Types of Scholarships
American universities offer scholarships and grants to their students that cover a portion or all of the total cost. Universities may offer athletic scholarships, academic scholarships, international scholarships, grants, and student loans.
Athletic Scholarships
These scholarships are received by student athletes who are part of one of the university’s sports teams. The scholarships are usually different for each individual student athlete and they cover a percentage of university expenses – even all expenses in some cases.
The costs covered by the scholarships include: tuition and fees, books, residency, meals, and medical insurance.
In addition, all student athletes have all of the following included: training and competitions, sports equipment, travel with the team, academic tutors, sports medical assistance, and trainers.
If a student athlete receives a full athletic scholarship, all of the expenses mentioned above will be covered. For partial scholarships, a certain percentage of the total amount of expenses mentioned above will be covered.
Athletic scholarships are granted by the university coaches and they decide the scholarship percentage the student athlete will receive after evaluating the player’s sport and academic level. Depending on the division the university belongs to and the type of sport, there are a number of rules that coaches have to follow as there are a maximum number of athletic scholarships that can be awarded to each team.
Academic Scholarships
Students from any American university have the possibility to obtain various academic scholarships depending on their academic level. These scholarships depend on the type of institute, SAT and TOEFL score, or GPA if transferring to another university.
Scholarships for International Students
Many universities are interested in having international students from all over the world at their institutions. For this reason, many universities offer scholarships to students simply because they are from another country.
Possibility of Combining Scholarships
There is the possibility of combining scholarships to earn much lower university costs. Obtaining multiple scholarships would result in a higher scholarship total.
Factors that Determine the Amount of Scholarship
Academic Scholarships:
Each university has scholarship requirements and a number of different academic scholarships. The amount they provide depends on their budget, SAT score, high school GPA and TOEFL score.
Athletic Scholarships:
The athletic scholarships awarded by each university are regulated by the university division as there is a maximum amount allowed to be distributed to each sports team. Coaches have access to this budget and decide the amount of scholarship to be allocated to each team member.
The athletic amount is decided on the following: player’s sports level, results in tournaments and competitions, national and international ranking, grades in exams, level of the chosen university team, budget of the university team.