Details important in applying for awards

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As the cost of attending college and university continues to increase, so does the pressure students are under to try to survive financially while pursuing a post-secondary education. But students can lighten their financial load by applying for bursaries and scholarships.

The First Nations University of Canada (FNUC) offers 26 scholarships to students. Shawn Poitras , the assistant registrar in chare of scholarships at the university, said that between $30,000 and $40,000 is awarded to qualified students each year. Most of the scholarships given by FNUC are awarded to people pursuing studies in administration and Indian education. Scholarships donated by organizations such as SaskEnergy award $10,000 to students planning to study engineering, sciences, environmental sciences or the arts.

Most of the scholarships offered through the university require that students be treaty, status, non-status, Inuit or Metis, and they must be in good academic standing. In some cases, letters of recommendation need to be included in the application package. All applications must have a cover letter stating educational goals, a resume that describes extra-curricular activities or community involvement, or a transcript.

Christine Crow is a development officer at the university and a member of the scholarship committee. Crow said that one of the most common mistakes students make when applying for financial awards is submitting incomplete applications. Missing letters of recommendation or poorly written cover letters and resumes can dampen a student's chances of getting scholarship or bursary money.

"When we're going through applications for our scholarship applicants, one of the biggest reasons people don't get scholarships is because they haven't completed the entire application form," she said. "So attention to detail is really important, in terms of the requirements needed for the scholarship. For instance, if the scholarship terms of reference indicate that you need two letters of reference from outside the institution or the organization, then you don't provide us with two letters from your professors because those don't qualify."

Writing cover letters and resumes for scholarships also helps students learn how to apply for jobs in the future. It is important that students write letters that are tailored to the specific criteria of each scholarship. Oftentimes, Crow said, it is carelessness that causes even the most qualified students to miss their chance of receiving financial awards.

"Many of the scholarships will require a cover letter that is specific to the scholarship and we tend to have students who get lazy and they submit the same cover letter for every scholarship. That becomes a problem because sometime they'll forget to actually change the name of the scholarship in the letter. So that indicates to us that they haven't taken the time to actually write a new cover letter for that specific scholarship," Crow said.

"In some cases the scholarships are designed for different purposes. So if it's a bursary and it's designed for need, then you'd address your financial situation in the cover letter. Other scholarships are devoted to community leadership or volunteer activities, so you need to address your volunteer activities in your cover letter. So obviously you can't use the same cover letter for every scholarship. So it's important you have a strong cover letter that clearly expresses and addresses the requirements for the scholarships in your letter."

The FNUC scholarship committee has a broad definition for volunteer activity. Because many students do not have a lot of time or in some cases may be single parents, Crow said that activities can range from involvement with a parent committee in a school to participation in powwows to working with Elders.

For students that may not have a strong background in community service that some scholarships require, Crow suggests talking to the chair o the scholarship committee or consulting with an academic advisor. They may be able to help highlight some achievements that a student can include in their application.

"For instance, for many people, alcohol or drug dependency has been a problem and they've overcome that. Well, that's a huge step for many people and it may not be a volunteer activity ... but it has shown a certain sense of determination and dedication to being on the right path and succeeding in their goals. So it's not just that they don't have volunteer experience, but what experiences do they have in their life that they can put a positive spin on," said Crow, who added that students could also approach a school club like the student council to gain volunteer experience.

"Many students don't apply because they don't think they'll get it. We really encourage them to apply because it may be, they have no idea how many people are applying, they may be the only applicant. So it's really important ... to have the faith in yourself to apply and to believe that you're worthy of the money."