More rampant scholar speculation...

[Roogle]

I never quite understood what makes a Scholar different from a Black Mage, White Mage or Red Mage. But then, I never really enjoyed being a mage at all.

It depends on the game. In some cases, a Scholar is more versatile than a Black Mage or a White Mage, without sacrificing statistics to be more well-rounded like a Red Mage.