Scholarships Aren’t Just for Top Students and Star Athletes!

Over my 17 years in higher education marketing and recruitment, one of the biggest myths I try to break is that students must have a high GPA or be an exceptional athlete to receive a scholarship, bursary or award.

I regularly tell students and parents that while there are scholarships for high academic achievers and exceptional athletes, there are many available with a variety of broad and accessible criteria. These include volunteering, community involvement, program specific, financial need, and more. Some are available for women, others for people with disabilities, and still others for students who have parents in a certain industry or association. In some cases scholarships and bursaries go untaken due to a lack of applicants.

When I speak with young people I suggest they apply because it’s “free money”, but they often moan how they don’t have the GPA, or the time, or have other commitments. I explain that they may work for $12-14 per hour, but if they spend 2-4 hours applying for a scholarship and get $500 that’s $125-250 per hour – that’s a much better return on investment. I’ve convinced several to apply and almost all of them received something - $300, $500, and $2,000 in one case – and most weren’t athletes or didn’t have high grades.

Students shouldn’t assume they won’t get a scholarship or bursary! Take a chance, apply, and put in a few hours of work, because you just never know.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Metro Vancouver, BC offers many scholarships, awards and bursaries with a variety of different criteria. Check us out here: www.kwantlen.ca and www.kwantlen.ca/awards.