You may be wondering if getting a scholarship is all it’s cracked up to be. Sure, it’s always nice to receive money that you’re not expected to pay back, but are there any downsides to getting a scholarship? It turns out that there are advantages and disadvantages to receiving scholarship money. The obvious advantage is that you get the money you need for college that you won’t have to take out in the form of a loan. This money will go toward things like tuition, room and board, books, supplies, your computer, and anything else school related.
You definitely don’t want to look a gift horse in the teeth, but there are a few things you’ll be expected to do to receive your scholarship money and continue to receive it each semester. Many scholarship awards have minimum requirements that you are expected to meet in order to earn the award in the first place, but you will also need to maintain these minimums each semester that you expect to continue receiving. The good thing about a scholarship is that it is usually not unique. You can renew it while you’re in college, depending on whether you keep your grades up and meet all other expectations. Some scholarships will want you to maintain a certain GPA, while others will expect you to get involved in extracurricular activities or volunteer hours to get your money.
If you become dependent on your scholarship money but have a bad semester, it can be financially devastating to have your money terminated or not qualify for future semesters.
Compared to grants, scholarships generally have more strings attached, but since they are renewable, they balance out. When you receive a grant, it is often a one-time award. If you want to receive it again, you must reapply and be accepted again. The beauty of grants is that you rarely have to do more than apply for them. If you apply for and are awarded a grant, the money appears either by direct deposit or in the form of a check. With a scholarship, they’ll not only verify that you’re eligible to receive it, but they’ll check with the school to make sure you still live up to your end of the bargain, and all the money will go directly to the university to pay for things. You will only have leftovers to make whatever you want.
Of course it is better to get a scholarship than not to get a scholarship. Just don’t be surprised when you find out all the other things that come with getting one. They are often glamorized and considered the Holy Grail of free money for college. Some scholarships cause stress in the way of maintaining the minimum requirements. It is up to you to decide if it is worth it or not.