<p>Is a "grant" given year in and year out as long as the student remains in good academic standing.. GPA.. or whatever? Or, is a grant merely an incentive given to a freshman which may not be given again in subsequent years.</p>
<p>A grant, unlike a scholarship, is not dependent on grades and is part of the four-year financial aid package. This package may change if the financial situation of the student changes but it should not be a one off thing. S1 was offered a one-time scholarship by a college if he chose to attend it, but this was made very clear in the letter of admission and was not considered a grant (he did not apply for finaid).</p>
<p>A grant is not a loan insofar as there is no expectation that it will be paid back. But a student who receives finaid consisting of grants rather than loans may still be expected to work for the finaid both during the school year and during the summer. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>It depends on the school. DD has a school grant that is renewable annually with a certain GPA requirement.</p>
<p>Thumper:</p>
<p>Does the school call it a grant or a scholarship?</p>
<p>Marite, It's a school grant. DD actually went into the finaid office to inquire about this last year (wondering if it was renewable). They told her it was renewable with a 3.0 GPA for the full four years. It is institutional money (and we all know the universities can do whatever they want to with their OWN money).</p>
<p>Thanks, Thumper. It appears that schools also can use whatever label they choose! I would have called it an internal scholarship as it is merit-based.</p>
<p>When I read the OP's query, I had the same thoughts as Marite. It is hard to answer the question based on the terminology used without clarification. I think of a "grant" as part of a need based financial aid package. The grant is the part that does not have to be paid back (like loans). That amount will vary year to year while in college due to FAFSA, etc. For example, I have a daughter who is a senior at Brown who is on financial aid. Brown only gives need based aid. Part of her package is a grant and part is loans. The grant amount has increased during her years at Brown as our need increased due to having two children in college. </p>
<p>However, I have a child at NYU who is also on need based aid but she also got a merit "scholarship" upon being admitted to NYU and the scholarship has a name: "Trustee Scholarship". That scholarship is a fixed amount that she was told would be given to her every year. She is now a junior and has gotten that same substantial scholarship yearly, even if the need based aspect varies. The scholarship amount has remained exactly the same. </p>
<p>I can't say for sure that another school's merit scholarship is given all four years and it may vary from school to school and I would ask to be sure. When my D got this unexpected scholarship (we didn't even know it existed until she received it), I did ask and was told she'd get it all four years. And for the first three so far, she has. Again, that may not be true for all merit based scholarships. </p>
<p>When I think of grants, I think of the portion of need based aid that the school gives that doesn't have to be paid back, but where the amount varies year to year based on need and is unrelated to merit, or GPA while i college.</p>