A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further their education. Scholarships are awarded based upon various criteria, which reflect the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award. Scholarship money is not required to be repaid by the student; this article addresses scholarships in the United States of America. While the terms are used interchangeably, there is a difference. Scholarships rely on other criteria as well. Academic Scholarships use a minimum Grade Point Average or standardized test score such as the ACT or SAT to select awardees. Athletic Scholarships are based on athletic performance of a student and used as a tool to recruit high-performing athletes for their school's athletic teams. Merit Scholarships can be based on a number of criteria, including performance in a particular school subject or club participation or community service. Grants, are offered based on financial need and determined using the applicant's FAFSA information; the most common scholarships may be classified as: Merit-based: These awards are based on a student's academic, athletic or other abilities, factor in an applicant's extracurricular activities and community service record.

The most common merit-based scholarships, awarded by either private organizations or directly by a student's intended college, recognize academic achievement or high scores on standardized tests. Most such merit-based scholarships are paid directly by the institution the student attends, rather than issued directly to the student. Need-based: Some private need-based awards are confusingly called scholarships, require the results of a FAFSA. However, scholarships are merit-based, while grants tend to be need-based. Student-specific: These are scholarships for which applicants must qualify based upon gender, religion and medical history, or many other student-specific factors. Minority scholarships are the most common awards in this category. For example, students in Canada may qualify for a number of aboriginal scholarships, whether they study at home or abroad; the Gates Millennium Scholars program is another minority scholarship funded by Bill and Melinda Gates for excellent African American, American Indian, Asian Pacific Islander American and Latino students who enroll in college.

Career-specific: These are scholarships a college or university awards to students who plan to pursue a specific field of study. The most generous awards to students who pursue careers in high-need areas such as education or nursing. Many schools in the United States give future nurses full scholarships to enter the field if the student intends to work in a high-need community. College-specific: College-specific scholarships are offered by individual colleges and universities to qualified applicants; these scholarships are given on the basis of personal achievement. Some scholarships have a "bond" requirement. Recipients may be required to work for a particular employer for a specified period of time or to work in rural or remote areas; this is the case with education and nursing scholarships for people prepared to work in rural and remote areas. The programs offered by the uniformed services of the United States sometimes resemble such scholarships. Athletic: Awarded to students with exceptional skill in a sport.

This is so that the student will be available to attend the school or college and play the sport on their team, although in some countries government funded sports scholarships are available, allowing scholarship holders to train for international representation. School-based athletics scholarships can be controversial, as some believe that awarding scholarship money for athletic rather than academic or intellectual purposes is not in the institution's best interest. Brand Scholarships: These scholarships are sponsored by a brand, trying to gain attention to their brand, or a cause. Sometimes these scholarships are referred to as branded scholarships; the Miss America beauty pageant is the most famous example of a brand scholarship. Creative Contest Scholarships: These scholarships are awarded to students based on a creative submission. Contest scholarships are called mini project based scholarships where students can submit entries based on unique and innovative ideas. Of increasing interest in the United States are "last dollar" scholarships.

These can be provided by private and government-based institutions, are intended to cover the remaining fees charged to a student after the various grants are taken into account. To prohibit institutions from taking last dollar scholarships into account, thereby removing other sources of funding, these scholarships are not offered until after financial aid has been offered in the form of a letter. Furthermore, last dollar scholarships may require families to have filed taxes for the most recent year, it is typical for people to find scholarships in their home regions. Information on these can be found by asking local organizations; these are less competitive as the eligible population is smaller. Guidance counselors: When starting to explore scholarship opportunities, most high school students check with their guidance counselors, they can be a reliable source of information regarding local scholarships. Non-profits and charitable trusts: Most

Alfred Grandidier was a French naturalist and explorer. From a wealthy family, at the age of 20, he and his brother, Ernest Grandidier, undertook a voyage around the world. At first they were led by the astronomer and physicist Pierre Jules César Janssen, but when Janssen fell sick and had to return to France after about six months, the brothers continued the journey, they visited South America in 1858 and 1859 and in particular the Andes, Chile, Bolivia and Brazil. During this voyage they gathered a significant collection of specimens which were analyzed, in 1860, by Ernest; the two brothers parted ways after this. Ernest Grandidier went to China and collected a vast number of specimens which are now in the Louvre and the Guimet museum. Alfred travelled to India, reaching it in 1863, he was prevented by a severe attack of fever. Grandidier travelled to Zanzibar to recuperate, remaining some time and making important collections and publishing an account of his findings, he visited the island of Réunion and in 1865 made his first visit to Madagascar.

He became devoted to the study of the island, revisiting in 1866 and 1868. He returned permanently to France in 1870. During his explorations he crossed the island three times, travelling 3000 kilometers in the interior and 2500 along the coast, he made observations which resulted in the production of a map of the island used in future expeditions. After returning to France he began to work on his great work, L'Histoire physique, naturelle et politique de Madagascar; this work was undertaken in cooperation with others such as Alphonse Milne-Edwards and Leon Vaillant. This work ran to 40 volumes, the final volumes published posthumously by his son Guillaume Grandidier, he described about 50 new species of amphibians. Alfred Grandidier's work drew the attention of the French government to Madagascar, which it would annex at the end of 1890, he was elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1885 and was the president of the French Geographical Society from 1901 to 1905. The Royal Geographical Society awarded him their Founder's Gold Medal in 1906.

Oplurus grandidieri, a species of lizard, Xenotyphlops grandidieri, a species of snake, were named in his honor by French herpetologist François Mocquard. The mineral grandidierite, discovered in Madagascar, was named in his honor, as is the giant Grandidier baobab. Partial list. Grandidier A. "Description de quatre espèces nouvelles de Lepidopteres decouvertes sur la cote sud-oust de Madagascar ". Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquee 19: 272–275. Grandidier A. Histoire physique, naturelle et politique de Madagascar. Volumes 18 & 19. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale. Grandidier A. "Histoire naturelle des lepidopteres ". Histoire Physique, Naturelle et Politique de Madagascar 18: i-v, 1–364. Category:Taxa named by Alfred Grandidier Obituary in The Auk 39: 453. Gallica has several digitised on line digitised works by Grandidier. Aluka – Cookies are absent/required at www.aluka.org The Grandidier library and photograph collection

Shoalwater Bay Tribe is a Native American tribe in western Washington state in the United States. They are descendants of the Willapa Chinook, Lower Chehalis, Willapa Hills tribes; the Shoalwater Bay tribe lives on the southwest coast of Washington in northwestern Pacific County, along the shores of Willapa Bay where the 2.693 km² Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation with 70 inhabitants is located. The reservation is just west of Washington; the original language of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, belonging to the Chinookan family of Native American languages, is possibly extinct. Shoalwater Bay Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, Washington United States Census Bureau Shoalwater Bay Community Website Shoalwater Bay Tribe website