Money, money, money!!! Paying for post-secondary education is EXPENSIVE!!! That’s why YOU need to apply for scholarships, bursaries, grants, loans, and awards. Let’s begin with a few definitions:
Scholarship: any non-repayable monetary award that will be used towards tuition payment; usually based on criteria, such as academic merit, athletic ability, leadership and/or volunteer experiences; usually involves an extensive application, unless it’s an entrance scholarship based strictly on a student’s academic average
Bursary: a non-repayable monetary award typically given to a student with financial need; may have academic requirements, but usually given to help students in need pay for post-secondary; students applying for bursaries generally need to show proof of financial need
Grant: a non-repayable sum of money given by an organization or the government for a specific purpose (such as funding research); typically students need to apply for grants
Loans: repayable; typically provided by the government (provincial or federal) or a bank (or parents!); once they’ve finished school, students have to pay back the loan, and any interest accrued; for more information about Ontario’s financial assistance program, see https://www.ontario.ca/page/osap-ontario-student-assistance-program
Awards: non-repayable; general name for a prize that may or may not have a monetary value.
You can view all available Scholarships here. Be aware of deadlines, they are absolute!!!