72 12.3 Applying for Student Awards
In Chapter 12.2 Personal Budget you learned about the numerous options for funding your education. In this section you will research some awards and apply for some that you are eligible for.
There are generally three kinds of awards: internal, external, and outgoing awards.
- Outgoing awards. If you are currently attending high school, there are likely outgoing awards from your current school. These are scholarships and bursaries awarded by the school you are leaving. These are often given out at the graduation ceremony and are given for a number of things such as academic merit, sports awards, club involvement, leadership awards, and many more. Once you have graduated and are no longer a student there, you are ineligible for these awards.
- Internal awards. These are awards that a post-secondary institution gives to its own students. They can be entrance awards for students who have applied to come to the college or university. Generally entrance awards are meant to entice students to come to that school. They are often to attract high-achieving students or high-achieving athletes. Internal awards are also given to current students for a variety of criteria including academic merit, leadership, community involvement, and a variety of other things. Often donors who set up awards in memory of a loved one will set the criteria to reflect something about the one the award is named after. For example, if the person the award is named after had to overcome many challenges in order to graduate from their program, the award criteria may be that the award goes to someone who has courageously overcome many obstacles to be there. As a result there are often numerous ways to be eligible for different awards, because there are so many different awards available. Apply for internal awards. Students are often surprised when they receive them, expecting that some other student was likely a better candidate. You will not get an award if you do not apply! You can usually find internal awards on the specific college or university website in the financial aid and awards section. Check to see when the application deadlines are and apply early.
- External awards. External awards are awards that are not issued by specific schools but are available to the broader community. The awards are generally given by organizations, clubs, churches, and businesses. They will have specific criteria for eligibility and recipients will be chosen by awards committees that evaluate who meets the criteria the best. There are incredibly unusual criteria for awards. Even if you aren’t a strong student, you will likely be eligible to apply for numerous awards. There are pet-lovers’ awards, Instagrammer awards, movie-buff awards, and everything you can imagine. To access these awards go to the websites listed below. You will need to start a profile and give them your email address. You will be asked a number of questions, some ordinary and some very unus