Student's goal of French grant initially withheld (6)
I believe the answer is:
degree
'student's goal' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both related to thinking as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'of french grant initially withheld' is the wordplay.
'of french' becomes 'de'.
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
'withheld' becomes 'ree' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
The first letter of 'grant' is 'g'.
'de'+'g'+'ree'='DEGREE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for degree that I've seen before include "The measure of a university award?" , "Angular unit; stage" , "Fraction of a minute" , "See 13" , "Extent of university qualification?" .)