CAREERS & EDUCATION
From Issue #17
Finance Your Dreams
Scholarships and Bursaries Can Help Pay For School
by David Silverman
Feel free to dream about success, but be smart
with your dreams and investtime wisely. Take serious
time out when planning post secondary education
choicesto look into scholarships and bursaries. It’s
easier than you think. Just because your grades don’t
match up, does not mean you don’t qualify. There are
scholarships that recognize voluntary work, performing
arts and athletics.
It is a harsh reality that a higher education is far from
being a free education; rather it can be quite an
expensive ordeal. To climb this financial mountain, you
think you have to compete against thousands of other
students for a decent scholarship. However, there is an
alternative that seems to always fall under the radar
due to the lack of publicity, and few students are
aware that there is more scholarship money available
today then ever before. In fact, funding for
scholarships, bursaries, and prizes across Canadian
Universities has quadrupled in the last 20 years, rising
to about $468 million in the year 2000.
It is no longer just the smartest kid in school who has
a chance at obtaining significant amounts of money.
Today’s increasing amount of scholarship funds has
made life easier for all kinds of students. Scholarships
ranging from an annual $100 to $10,000 are often
based on academic merit (another reason to stay
awake in your biochemistry class) but extra-curricular
and volunteer experiences are sometimes taken into
consideration. More and more companies are also
forking out dollars and starting scholarship funds to
reward academic excellence and well-rounded
individuals who are active in the community.
Bursaries, on the other hand, are largely based on
financial need. Before filling out your student loan
form, you may want to read up on bursaries that
may apply.
You may want to frequent your school’s registrar’s
office for more information, but the web may be the
most effective tool to inquire about scholarships.
There are several websites solely dedicated to
informing students on available scholarships and
bursaries. www.millenniumscholarships.ca promises
opportunities to learn, by providing financial
assistance to students and by piloting new ways to
improve access to post-secondary education.
www.uc411.com is another great site
to visit when searching for information and thousands
of dollars in scholarship awards.
When planning post secondary options, you may want
to take some time to investigate your chances at a
scholarship or bursary. It could mean the difference
between working during the school year or having a
$10,000 cheque in your pocket.
