Types of financial aid:

We begin by first introducing three financial award and aids namely scholarship, grant, and loan. Each of them helps support students’ education with different purpose, method and benefits along with their own set of criteria.

1. Scholarship

A scholarship is usually a merit-based award that rewards those who demonstrate academic excellence or possess outstanding talents such as in the sports or arts. Scholarships are typically awarded by education institutes, government, and private organisations to deserving students either by application or invitation. There are also different types of scholarships such as programme-specific, location-specific and even group specific like scholarship for women or a cultural or religious group.

The benefits vary from a full scholarship of a 100% tuition fee waiver to a partial scholarship, tiny stipend and even in the form of accommodation and living expenses.

Other scholarships even require candidates to act as an ambassador for the institute and meet certain criteria throughout the tenure of the scholarship, while a few may require candidates to be bonded to an organisation after graduation.

Some examples would be the Melbourne International Undergraduate Scholarship in Melbourne, Australia; University of Auckland International Student Excellence Scholarship in Auckland, New Zealand; and the Sunway Sports Scholarship in Sunway University, Malaysia.

2. Grant

Grants are similar to scholarships, except that they provide financial support to those who are in need. That said, most of these students will still have to demonstrate some kind of excellence in their academics to merit a grant. Usually by application, students will need to show proof that their family income is no more than a certain amount as well as latest or current education results.

Some examples of grants include UCTS Foundation Sponsorship by the University College of Technology Sarawak in Malaysia and SUSS Study Grants in Singapore.

3. Loan

A study loan is another aid that can help support you through your education and is usually provided by the government, private organisations and most commonly by local banks. A loan means that students will have to repay the provider after graduation within a stipulated repayment period and usually with interest.

Most loan providers also require applicants to show proof of financial funds in terms of income to make sure that they are able to repay the loan. If they do not meet this requirement, they will need to name a guarantor when they apply for the loan.

Some examples of study loans are the POSB Study Assist and OCBC Frank Education Loan from local banks, and the MENDAKI Study Loan from a religious organisation.

General differences between the three:

After a brief introduction on the three, let us go a little deeper and dive into the difference between scholarships, grants, and loans.

1. Eligibility

Though all three provide some sort of monetary covering, their purpose differs slightly from one another- which is why their eligibility criteria differs as well. Typically, scholarships award outstanding students who demonstrate academic or skills excellence. Some scholarships may also be geared towards specific career goals such as those who are pursuing engineering or doing a research PhD. Grants on the other hand are eligible to those who are from lower income families, and loans are sum of money borrowed to an applicant by an organisation and they will require proof of a stable income flow and/or a guarantor to be considered.

2. Target group

Due to the nature of the award and aids, each of them also targets different group of students. The main purpose of scholarships is to attract outstanding talent into the school; therefore, scholarships are usually open to both international and local applicants.

Grants on the other hand are usually for local students though there are several that cater to international students as well. An example of a study grant for international students would be the Singapore MOE tuition grant.

Because loans require applicants’ assurance that they are able to return the borrowed sum after graduation and also involves a guarantor, study loans cater mainly to local students. Check with your local bank to find a loan that suits your needs and will allow you to fund an overseas education.

3. Repayment

The three forms of aid also differ after a student has graduated from the relevant programme. Both scholarships and grants do not require students to repay the finances after graduation.

Whereas loans, as the name suggests, will require students to repay the provider after they have graduated with interest. The frequency of repayment is usually monthly and within the agreed upon timeframe.

4. Terms and conditions

Each of these aids come with their own set of terms and conditions, and though individual schools and organisations may differ from one another, there are some generic conditions across the board.

For instance, scholars are usually required to uphold certain standards in terms of academics, skills or behaviour if not they risk losing the scholarship. Grants, on the other hand, would sometimes require successful applicants to be bonded to an organisation after their studies. One such example would be the Singapore MOE tuition grant which is available for selected international students where they are required to work for a Singapore entity for three years upon graduation. The terms and conditions for loans are subjected to the individual bank or provider.

From an international scholarship to a loan for studying abroad, these are some form of aid to help you pursue your desired education depending on your need and academic achievement or other abilities. If you are interested in any, do research on the various institutes and organisations to find one suited for you!