How to Get Academic Scholarships

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What is an academic scholarship?

Doing well in school brings all sorts of opportunities for students. Students are able to help fund their higher education by working hard in their early academic career. Academic scholarships are college scholarships awarded to students based on their academic achievement. These scholarships look at students' GPAs, test scores, and other academic indicators of success.

Generally, academic scholarships are a form of financial aid that is awarded to incoming college students based on their merit rather than financial need. Often administered by a school's admissions office, rather than their financial aid office, these scholarships are awarded to a very small percentage of students.

While many academic scholarships - also known as merit scholarships - focus on awarding students just leaving high school, each scholarship program varies, giving opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to earn financial aid through college scholarships.