Fresh or renewal? Getting this wrong costs students a year
If you received a scholarship last year, you usually apply for renewal, not fresh. Applying as fresh can void your continuity, and missing renewal ends the scholarship entirely.
The difference
Fresh means you are applying to this scheme for the first time. Renewal means you received it last year and are continuing the same course.
Why it matters
Renewal applications are usually processed on a separate track with their own window. If you apply as fresh when you should have renewed, you may lose your place in the continuing list. If you miss renewal altogether, the scholarship stops, and you cannot always restart it as a fresh application later.
What renewal usually needs
- Your previous year's result, showing you met the promotion or attendance condition
- Confirmation you are in the next year of the same course
- Often, a fresh income certificate
Common mistakes
- Assuming renewal is automatic. It is not, you have to apply.
- Waiting for the fresh-application window when the renewal window is different, and sometimes earlier.
- Changing course or institution without checking whether the scheme still covers you.
Check the renewal window on your scheme page as soon as your results are out.
Published 28 Jul 2026. Dates change without warning, so check the official site before you apply. We never take your application, your documents or your money. You apply directly, always.