Tips to make sure you get a slice of the scholarship money pie

Author: Lesley-Anne Scorgie Contributing Columnist

Source: The Toronto Star

Some of Canada's largest scholarship foundations have application deadlines by the end of May, but many Canadian students aren't bothering to apply, leaving millions in education dollars on the table annually.

Digging deeper, it appears many students start the process – researching, starting applications – but aren't following through.

Students often wrongly believe they need to be academic geniuses, that they need to disclose personal financial information that demonstrates financial duress, or that scholarships are only for the young or saintly.

The truth is, the folks giving away this money know that empowering students from all walks-of-life through scholarship dollars is key to unlocking innovation in Canada.

Here are four tips to get your scholarship applications across the finish line – with a higher degree of success.

Know where to look

If a student is already registered, their school's financial aid office is a great place to start looking around for scholarships. Advisers working there will also have a line on bursaries, which are typically based on financial need, whereas scholarships are more merit based.

Aggregator sites should be your next stop including Yconic.com, Universities Canada, StudentAwards, Government of Canada and ScholarshipsCanada.com.

These sites compile lists of potential scholarships that match your profile, so the trick is to set up a robust profile using keywords that will match the kinds of scholarships that fit your best.

Artificial intelligence can also help drum up perfect keywords with specific prompts like: "Provide a set of keywords used in scholarship applications that are focused on women in finance."

Many private organizations and foundations also offer scholarships and bursaries on their websites.

The lowest hanging fruit, of course, is through a current employer. Many organizations provide scholarships to the children of employees, or to the employees themselves, with a limited application process.

Write a strong application and read requirements carefully

This part starts with reading the application requirements carefully.

When applying for dozens of scholarships all at once, it's easy to mix up requirements between them. Slow down, and use AI to help with a prompts like, "Summarize the requirements of winning this scholarship."

Small mistakes can cost big money, so proofread before submitting.

This is especially important if there is an essay component (don't rip this from ChatGPT! It needs to be uniquely you).

A strong application also follows instructions to a T. If the requirements say a 500-word essay needs to be submitted, don't write 700 words. And, if certain documents are requested in a particular format (PDF, Word etc.,) submit those.

Get strong references

Having an influential person – teacher, coach, supervisor – vouch for you, and your accomplishments, can make a great first impression on your application.

You can complement this with a well-written personal statement that lays out your rationale for why you should win the scholarship and how you plan to make the most of the money.

Keep well organized

Start early and now!

Deadlines can sneak up fast, so create a calendar with application due dates to stay of top of things.

Going a step further, use a spreadsheet to track what each scholarship requires: essays, transcripts, recommendation letters, links to the websites and more.

And starting early should give you enough time to tackle the more lengthy applications.

It's these ones, by the way, that can often yield great results as you can sometimes be the lone applicant with the stamina to jump through all the committee's hoops.

Of course, not all your applications will pan out, but some might, and every dollar counts toward lowering your education costs.

This article was written by Lesley-Anne Scorgie Contributing Columnist from The Toronto Star and was legally licensed through the DiveMarketplace by Industry Dive. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.