There’s no denying that education can be expensive and a heavy burden. This has caused many promising young students to drop out of school because they can’t pay their school fees. Luckily, financial aid initiatives such as scholarships help bridge that gap allowing deserving students to stay in school by paying for their school expenses.
There are different types of scholarship for school students, such as merit-based, need-based, or merit-cum-means. These different types of awards cater to different target groups allowing more students to receive financial aid.
What is a merit-based scholarship?
A merit-based scholarship is an award given to high performing students. It is based entirely on your merit in either academics, sports, leadership activity, community service, artistic, or other special interests rather than your need for financial aid. The primary objective of these awards is to reward talents in these different fields and allow them to pursue their education.
There are other merit scholarships that focus on both merit and need. These scholarships, also known as merit-cum-means allow deserving students from moderate-income homes to pursue their educational dreams.
How to get a merit-based scholarship?
To get a merit-based scholarship, you need to perform well academically and have outstanding performance in other disciplines. The eligibility criteria of a merit-based scholarship will depend on the sponsor or the institution offering it. For some, you might need to be a part of a specific club or association. Other scholarships are aimed at minority students, females, or students interested in particular areas such as STEM.
Merit scholarships can be very competitive. To get one, you need to start the application process early. This means keeping your grades up, staying focused, and thinking about the type of scholarship you want to apply for. A good starting point is identifying the areas you excel at, such as sports, academics, leadership activities, community service, etc. Even though it could be based on different merit criteria such as sports, your academic performance can make or break your chances of winning the award.
Applying for a merit scholarship is the same as applying for any other scholarship:
● Submit a well-filled application form, the required documentation, and follow the application instructions.
● Depending on the type of scholarship, you might be asked to submit supporting documentation such as academic records, awards, certificates, published papers, etc.
● Start the application process early to give yourself enough time to list potential scholarships and gather all the required documents.
Given how popular these scholarship awards are, it’s important that you are careful when applying. There are a lot of dishonest individuals looking to take advantage of desperate naive learners. These fraudulent scholarship offers can take different forms, such as paying an application fee or a fee to receive your scholarship money.
All about GIIS’ Mahatma Gandhi Universal Values Merit-cum-Means Scholarship
In response to help and encourage meritorious students in the country, the Global Schools Foundation (GSF) offers both merit and merit-cum-means scholarships. These awards are aimed at helping learners continue with their education by providing financial assistance. Since they are open to all, this makes getting an education feasible for all pupils across different financial scopes.
The Mahatma Gandhi Universal Values Merit-cum-Means Scholarship is an excellent example of such a scholarship. This scholarship is primarily given to support exemplary students from moderate-income families. It is offered at GIIS school in pune and is open to learners from nursery to grade 10 at the Hadapsar campus, but it is open for nursery to grade 12 students at the Balewadi campus. It offers students studying the CBSE or Global Montessori Plus (GMP) curriculums a fee waiver of 10 to 20 percent off on their tuition fees.
This 2-year award offers different perks depending on the category you qualify for (For Academic Year 2020-2021)
1. Category A recipients get 20 percent off on tuition fees, and to qualify, their family’s annual income must be 8,00,000 INR and below.
2. Category B beneficiaries get 15 percent off on tuition fees, and to be eligible, their family’s annual income must be between 8,00,000 INR and 10,00,000 INR.
3. Category C awardees get 12 percent off on tuition fees, and to be eligible, their family’s annual income must be between 10,00,000 INR and 12,00,000 INR.
4. Lastly, category D winners get 10 percent off, and to be eligible, their family’s annual income must be between 12,00,000 INR and 25,00,000 INR.
Other eligibility criteria include that all applicants must be Indian citizens with above-average academic performance (over 60 percent or equivalent).
How to apply for the Mahatma Gandhi Universal Values Merit-cum-means Scholarship
To apply, fill out and submit an application form with all the required documentation such as academic records for the past two years and your family’s gross income financial statements, tax assessments, and a self-declaration form of your family’s gross income.
If your child is living with a local guardian, you must provide the same statements for their local guardians. The school reaches out to successful applicants through email after about ten working days after the application closes. Your child may be required to come in for an assessment and a one-on-one interview before the final candidate is announced.
Merit-based scholarships allow students from different backgrounds to continue their education. Even though some awards such as merit-cum-means scholarships aim to help the needy, most awards are open to all despite how much money your family earns. This way, even pupils from families that earn a bit more can get financial aid.
