What marks do you need for a scholarship?
Find the exact bar for every programme below. It costs nothing to ask.
For the Merit Scholarship, you need 85% or above in Class 12 for undergraduate study, or an 80% average across all graduation semesters for postgraduate study. If you are a full orphan — that is, both your parents have passed away — the bar is lower, at 75% for both. If you grew up in a children’s home with no family at all, the bar is gentler still — 60% in Class 12 — and your whole education is funded; that is the Care Leaver Scholarship, explained below. Competitive-exam coaching needs 90% in Class 12 (in PCB for NEET, PCM for JEE), and UPSC and CAT also need 85% across graduation. The Education Continuity Grant needs 75% in Class 12 (or 70% in graduation for postgraduate study). Emergency Assistance needs 70% in Class 12 (or 60% in graduation for postgraduate study). Study Material and Device Support, for students of government institutions, starts at 90% in Class 12. Vocational Training and Exam Fee Support have no marks requirement at all. The full table is below.
And if your marks are a little below these numbers, please read to the end of this page before you decide you don’t qualify — because you may still be able to apply.
We support girls and women aged 18 and above. We do not fund minors.
We know that a number on a marksheet never tells the whole story of a student’s life. But marks help us be fair and consistent with the families who come to us, so we keep them clear and public. Find your situation in the table below. Wherever you see two numbers, the lower one is for full orphans and the higher one is for every other circumstance we support.
The complete marks table
One table, every programme. Where two different numbers appear, the lower one is for full orphans (both parents deceased) and the higher one is for every other circumstance. The Care Leaver Scholarship row is the same 60% in both columns — the note below the table explains why.
| Programme | Full Orphan | All Other Categories | What the marks are measured on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Care Leaver Scholarship — Undergraduate & Postgraduate | 60%+ | 60%+ | Class 12 marks — for girls leaving a children’s home (see the note below the table) |
| Merit Scholarship — Undergraduate | 75%+ | 85%+ | Class 12 overall aggregate |
| Merit Scholarship — Postgraduate | 75%+ | 80%+ | Average across all graduation semesters |
| Education Continuity Grant — Undergraduate | 75%+ | 75%+ | Class 12 marks |
| Education Continuity Grant — Postgraduate | 70%+ | 70%+ | Graduation average |
| Emergency Assistance — Undergraduate | 70%+ | 70%+ | Class 12 marks — earning parent died or was diagnosed with a critical illness in the past 180 days |
| Emergency Assistance — Postgraduate | 60%+ | 60%+ | Graduation marks — same 180-day condition |
| NEET Coaching | 90%+ | 90%+ | Physics, Chemistry, Biology (PCB) specifically |
| JEE Coaching | 90%+ | 90%+ | Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics (PCM) specifically |
| CA Coaching | 90%+ | 90%+ | Overall Class 12 — Commerce stream |
| CMA Coaching | 90%+ | 90%+ | Overall Class 12 — any stream |
| UPSC Coaching | 90% Class 12 + 85% graduation | 90% Class 12 + 85% graduation | Both needed — Class 12 overall, and average across all graduation semesters; any discipline |
| CAT Coaching | 90% Class 12 + 85% graduation | 90% Class 12 + 85% graduation | Both needed — Class 12 overall, and average across all graduation semesters; any discipline |
| Vocational Training | No bar | No bar | No academic requirement |
| Exam Fee Support | No bar | No bar | Government institutions only (not government-aided). Need-based |
| Study Material & Device Support — Undergraduate | 90% Class 12; after 1st year also 80% UG so far | 90% Class 12; after 1st year also 80% UG so far | Government institutions only (not government-aided). Marks counted up to the day you apply |
| Study Material & Device Support — Postgraduate | 90% Class 12 + 80% UG; after 1st PG year also 75% PG so far | 90% Class 12 + 80% UG; after 1st PG year also 75% PG so far | Government institutions only (not government-aided). Marks counted up to the day you apply |
About the Care Leaver Scholarship row
This one works differently from the rest of the table, so here it is in plain words. It is for a girl who grew up in a registered children’s home and is leaving with no family to return to. The entry mark is 60% in Class 12 — the same for both undergraduate and postgraduate study — and it does not change whether you are a full orphan or not, because what defines this support is your circumstance, not which parent you lost. For a girl on this scholarship, the Foundation funds 100% of her education — full college tuition, full hostel and accommodation, and full examination fees. If a degree is not your path, a vocational course is fully funded instead, with no marks requirement at all. Everything about it lives on one page.
