$7.3 million was spent on scholarships, bursaries and grants last year. The college regularly faces the same problem: not enough students apply for them.

By Alena Khabibullina
Staff Reporter

George Brown College (GBC) offers 354 different scholarships and awards students can apply for, not including government-funded bursaries.

According to the college’s audited financial statement dated March 31, $7.3 million was spent on scholarships, bursaries and grants last year.

The college regularly faces the same problem: not enough students apply for them.

“75 per cent of students give us crap; it is not worth giving them money. You are not explaining yourself, you are not helping yourself, you are involved in nothing,” said Peter Wilson, manager of awards and scholarships at GBC.

According Wilson, about $1.2 million was given out to scholarships and awards, to approximately 1,200 recipients. Another $4.2 million was given out in bursaries based on financial needs of students and was provided from the Tuition Set Aside Fund, which varies each year based on enrollment

Last year the Student Association (SA) and GBC Foundation came to an agreement guaranteeing an annual flow of donations into the awards pot through an optional $25 student levy collected from each full-time student.

This year there are 300 new awards in 42 categories being funded by students through the SA.

“We want to encourage community as much as possible. Encourage engagement, doing something outside rather than just in a class,” said Julia Mackenzie, the SA’s director of Internal Affairs.

International student awards and bursaries are more limited than for domestic students, but they can apply for the SA International Student Bursary as well as the program-based ones.

“There are 10 awards in each program. We want to make them easy to access and want to make sure that first-year students are getting the help that they need right away,” said Mackenzie.

An emergency bursary fund assists students in extreme situations.

“We had a woman come in who had been in a car accident. She lost out on doing her placement. So she had to do another placement that cut some of her working hours for six months, because they were unpaid placements. We gave her $400 to help her get by in that time,” said Mackenzie.

Sometimes students can get more than one award.

“I received three awards at the athletic banquet. I got an MVP (Most Valuable Player) award for female cross-country, female rookie of the year award, and female athlete of the year award,” said GBC student Lisbette Seguin. “I didn’t even know there were awards where you won money, so it wasn’t something I intentionally worked towards. I just worked my hardest in my sport for my own self and the awards were definitely an added unexpected bonus, which has really helped in paying for the euro-trip I’m currently on!”

GBC is trying to make it easier for students to apply for the scholarships by eliminating the essay requirement for some of the awards. Starting this year, a new application process at GBC Awards website www.gbcawards.georgebrown.ca will allow students to apply for a range of awards and bursaries with one submission only.

“There is tons of money. Sometimes we have a hard time finding students to give money to. Anything that requires an essay, they walk away from, which is silly,” said Wilson. “There are external sites like www.scholarshipscanada.com and www.studentawards.com. Those websites have tons of scholarships. Spend an hour, write a good essay that you can use for all the scholarships.”

Wilson provided some useful tips to help increase your chances:

• Be specific. “I need money because I’m poor” or “I spent all my money, so I need my money” will not be considered.
• Mention all the activities you’ve done through volunteerism, employment or extra-curricular activities. It doesn’t have to be on campus or even Canadian experience.
• Most students have a problem with the question about personal entrepreneurial experience. It doesn’t have to be a successful business project. It could be your personal YouTube channel, or family business involvement.
• Use the budget form provided by the Awards Office on the same website. Students who use their own form are automatically not considered. If you are applying for a bursary that is based on financial need, the total amount of your expenses is recommended to be negative.
• Top candidates’ applications are sent to a committee for final selection where professors and program co-ordinators could be involved. Being active and having strong communication skills in class helps you make it past the committee.
• While applying for the disability awards, make sure that you are registered in a disability office to be eligible.
• Once you are on an actual application page, don’t forget to apply by clicking “Apply Now”!