1. 美国本科奖学金申请Need-Based
Financial aid that is need-based depends on your financial situation. Most government sources of financial aid are need-based.
该项奖学金的发放标准是根据学生家庭的经济收入的高低，包括父母工资，家庭财产状况等。Need-based奖学金对于美国本国申请者来说非常丰厚。但是对于国际学生来说，只有少部分大学提供，绝大部分的大学仅有少量甚至没有Need-based奖学金供国际学生申请。
2. 美国本科奖学金申请Merit-based
Financial aid that is merit-based depends on your academic, artistic or athletic merit or some other criteria, and does not depend on the existence of financial need. Merit-based awards use your grades, test scores, hobbies and special talents to determine your eligibility for scholarships.
该项奖学金是以申请人自身具备的学术成绩，思想品质，发展潜力等实力因素来决定。并不考虑经济上是否需要帮助，只要学校认可申请者的学术背景，都会给予奖学金。该奖学金并不局限于美国本土的学生申请，而是针对大部分申请者。
3.美国本科奖学金申请 Need-Blind
Under need-blind admissions, the school decides whether to make an offer of admission to a student without considering the student's financial situation. Most schools use a need-blind admissions process. A few schools will use financial need to decide whether to include marginal students in the wait list.
美国有很多资金实力雄厚的私立大学，在录取的时候不考虑学生是否需要学校提供资助，即申请奖学金于否对申请没有任何影响。如果学校认为申请人符合录取标准，就根据学生的家庭情况做出判断：该学生家庭能够承担多少费用，其余全部由学校设法提供。美国的很多私立名牌学校都执行需求无关的政策，例如哈佛大学、普林斯顿大学、耶鲁大学等。