Keeping your scholarship after you are selected
The marks on this page are the marks you need to qualify. Once you are selected on the Merit or Care Leaver Scholarship, your support is renewed every semester: 70% in each semester exam if you are a full orphan or a care leaver, and 80% in all other situations. We have built in a first-semester grace period and a recovery semester so that one difficult term does not cost you your support.
CA and CMA exams are pass or fail, so for these we follow your attempt history and steady progress through the levels instead. The full rules are set out just below this table.
You will also find the renewal and continuation terms on the programme pages:
- Merit Scholarship — renewal marks, grace period, recovery semester, and how professional courses are handled.
- Education Continuity Grant — support for one year, not renewable as a Grant; how to move to the Merit Scholarship.
Keeping your support
Merit Scholarship and Care Leaver Scholarship renewal, every semester — the marks you need in each semester exam:
| Your situation | Marks in each semester |
|---|---|
| Full orphan | 70% |
| Care Leaver | 70% |
| All other situations | 80% |
First semester is a grace period
In the first semester of any new programme, your support continues whatever your marks. Continuation marks apply from the second semester.
Annual exams
If your college holds annual exams, the same marks apply, checked once a year.
CA and CMA students on the Merit Scholarship
These exams are pass or fail, so we follow your attempt history and steady progress through the levels.
If your marks drop — we pause, we do not stop
Semester colleges: below the line in one semester, you are still supported the next semester (your recovery semester). If you recover, your support continues with no penalty. If not, it pauses from the following semester, and resumes automatically when your marks meet the line in any later semester — no need to reapply. Annual colleges: there is no recovery year — support pauses for the next academic year, and resumes automatically when your next annual result meets the line.
Illness or a family emergency
On the Merit Scholarship, you can have a one-semester exemption after a documented hospital stay or a serious family crisis. Send a medical certificate or other proof within 30 days of your results. This is allowed once during the whole scholarship.
Coaching, the Grant and Emergency Assistance
Coaching: your progress is reviewed at regular intervals. Education Continuity Grant: one year; you move to the Merit Scholarship if you reach its marks. Emergency Assistance: one-time, once per student; you can move to the Merit Scholarship later.
One hard semester does not end your journey.
Why orphan girls have a lower bar
If both your parents have passed away, you have carried more than most students your age ever will. We recognise that by setting the marks bar lower for full orphans — 75% for the Merit Scholarship, where other students need 85% for undergraduate study and 80% for postgraduate study. It is a small acknowledgement that you have done your studying without the support most children take for granted.
This 75% bar is for a full orphan who still has family around her — grandparents, an aunt or uncle, relatives who form a home. If you instead grew up in a children’s home with no family at all, you are not on the Merit Scholarship; your support is the Care Leaver Scholarship, with a gentler 60% bar and your whole education funded. The row at the top of the table is yours.
Read more on the Orphan Girls page.
A note for students from strict-marking universities
If your university is known for strict marking and you fall marginally below the threshold, our Scholarship Committee may consider your Merit Scholarship application at 80% and above, on a case-by-case basis, if you are in any situation other than full orphan (Categories 2 to 6). Please send documented evidence of the university's marking pattern with your application. If you are close, apply anyway and explain your situation — we would always rather you reach out and ask than rule yourself out.
Frequently asked questions
What if my marks are just below the threshold?+
Do orphan girls really have a lower marks requirement?+
I grew up in a children’s home. What marks do I need?+
I want to do NEET / JEE coaching. Is the 90% on all my subjects?+
I am in the Arts stream. Can I get CA coaching support?+
My marks are below everything on this table. Is there anything for me?+
What happens if my marks drop after I am selected?+
Does it cost anything to apply or to ask?+
Slightly below the bar? Not sure where you fit? It costs nothing to ask. Talk to us and we will tell you honestly what you can apply for.