Finding Scholarships

April 2012

About UsEDge Interactive

EDge Interactive has been helping students find schools, scholarships and careers for more than 15 years. We are often asked to make this presentation on finding scholarships to students and counsellors across Canada.

The SchoolFinder Group of Websiteswww.SchoolFinder.com www.ScholarshipsCanada.com www.StudyinCanada.com www.GradSchoolFinder.com

PresentersScholarshipsCanada.com Team

Ian – Ian is originally from the Philippines and immigrated to Canada at the age of six. He is a University of Waterloo graduate who enjoys the Toronto city lifestyle. Now, he works with students across the country to help them find the right education and scholarship opportunities. Even after 15+ years, Ian still cannot stand the cold Canadian winters.

Faeza - Faeza spent most of her life ‘across the pond’ –born and raised in Saudi Arabia, she originally hails from Bangladesh and studied at Oxford University in the UK. Faeza enjoys connecting with domestic students to learn about the Canadian education system and sharing her international student experiences. Despite 2 years in Canada, Faeza still uses British slang.

OverviewFinding Scholarships

1. Things you might not know2. Tips on getting started finding scholarships using our website ScholarshipsCanada.com3. Application strategies4. Useful websites and resources

Scholarship FactsInteresting Facts

• Over $93 million in awards available • Most awards (81%) do not require an academic average• Only 30% of the awards in the database require you to be in financial need • Awards have deadlines throughout the year (13% of the awards have a deadline in April …

1% in December)• Over 12% of all awards require school / community service or leadership • There are scholarships throughout your academic careers - only 28% are entrance

scholarships• 20% of the scholarships do not require a specific field of study

Scholarship FactsMore Than Just Universities

Non-Educational administrators are organizations such as corporations, associations, religious organizations, trade unions, etc.

In terms of the number of awards and dollars, here is the breakdown:

Institution Number of Administrators

Colleges 209

Universities 105

Non-educational 1,080

Number Value

College 8,077 $9,257,923

Non-Education 7,767 $25,333,450

University 31,148 $59,268,128

Grand Total 46,992 $93,877,501

Scholarship FactsThere is a Scholarship for You!

• You can’t win an award if you don’t try - many awards have few applications• 59% of scholarship administrators would like more applications for their scholarships• 3% of scholarships have no applications - all you need to do is apply!• 37% of scholarships go unclaimed – make sure the administrator can get in touch with

you!

• Scholarships come in many different flavors:• Play a musical instrument? There are specific scholarships for bag-pipe, clarinet or reed

instrument players. • There is a scholarship available for students whose parents work for a cookie company!• Ringette Canada offers scholarships to Ringette players• If you are interested in family planning or population issues, the Phyllis P. Harris

Undergraduate Scholarship can help

Finding Your ScholarshipsThings to Consider

• Year of Study (entrance, first, second, third, fourth, final year, graduate)• Special Circumstances (amputee, brain injury, orphan, parent, etc.)• Financial Need (pertains to your income, check with the scholarship administrator for more

details)• Academic Average (usually your last year of study marks)• Heritage (Aboriginal, Chinese, Polish, etc.)• Field of Study (the program you’re interested or currently in) • Affiliation (companies, religious groups, unions, and associations, that you or your family are

affiliated with)• Activities (sports, religious, academic, leadership, community involvement, etc.)• Location (where you live and go to school)

Finding Your ScholarshipsSetting Up Your Account

Step 1 – Go to http://www.ScholarshipsCanada.com and set up your FREE account.

Step 2 – Create your search profile on ScholarshipsCanada.com.

Finding Your ScholarshipsMy Matching Scholarships

Step 3 – Click on My Matching Scholarships to see scholarships for which you might be eligible.

Use the filters to sort your list by “current” (scholarships with a deadline coming up), “expired” (deadline has passed) or “without deadlines”.

You can also sort your list of scholarships by clicking on the column headings, click once to sort down (a-z) and again to search up (z-a).

