Written by Ayaan Nanj
For senior students, university applications become closer to submission as the days pass by throughout the first semester. During this period of time, many people apply for as many university programs as possible that they are interested in. The application process is time-consuming and complicated and a lot of students forget to check on scholarships and other monetary awards while they rush to complete their application. The cost of attending university can be prohibitive for many, but scholarships often lighten students’ financial burden, even if it is a few hundred dollars or in the thousands.
Depending on fields of interest, it can be difficult at times to find scholarships online that are tailored specifically to you. The process can be time-consuming, especially with school and extracurricular activities going on simultaneously. Nonetheless, finding scholarships that you deem suitable early is always a good idea to avoid overloading yourself with stress later on. It would be beneficial to spend a few minutes every day collecting information about scholarships you can apply for before writing applications and/or applying to programs. Once you've narrowed down your selections based on your time and financial resources, you can start eliminating those that are not suitable. Typical scholarships are based on school performance and grades, but some scholarships require essay writing. Such scholarships demand sufficient time and effort to be reflected in the work, and therefore be considered for the award. When considering scholarships, never leave your applications and other required documents till the very last minute, since many scholarships have strict deadlines and high expectations for applicants. Also, devise an action plan on how you will use the scholarship resources you find. A sample action plan could look like this:
Monitor the Criteria
Preliminary research on the criteria and the scholarship award. This will allow you to have sufficient information to learn about whether this scholarship is suitable, because otherwise all your hardwork and time is at risk of not being accepted. This can be accomplished by looking at requirements needed to achieve the scholarship and its expectations.
Lay out clear goals
For essay scholarships it’s always best to jot down a few ideas or points that describe your commitment and dedication towards the scholarship and why you deserve to get it. Some Essays may not even be about you and your academics, hence always do the preliminary research and get your ideas in a list.
Start working on the application ahead of time
With school work and other extracurriculars it’s best to start ahead of time before the deadline approaches for the scholarship. Enough time and dedication must be put and shown in the application to prove you are worthy of receiving it. Also, sometimes conditions and criteria also change for scholarships, which can become a toll if you start late with something that doesn’t fit among their needs.
Furthermore, there are many misconceptions when students apply for scholarships that can only be offered through institutions such as schools. However, that is not the case. Third parties also offer scholarships that are based on need and requirement.
The following below are alternative ways to seek scholarships:
– University (internal) scholarships
Many Canadian Universities offer entrance scholarships when applying. In some cases, additional applications are not required, but in others they are, depending on the program. These scholarships vary from achievement awards in certain subjects to athletics awards based on merit (grade/performance). Other requirements and special considerations are also as follows: GPA, Athletics, First Generation member applying to College/University, belonging to a minority, etc. An example of this would be, Person X receiving a scholarship of $XXXX dollars for achieving excellence in the Science subject.
Prior to applying, always look out the conditions and requirements each University and their respective programs outline for receiving such scholarships.
– External scholarships (from organizations/government)
There are many third party organizations that offer scholarships to students. In Canada there are numerous organizations including the Government of Canada and municipal bodies that offer such awards. These awards could be based on academics and even non-academics such as volunteering and being an active and good citizen of the city.
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