Scholarships & University Applications

SCHOLARSHIPS

Scholarships are not only available upon entrance to university- you can earn so much money through scholarships from third-party sources that are happy to help high school students fund their university and college degrees. You can find third-party scholarships using free websites to search them up, such as the Scholartree website. You don’t necessarily need to get the best grades, have a million extracurriculars, or be in a low-income household- everyone can apply to scholarships! Using Scholartree, you can filter scholarships to find out which ones apply to you based on your skills and strengths. 

You don’t necessarily need to be in Grade 12 to look at scholarships and write out scholarship essays, as many scholarships are available for those in Grade 10 or Grade 11. Your Grade 12 year will be very busy, and it is hard to find time in that year to write out scholarship essays, making you lose out on money you could potentially win!

It is a good way to get ideas flowing through your head and to write down your skills, strengths, what you’ve learned/improved on throughout the years, and your activities, hobbies, and accomplishments. Do some personal reflection (this doesn’t have to be boring!) through using an organizer, asking yourself questions, asking your long-term friends & family to describe how you have changed throughout the years, or looking at example essays for scholarships. Bigger scholarships, such as the TD Scholarship, Loran, and Terry Fox Humanitarian Award have many resources online on how to structure a good application and example essays, which can be used as a guideline for many other scholarships as well!

These skills can be used in university applications as well, which (other than grades) may be a make or break for your admission. Check if the program you are applying to requires a supplementary application, many competitive ones do,  such as engineering and business. 

UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS

As the weather gets colder, application deadlines approach. All Grade 12s apply to Ontario Universities through OUAC (Ontario Universities Application Centre). If you are interested in applying to a university in British Columbia, sign up for Education Planner BC to apply.  a vital website for Grade 12s to actually apply to different programs, k .  Make sure your information is accurate and as up to date as possible.  The application deadline for OUAC is January 15, 2023. However, it is ideal to get your application in as soon as possible in order to have time to sort through potential issues and possibly to increase your chance of being admitted in a very competitive program.

Do something you’re passionate about (can do for a long time), good at, and that matches your priorities. Remember that you can often change your pathway later - don’t let one choice in your life be the end all be all for what you will be doing for the rest of it! Many people change their career paths later on in life once they find something they are truly passionate about. However, it may take more steps, work, and time if you decide to change your pathway. If you are in Grades 9-12, keep your courses open to many pathways if you are unsure about your career path!

One excellent choice if you have an idea of what you might want to do in the future is to do Co-op, which is a two-credit course you can take in either Grade 11 or 12. Co-op is a great opportunity to find out what you actually want to do- it gives you real life experience in the field and can help you figure out if a career choice is right for you, and even if you don’t end up liking that career, it gives you the skills to navigate the job market, build a resume, and get hired. I know I am very anxious about being able to get a job in the future, and co-op helped me alleviate some of the stress of both deciding my pathway and putting myself out in the job market. If you would like to learn more about Co-op, see this page.