How did a student grant work in 18th/19th century Western Europe

Question

I am making research for a book, and I need details about grants/scholarships in Western Europe around the beginning of the 19th century, ideally for a teenager living far away from the applied school.

How would the application work ? On what criteria the grant would be given ? How would the scholar go to the school without the funds to make the trip ? Would someone come and get him, someone appointed to "collect" scholars, or would the scholarship funds be made available to the student so he can go by himself ?

I read some fiction books where the protagonist is a scholar during that time period, but most of them don't mention the scholarship process at all. At best, they remain very evasive on the subject: usually, a private teacher writes a letter at the end of a very basic education (when the student comes to a certain age, or the teacher feels he does not have anything left to teach him), asking for a college grant somewhere in a big city, describing what the student has learned and recommending him. The positive response comes months later, and the protagonist travels to the school. But I fear the books I read oversimplify for the sake of the reader.

I know each country had its own education system and access to scholarship, but I am having trouble finding even very general details. And even though I am targeting Western Europe (especially the scholarships created by Napoleon in post-revolution France), I really don't need a very specific answer: any real details about a scholar travelling to a big city for higher education during that time period would help a lot.

English is not my first language - sorry if I made some mistakes. Thank you for reading my long and very specific question.

Answer 1

You can't find much info about grants as scholarships from the government are a fairly recent development. In the 18th and 19th century rich individuals gave grants. The terms of each grant varied very much.

Your teenager is probably a child of the lower or (lower) middle class. Most likely the middle class. It wasn't impossible for lower class children, but extremely unlikely to happen. Upper middle class and upper class could afford to pay the fees themselves. Very likely he'll try to stay with family, if someone lived in that area. Otherwise he'll be living in a boarding house.

He could have gotten that grant because his father and/or mother worked for a rich and powerful individual and was able to pull of that favor. He must be really gifted and showing lots of promise and interest - otherwise nobody would grant him anything. Your teenager is intellectually gifted, with almost certainly glowing recommendations from his schoolteacher and/or priest/minister.

Unless this rich individual was very generous, your teenager will have to live soberly and likely have a job at the side to make both ends meet.

The reason why he will get that grant is, for example, his father doing the rich individual a special favor. Rescuing his life for example, or in a mugging. Or his father is manager of the rich person, and able to get him to support his gifted son. Someone of some importance who is in regular contact with the patron. A manager of the estate, chief game keeper, that sort of thing. (Not one of the farmers, or regular game keepers.) Or he could be a lieutenant in the army/navy, asking his once general/admiral for a favor.