Finding Your ScholarshipsProfile & Contact Information

Step 4 – The scholarship profile “Details” section will give you some indication of whether you qualify for the scholarship. If you have questions, you can contact the administrator using the “Contact Information” details.

Finding Your ScholarshipsMy Favourites

Step 5 – If the scholarship is one that you would like to apply for or mark for the future, you should “add to My Favourites”. You do this by clicking on the link at the top of the scholarship profile. You can also “Discard” the scholarship which marks it so it does not show up in your list (use this for scholarships you are not interested in).

Finding Your ScholarshipsDeadlines and Applications

Step 6 – Remember to check your scholarship deadlines as they happen throughout the year. Also be sure to check to see what the application requires– some have very detailed instructions and requirements. There is often a website address for the application.

Finding Your ScholarshipsScholarship Alerts

Step 7 – Don’t miss a deadline by signing up for Scholarship Alerts. You will receive an email reminder for any scholarships with deadline in the next 40 days.

Finding Your ScholarshipsAutomatic Consideration

Step 8 – Some scholarships do not have deadlines or contact information. These are scholarships for which you will automatically be considered, in most cases they are entrance scholarships at a specific college or university. You do not need to apply as you will automatically be considered when you apply to that school.

Scholarship Application Strategies5 Tips to Getting Scholarships

Scholarship Application StrategiesGeneral Application Tips

• Documents – Transcript, Admissions Letter, Resume, Essay/Letter, Financial Statement (if bursary) – Check the required format – Word, PDF, hard copy– How do you send them – mail, email, hand in person– Contact information – make sure address the correct contact

• References– Who – teachers, counsellors, employers, community members, family/friends (if

appropriate)– Make sure to ask IN ADVANCE and let them know what is required

• It may be a formal letter of recommendation (find examples), statement as part of a form or informal letter

Scholarship Application StrategiesScholarship Essays

• Length– Generally between 250 to 1,000 words (average 500 words)– Format - online, printed, handwritten – The essay may be part of application form or they may want it as a separate document

• Topics – These can vary depending on the scholarship provider

• Extra-curricular activities or Community Work• Challenges • Leadership and Initiative • Subject based

The essay is your chance to shine – make sure you express yourself and stand out!

Scholarship Application StrategiesScholarship Essay Tips

• Starting your essay– Break down the question– Jot down your ideas first – Emphasize your strengths but maintain a balance

• Editing– Respect the word limit - make each phrase count and don’t use filler words – Check your grammar and spelling– Ask others for feedback – a fresh pair of eyes is great to bring a new perspective

Create a “Master Version” with all your experiences – You can pull phrases from this document for different applications

Useful ResourcesFeatured Scholarships – ScholarshipsCanada.com

• Ayn Rand Institute – Fountainhead Essay Contest April 26– Available to Grade 11 and 12 students – Must submit an essay on a topic about the novel “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand– 1st Prize: $10,000; 2nd prizes: $2,000 ; 3rd prizes: $1,000; 45 Finalists: $100; 175 Semifinalists: $50

• Equals6 – Top Talent Scholarship May 1– Available to full time high school, university and college students in North America– Based on academic achievement and Equals6 community participation– Amount: $250 – 30 available

• Fraser Institute – Student Essay Contest June 30– Available to current students (high school or post-secondary) across Canada – Must submit an essay on the topic of “Are the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer?”– 1st Prize: $1,000; 2nd prize: $750; High School Prize: $500

Useful ResourcesScholarshipsCanada.com Facebook

Connect with us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/scholarshipscanada

Useful ResourcesScholarshipsCanada.com Twitter

Connect with us on Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/scholarshipsCA

Useful ResourcesWebinar Series

Visit our Events Pages for more webinars - http://www.edgeip.com/content/edge/events.asp -

Useful ResourcesOther Resources

ScholarshipsCanada.com – A free website with Canadian scholarships.

CanLearn.ca – The Government of Canada website.

ScholarshipsCanada.com/altfin/provloan.asp – A link to all the provincial student loan

websites.

Fastweb.com – A free website for US scholarships

Canadian Banks – For bank loans and lines of credit