BridgeTO Youth Scholarships Hacks

We are excited to introduce our new blog series “Scholarship Hacks” where each month we will be providing you the tips and tricks to finding and securing scholarships. Furthermore, we will also be showing you volunteer opportunities and internships that can go a long way in helping your peers. Previous BridgeTO Youth Students have already secured enough money to go to University for FREE, so if you would like to know tips from those who have secured the bags, read on!

Money is Waiting to be Claimed

Before we got into the scholarship application first we must explore how to find scholarships. With websites like Yconic, ScholarTree, and Scholarship Canada it may seem that scholarships are easy to find, but it is important to do your research and explore beyond the readily accessible resources. A lot of volunteer organizations and corporations offer their own scholarship that usually requires minimal grade, volunteer requirements, and are often looking for candidates who best represent the organization/corporations (we will explore how to be the desired candidate later on in this blog.) Furthermore, alumni of your schools and your school district often have a multitude of scholarships that are not readily accessible to the general student populations and usually go unclaimed. It is essential to talk to your counselors, teachers, local organization, school administration, and local elective officials to find these types of scholarships - it never hurts to ask. Often there are scholarships based on students’ backgrounds and/or cultural beliefs. When applying to your school of choice always make sure to check out the scholarships and financial resources available; a lot of institutions offer financial bursaries that ensure you can continue your education free of financial burdens (bursaries differ from scholarship because they focus on financial need and are provided by both the government and university.) Lastly, always explore past the 12 pages on scholarship databases and google searches, because to find the money waiting to be claimed you have to explore the places very few look.

When starting your scholarship application it is essential to look over and focus on the requirement and criteria of the scholarship. Before completing your application also look for the previous recipient of the scholarship to see the traits and experiences the scholarship committee is looking for. Furthermore, it is important to remember scholarship committees are looking to give their scholarship to students who will best represent their corporation and thrive in a challenging academic environment. Based on previous BridgeTo Youth students' successes a couple of universally desirable traits include determination, passion, perseverance, and focus. When writing your scholarship responses, underline the hardship and barriers you faced when trying to further your education; your experiences as an immigrant, or being the family babysitter, or having to work at a young age to help provide for your family. Any form of adversity you had to overcome can serve to strengthen your scholarship application. Also, when stating your future aspirations, bring in specific examples and provide a focus pathway to success that accounts for possible barriers and complications, this will help you underline your determination and focus to succeed. Lastly when discussing hobbies, interests, or previous experiences, focus on underlying your passion to succeed and improve. Overall, you need to write a scholarship application that makes you the poster child of any organization.

It is important to note that the journey to securing scholarships begins from when you are a kid: the places you choose to invest your time, and the skills you spent time developing all play a role in preparing you for being the ideal scholarship candidates. It is in high school where you exemplify these skills, passions, and attributes through your work. When completing your 40 hours of volunteering make a profound effect on the people around you, and displays your strongest attributes. Furthermore, be dependable and responsible: you should be the first name that comes to mind when they are looking for someone to help or organize something. When volunteering, show a passion for getting answers and looking for ways to improve. By doing this you master the skills of show-not-tell and develop a database of individuals who not only validate your good character but fight for it. During high school, you should also take on leadership roles, or start your own club/initiative, these help further strengthen your scholarship experiences sections, and provide you with more opportunities to be noticed within your school. Lastly, always find a trait, characteristics, or experience that make you unique, and if you do not have one, make one. Scholarship committees spend their time looking over thousands of applications, so it is essential for you to stand out - even if it is bizarre, weird, sad, cool - get those committee members to take a second look at your application and see why you're extraordinary.