legal-terms
What does &quot;surety and scholar initial&quot; mean
<p>I have received an award letter of a scholarship which has terms and conditions to be printed on a non-legal stamp paper. There are 4 pages and at the end of each page there are the terms &quot;Scholar Initial&quot; and &quot;Guarantor/Surety Initial&quot; side by side with a short blank line above each, indicating that something needs to be written on it. What do they mean and what should be their purpose?</p>

<p>It means that the scholar (presumably you) and the guarantor/surety should each write their <a href="https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/47934/what-are-initials">initials</a> in that space, i.e. the first letters of their first and last names.  John Smith would write &quot;JS&quot;.</p>
<p>This is a common way of acknowledging that you have read and understood the text on the page.</p>

<p>&quot;Guarantor/Surety Initial&quot; is typically an someone (specifically, an adult) who <em>guarantees</em> to pay money back if the terms of the contract are not met.</p>
<p>In your case of this scholarship, the people who offer the scholarship will probably want their money back if you drop out or flunk.</p>
<p>If you're a minor -- or even a young adult dependent on parents for tuition, etc -- then the Guarantor will most certainly be your parents.  If you're financially independent, then <em>you</em> might be the Guarantor.</p>
