Wondering how to pay for school? Think Scholarships

By: Lesley Huska, Manager of Financial Aid, The King’s University College

Let’s all agree right off the bat that post-secondary education can be expensive. Gone are the days where you could receive a four-year Bachelor of Business degree at a major university for $450 per semester. That’s what my Uncle Larry paid in 1985.

Students today are faced with higher tuition fees than any other generation that came before them and as a result, most students have to look at funding their education through a combination of different efforts, such as:

- Government student loans and grants
- Bank loans (aka. a line of credit)
- Parental contributions - both financial (e.g. R.E.S.P.) and as an all-round support
- Bursaries (awards based upon financial need)
- Part-time employment
- Scholarships (awards based upon academic merit)

Anything to do with a loan means that they are re-payable (minus the grant money) but most government funding is based upon financial need and many do not qualify. Part-time employment may hinder more than help some students who have trouble balancing study time and work time. Bursaries are easy enough to apply for but not all students have demonstrated financial need, at least in the eyes of their post-secondary institution. Last but not least, we have scholarships which are mainly based on marks, and sometimes they are a student’s only route of receiving financial aid.
So what’s a student to do? Here are my 10 tips to help you receive scholarships:

1. Study hard to get the best marks possible!
2. Volunteer! It doesn’t have to be daily or even weekly, just regularly.
3. Mentor or tutor others. This will demonstrate leadership qualities and abilities.
4. Talk to your awards and financial aid office, they know more than you think they do!
5. Look for external awards (meaning, other than awards from your school):
- www.scholarshipscanada.com
- www.aucc.ca
6. Talk to your family as many companies have small awards for dependants of employees.
7. Make Google your friend and search for awards (just make sure to never disclose your Social Insurance Number to any award site, they don’t need that so don’t give it out)!
8. Keep your resume current and write a short article about what your post-secondary plans are because some scholarship applications will ask for this. Keep it to 500 words.
9. Apply for admission before financial aid deadlines; many schools require you to be accepted for admission, or have at least applied for it, by a certain date to be eligible for institutional aid.
10. Remember, if you want to receive award money, you have to work for it but let’s put it this way: when is the last time that you were paid $500 (or more) for an hour’s worth of work? Applying for awards can literally pay off if you are persistent.

The King's University College offers Admission Scholarships (automatic consideration, no application necessary) and we also have over 60 awards that students can apply for through the annual King’s Financial Aid Application, due on March 31. Approximately 48% of students who apply receive some sort of financial aid ranging from $500-$3,000 (per student, per year) in addition to Admission Scholarships valued at $1,000 - $2,000.

To apply for the King’s Financial Aid Application, students must have initial admission to King’s by March 31. Students are notified by the end of May with the results. King’s also has a full-time Manager of Financial Aid available (including summer months) to counsel students and their families on available financial aid options. For more information, visit: www.kingsu.ca