It’s that time of year! Where the summer abroad courses applications open, and we all become astound by their prices. I am hoping to travel to Oxford, England this summer to study Pol380, taught by our very own Professor Wendy Wong.
When I looked at the total sum of the entire summer abroad stay (including course, fights, food and entertainment) the total amounted to around $8,000! I, like many of you reading, cannot afford such an expensive trip, so I will be actively applying to scholarships and grants.
To help you out, I have enlisted the help of fellow PCJer Spencer McMurray, who has recently created a Scholarship and Grant Writing Club. Spencer himself went abroad last summer to Israel. Through his own efforts and researching, he was able to earn enough money for his entire trip through grants and scholarships.
Spencer gave his top 7 advice to anyone looking to get grant money.
- Book an appointment with a financial registrar at your institution
- You can also look up different collages scholarships, they may have some available for non-college students, though preference will be given to them
- Key words, key words, key words- for external scholarships mostly. If you want to plan a trip to Israel, look up “Jewish scholarships”, research in Israel, Israeli-Canadian partnerships etc. This is true of many Google-searchable but relevant scholarships
- Rules are more like guidelines than stead fast regulations. Often there will be “limitations” set- try anyway! Limitations only serve to limit your chances usually you can skirt rules
- The enrolment services website has a list of a TON of scholarships that are both internal but also external to U of T. Many are based on financial need as well as community service. The enrolment page also has a list of scholarships available for students in specific colleges as well, and will have links to everyone.
- A useful tip is to write scholarship “personal” statements well in advance. Also, applications that require interviews want you to be as true to your word as possible. Do not be afraid to tell your story and your real motivations for applying for that research abroad funding.
- Always write more for budgets than what you actually need. It is not immoral, or unethical, it is pragmatic. Chances are you wont get it all, but the more you write, the higher the chance you will receive a larger amount than you had envisioned.
The Grant Writing Club meets every second Thursday at Caffeinds at Victoria College at 12pm for an hour. Students are not Victoria college students are free to come as well. The next meeting is on the 18th, but if you require any help before that Spencer has graciously given his personal email where he can be contacted.
For more information please contact: