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Full time, part time or co-op?

Canada or International?

What program? What school?

Go on to higher ed or take a gap year?

Live at home? In residence? Off campus?

College or university?

The common denominator:

How will you pay?

Decisions, Decisions

www.HigherEdPoints.com

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School type

Degree or diploma

Part-time, online,

co-op

Country

What/Where/How do you want to study?�Start here: www.SchoolFinder.com

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…finding the money is the next step

Download a PDF or access a fillable worksheet here: https://www.higheredpoints.com/2020/05/07/ways-to-pay-for-school/

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Lots of Funding Exists�

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Merit-based

High marks & high achievers

10%-20% of students

Financial need-based

Lower income families

10%-20% of students

Other (some digging required!)

The “Middle Sixty”

~60% of students

“You can’t apply for an award you don’t know exists!”

Employers!

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HigherEdPoints.com: Use (anyone’s!) loyalty points for tuition�

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Redeem

loyalty points

Register

a free account at HigherEdPoints.com

Transfer

funds to institution

1.

2.

3.

Millions of tuition and student loan payments funded to date!

How HigherEdPoints.com works

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Student Grants & Loans: www.canada.ca

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Find information about additional COVID-19 support for students: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/education/student-aid.html

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Scholarship Myth Busters

There is no “scholarship season”
You don’t need to have high marks or financial need.
Awards are available at every stage of an academic career: entrance, in-course, automatic consideration, grad school

Awards for every type of student

Campus Financial Aid Offices

Enrolled students can tap into bursaries, scholarships, work-study
Register for “one app” and/or to be notified about new awards

Khan Academy Breakthrough

Junior Challenge

$400,000 USD prize
Open to 13-18 year olds worldwide
Clear Judging rubric (includes peer review!)

Application period April – June

https://breakthroughjuniorchallenge.org/

NEW! HigherEdPoints’ ALT-Scholarship

Canada’s first educational cash and loyalty point crowd-funding scholarship
All enrolled students welcome to participate

https://www.waystopayforschool.com/alt-scholarship

MARYAM TSEGAYE

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www.HigherEdPoints.com

NEW!

https://www.waystopayforschool.com/alt-scholarship

The ALT-Scholarship is:

How to Participate:

Check out Rai’s ALT-Scholarship campaign

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Scholarship/Award Application Advice

Register at www.ScholarshipsCanada.com
Create a master list of all awards/scholarships of interest
Calendarize deadlines and sign up for alerts
Prioritize awards best suited to you personally
Read the details—criteria, T&C’s and deadline(s)
Re-visit the sites regularly to see what’s new

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www.HigherEdPoints.com

Once you’ve completed your registration at ScholarshipsCanada, you’ll have a long list of awards in your personalized dashboard. Here are some tips on how to make the most of your limited time, to increase your chances of landing some free money!

-You won’t have time to apply for everything, so create a short list of all the awards that really fit your profile. Be sure to put notes on a calendar for the due dates of the awards you really want to apply for---time flies, and there are often extra elements you will need to collect—such as transcripts, or recommendation letters from teachers or employers.

-Before you decide you’re going to apply, take a look at the award terms and conditions, or criteria—there is a lot of “gold” in those details---you’ll often find out what the judging criteria is for the award and how important each element is that judges will be looking at.

-Again—make a note of the deadline!! If you have to mail something—it often needs to arrive by that date, or it won’t be considered (it’s not fair to the applicants who did make the deadline)

-When you’ve created that master list of all the awards that suit your profile---put them in priority order based on your interest level. The ones you are drawn to will be easy to apply for….then, if you still have time (and energy!) apply for the rest.

-Companies are always creating new awards—so be sure to revisit both the ScholarshipsCanada site and the campus financial aid department to see what’s new.

And ask the financial aid department if there are any awards with no applicants…even if you don’t fit the criteria, often you’ll be able to apply—because companies want the money to go to a deserving student. There was an example of an award open only to females…but nobody applied…so a male applied and was granted the award!

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Merit-based Awards�

1. A 600-word essay (three copies) describing your community leadership experience. �Tell us:

Why you got involved.
How your involvement shows initiative and innovation.
The ways your efforts have strengthened others.
How long you have been involved.
What you think the long-term impact will be.
How your community has affected you.

2. A letter of recommendation from your school.

3. Two letters of support from community groups.

4. Your academic transcript

You also have the option of including:

-A 250-word essay describing your family and personal life, for example your family’s employment or economic situation.

-A 250-word essay about your life experiences if you have taken a year or more away from high school or CEGEP.

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20 individual $70,000 awards (over four years)

Plus mentorship and summer internship

Runs September – November annually

https://www.td.com/ca/en/personal-banking/solutions/student-advice/how-to-apply-for-td-scholarships/

www.HigherEdPoints.com

The essay question is excellent—and the words “community leadership” can be exchanged for anything—sports, music, any other extracurriculars and the points afterward are a great guide to use when answering personal statement questions in other applications. By spending time thinking about these things, it will make answering essay questions in other awards simple—and will help create impactful applications, which stand out from the crowd!

-one pedantic note—always (ALWAYS) have someone proofread your submissions. First to be sure spelling and grammar are all correct (many many awards eliminate submissions on this element in order to reduce the numbers reviewed) and secondly, to be sure that what’s on paper comes across to the reader the way you intend it to. Are you hitting the essence of the questions asked?

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Employment: Making lemonade out of lemons in 2021�

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eLoft helps career-seekers of all ages and stages. www.eloftcareers.com

Create a profile with your experience & career aspirations.
Connect with employers, parents & their personal networks.
Follow/connect with recruiters or influencers in your field(s) of interest.
Research industries, companies and jobs

Complete projects from real organizations using skills you already have–and get paid to do it. https://www.riipen.com/levelup

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Additional Resources

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Janet Macdonald helps students apply for and win scholarships. www.mycampusGPS.ca

www.debtfreegrad.com

Supports young people looking for an alternative step in educational and/or career pathways. https://www.cangap.ca/

A certified Canadian post-secondary education program that helps young adults build essential life and career skills. www.discoveryear.ca

www.HigherEdPoints.com

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Get in Touch

info@HigherEdPoints.com 416.551.8941

@higheredpoints