get one total cost that you’ll need to pay per year.

Remember that US scholarships will never cover flights. They will need to be paid for by yourself and your family.

Cost of attendance

On very rare occasions, an athlete will be offered cost of attendance. This is money that will be given to an athlete for them to use however they chose. They can use this money to pay for flights, any extracurricular activities or can be saved for when they finish college. It’s important to note that only the most elite amateur athletes will be offered cost of attendance and it is not something that is offered at every college.

If you’re looking for an athletic scholarship, we can help. We offer a FREE evaluation service to give advice to athletes about what they can expect from their level of athletics and academics. Interested? Contact us today.