Get Yourself a Scholarship at RDC!

He walked the halls of Red Deer College for the first time that September knowing his future would be forever changed. He had a great place to live. “Normal” roommates.  A part-time job. Only one thing was still lacking this first day of classes - the scholarship letters in the mail and numerous phone calls on his voicemail saying “Congratulations, you have been awarded…”

So why did he not have these messages?

This young man made the error made by many first-time post-secondary students.  At RDC, we are here to help you dig and find the money we all know is out there. Your education is our priority.

Some common mistakes many students make:

1)    Self-eliminate.  Students may not apply because they think there won’t be anything for them.  They underestimate their own eligibility. At RDC, every March we provide an update of nearly $390,000 scholarships to new and continuing students. This is available online at www.rdc.ab.ca/future_students/campus_services/funding_and_awards/scholarships/

2)    Miss deadlines.  Many scholarship deadlines are earlier than students are expecting.  Scholarships may also have different deadlines so students should keep an eye out for opportunities.

3)    Not submitting a strong application.  Scholarship applications require time and effort to complete fully.  Students who don’t give themselves enough time (or wait until the last minute!) won’t have as strong of an application and may miss out on some great funding opportunities.

4)    Not listing all of their activities and involvement.  Students should keep track of things they are involved in, dates, duration etc. so that they are able to fully explain this on their scholarship application.  The type of experience one has will help bring focus to scholarship applications and even future job opportunities.

The Student Funding & Awards office at RDC offers workshops on accessing and applying for scholarships to help students fill out all forms to completion. The office also assists future students with campus visits and online one-on-one advising.

You can learn today from others’ mistakes and take the right steps to find the money for your education!

Visit www.rdc.ab.ca for more information or call 1.888.732.4630.