Forum:

A need based scholarship may be offered by schools, businesses, organizations. A need based scholarship may take academics into account, but the primary requirement for qualification is for those who need financial assistant. Students who have parents in a lower-middle income bracket may not have the funds to pay for college, but their parents make too much for them to qualify for government grants and other assistance primarily for students at or below the poverty level.

Need-based scholarship is in place because the criteria for awarding such scholarship is less strict than federal aid like grants, allowing more students to be able to take advantage and be able to attend college.

I totally see the rise in the need-based scholarship these few years as more and more people want to go back to school to get a higher degree or even get a degree. And people's need to get help from anyone or the government to accomplish this goal will increase as well.