How can you help your students find, apply for, and receive scholarships?
Students starting Grade 12 or final year of CEGEP have a lot on their minds: course work, extra-curriculars, university and college applications – and figuring out how to pay for post-secondary. You can help them find their way through the maze that is the Canadian scholarship landscape. Here are some pointers, for you and for your students.
· Start early. Students should begin, if not in grade 11, then early in September of Grade 12. Some scholarship applications are due as early as October. Then keep at it – there are rolling deadlines all through the year.
· Read the requirements, and meet the deadlines.
• Cast the net wide.
• Help your students research government grants and loans here: www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/education/student-aid.html
• Students should check out the scholarships offered by the institutions where they want to study. Some automatically consider all students who apply; other programs require separate applications.
• Check scholarship listing sites, such as www.Scholarshipscanada.com and www.studentawards.com
• Coming in November 2024: www.universitystudy.ca will be adding scholarships to their already terrific listing of Canadian university programs
• Check individual sites for large big national programs:
• Students should plan and ask for reference letters EARLY.
• Encourage students to apply. It can be intimidating to put in these applications, but as the great Wayne Gretzsky says – “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
• Remind students that lots of different kinds of students win scholarships. Some awards are for high marks, some are for extra-curriculars, some are for members of particular groups or communities.
• Help students draft and edit their application essays. Scholarship essays should tell reviewers a story, not just list all their activities. The essay is the first chance for students to introduce themselves to scholarship selection committees. Encourage students to write about what matters most to them, rather than trying to second-guess what committees are looking for. A meaningful and authentic story makes an application compelling and will make their application stand out from the crowd.
When your students have done their research, drafted and edited their essays, and asked you for a letter of reference, how can you do your best for them?
HOW TO WRITE A GREAT REFERENCE LETTER
Reference letters for teachers, advisors and school administrators are a crucial part of the application process. The best, most useful letters do several things:
· Referees should confirm the veracity of the key elements of the student’s application.
· Referees can add details and examples that the student may not have the word-count to include.
· Referees can place the student in the context of their classmates, and in the context of other students you have known over the course of your career. E.g. “In the course of twenty years of teaching, Student X is the most impressive community leader I have had the plea sure of mentoring.” Or “….Student Y is in the top 10% of student leaders I have known.”
There are many times in our lives when a mentor saying “Go for it! I believe in you!” can make an extraordinary impact on the trajectory of our lives. Helping your students apply for scholarships is one of those moments when you can really change a student’s life.
Thanks for all your work. We could not award scholarships without you!
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