Most Universities from any part of the world usually provide students with the opportunity to access scholarships and bursaries. These opportunities can be immensely valuable, offering financial support to eligible students, either in full or in part, based on specific criteria set by the sponsors.
Scholarships and bursaries share similar features because they both provide for the financial needs of students, and the differences between them will be discussed in this publication.
What’s a Scholarship?
Scholarships are majorly grants reserved for exemplary students in an institution of learning. These grants may come from schools, government agencies, foundations, etc. Certain conditions must be met before a student receives the monetary award.
What is a Bursary?
Bursaries are similar to scholarships. It is a form of grant or financial assistance offered to students to help them during their academics. The conditions for receiving a bursary scheme are less rigorous when compared with that of a scholarship program.
This does not imply that all students are eligible to receive bursary benefits because some bursary schemes exempt postgraduate students, and students who are currently benefiting from any scholarship program, to mention but a few.
Similarities Between Scholarship And Bursary
Application Submission:
Applications for both bursary and scholarship schemes are mostly filled online, and applicants stand a 50% chance of being selected for the program. You can always visit the website of the scholarship or bursary sponsors to know the conditions that need to be met before submitting your application.
Income Basis:
High-income earners stand less chance of receiving scholarships or bursary monetary rewards, this is because the funds are primarily designed for low-income earners and people who struggle to make ends meet while studying.
Purpose:
Both scholarships and bursaries were introduced to reduce the costs of living, school charges, transportation, and so on.
Deadline:
Application for both bursary and scholarship are available for a stipulated time. Failure to submit your application before the start and end date automatically disqualifies you from receiving any of the monetary rewards.
Repayment Plan:
Scholarships and bursaries are far different from a loan scheme, beneficiaries need not worry about a repayment plan in view after they are awarded.
Differences Between A Scholarship And Bursary
Recurring Rewards:
Most scholarship benefits reoccur every academic year as long as the student meets up with the stipulated requirements binding the scholarship offer. Meanwhile, most bursary schemes are designed to be received once by a student during his academic journey.
Application Letter:
Submission of application letters is accepted by most bursary schemes, and it’s majorly used to select students. On the other hand, application letters are usually added documents to back up a student scholarship application.
Academic Performance:
Most scholarship founders use the student’s past academic history to review before they award scholarships. Meanwhile, your average or high academic performance is not a determinant for being selected for a bursary program.
