Are scholarships awarded because....?

[mummyjee]

I was under the impression scholarships are awarded because child aced her papers and aced the interviews, however my friend keeps insisting this is not the case and thinks family history at school and other things are taken into consideration too...

can someone please tell me the general criteria for selecting who is invited back for an interview

thank you

[hermanmunster]

totally depends on the school -

some schools have quite high fees but give lots of scholarships, I remember a friend whose son got a "headmaster's scholarship" because he had been head boy at his prep school - effect was to bring fees down to that of other local schools.

Most schools it is academic but there are others who give scholarships for art / drama / sport / music an all rounder.

[mummyjee]

thank you for response- yes i'm mainly enquiring about the academic scholarship

[hermanmunster]

Academic scholarships will generally be because they have done well in exams etc . it would be tricky to have such a scholarship in any other way as there would be quite a bit of pressure to do well in future years.

[SHertsDad]

Surely other factors like the ones mentioned are considered when offering even academic scholarships! What also depends massively on each case and from school to school.

[Labyrinth2]

I am not sure if other factors eg parents occupation, background are taken into account- tbh would not surprise me

[SHertsDad]

Interesting - occupation would be taken into account for scholarships. Why would a school do this and what would be a desirable occupation?

[Labyrinth2]

Shertsdad- merely speculating based on offers made by some schools - can't be specific but I think sometimes there might be an unfair playing field .

[Labyrinth2]

As regards 'desirable occupations' : doctors, bankers ,lawyers, politicians ( believe it or not) - could be to do with ability to pay fees / connections/ genetics ie clever parents would mean child more likely to have potential (even if not demonstrated in entrance test)- wealthy parents can afford extra tuition - less pressure on school - not forgetting plain old snobbery . I feel it's definitely a huge factor with some schools - even though prospectus states otherwise.

[MumDetermined]

This is why some schools while interviewing children sneak in questions such as what do your parents do ?, where do you go on holiday, what clubs do you go to ?, do you have tutors ? Not every question has the intention of understanding if the child is well rounded !!
Yes, it is an unfair playing field and not transparent.. Most Schools offer scholarships to only a small percentage. They have to identify a child who is likely to be well supported at home academically and otherwise. They don't want to loose a child who can bring in results to boost their stats. At the same time they also have to figure out who can pay and who cannot one way or another !! They could argue that they are not charitable organisations !!