<p>Are these essentially two different names for the same thing? My son has been offered a large grant from his preferred school, but his second choice has offered a substantial scholarship, making the two pretty much identical in cost to us. I'm new at this, and just wondering if it matters at all what kind of aid he is getting. </p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>They are essentially the same thing. However, you should definitely check whether each is renewable or guaranteed for multiple years. In some situations, they are only for one year, meaning you may be required to make up the difference in future years.</p>
<p>And if they are renewable you may also want to check to see if a minimum GPA is required in order to keep receiving them each year.</p>
<p>Often used to mean the same thing. But some schools use Scholarship to mean merit based, and Grant to mean need-based. Some UCLA scholarships that are part of their need-based FinAid package, for example, require the student to maintain a 3.5 GPA. The Grants that are part of the same package have no GPA requirement.</p>
<p>My son was admitted to 6 schools. Some schools gave merit scholarships (which were not need-based, they were based on academic performance, good for all four years if he kept up a GPA set by the school--that varied by school). Some schools offered grants--which were part of his financial aid package. While grants are need-based, you seem more likely to get more grant/less loan in your package at private schools if you are someone they want to attract. Some schools gave him both. He will most likely attend one that gave him both. But the main difference in his merits vs. grants is that if our financial situation changes, he could lose the grants, but even if our EFC was $1 million next year, he would keep the merits if he maintained the qualifying GPA. Most merits don't require FAFSA to be filed, though some do, especially the first year. Not sure why if they aren't need-based.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the replies. I am aware of the requirements to keep the merit based scholarships, but I guess we need to ask about the grant. It won't help us much if we can afford this year but not next. </p>
<p>take care-</p>
<p>Rellie</p>