Scholarships and Funding
Financing your post-secondary education
As graduation approaches, students look for ways to secure university funding. Thousands of graduating students experience similar concerns: “What will my first year of university be like, financially?”
We strongly encourage families to have EARLY conversations about how students will foot the bill for their post-secdonary education. Every family is different, but one thing is common: clear communication is important every step of the way.
We all understand that university plans may be hindered without financial support. We have put together resources, including information on scholarships, government grants and loans that students can apply for.
Canadian University Scholarships.
While researching universities, students can check with the Financial Aid office of each university they're interested in for scholarships, bursaries and financial aid.
IMPORTANT NOTE: each university has its own institution specific scholarship and bursary programs with their own criteria, applications and deadlines. Be sure to check out your intended university websites EARLY in the process. Many scholarship deadlines come up quickly in the course of the Grade 12 year.
Independent Scholarships
There are a number of scholarships and awards available to students who are either attending Canadian universities and/or are Canadian citizens or permanent residents. They are given to students based on a variety of factors that could include their academic achievement, financial need as well as leadership/community involvement, or special interest group affiliation. Bursaries, grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid in the same way student loans do.
Below are links to databases where students can create a profile and have it matched with scholarships that may be of interest to them. SMUS also hosts a Scholarship database for many of the independent scholarships that our students apply to. Students can access the site when logged on with their 'smus.ca' email address. It is linked to their CLC class page.
To receive student financial assistance, students must meet all of these basic eligibility criteria:
be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident or have protected person status
have a valid Canadian social insurance number
be a resident of British Columbia
be pursuing full-time studies as your primary occupation
be enrolled in an eligible program of study at an eligible post-secondary institution
be able to demonstrate financial need
make academic progress and achieve satisfactory scholastic standing in each period of post-secondary study
RBC gives you 2 years after you finish school before you have to start repaying your loan with full access to your credit line during the grace period.
Additionally, any kind of family sponsorship/support would be greatly helpful for first-year students to reduce expenses. There may be some RESP investment to pay for the first year tuition. However, it does not necessarily have to be cash. Families could allow students to live at home and ask them to help pay for groceries while they attend school. It is also common for undergraduate students to get a part-time job and cover some of the education costs. Every bit of help counts!