BY PETER SWART
Conestoga College’s general awards application opened on Dec. 15 and there is officially one mon
th left to get your name in the running for some financial assistance.
The application puts students into a system that automatically searches for awards that they qualify for and then submits their name and details for consideration.
There are over 500 awards, bursaries and scholarships that the college offers to students who meet the qualifications.
Alice Pelkman, the associate registrar of student financial services, encourages students to submit the application because they never know what they qualify for.
“Scholarships are based on merit, they are based on marks; awards are usually a blend, they could be based on merit, they could be based on need or they could be based on both,” she said. “A bursary is always based on need.
Students who believe they would not be awarded any money because their marks are too low should not be discouraged.
If they are in need of financial assistance it is likely that they will be considered for an award or a bursary. As time-consuming as it may seem for students at this time of year, the application is an important one. Students who are working their way through school can only benefit from it.
Joanne Buchholzer is a student awards officer and she wants students to use every form of help they can to make the best of their education.
“If students have support from the school, that will allow them to be more successful in their studies,” she said.
If students have questions about the general awards application or any specific awards, they can meet with an officer in the financial aid department, located in the Welcome Centre, or email financial aid at awards@conestogac.on.ca from their student email.
“We notice that a lot of students email us from Hotmail or Gmail accounts but for security we will only answer emails from your Conestoga email account,” Pelkman said.
With 31 days left it is important that students get their awards application in and monitor their student email accounts for any information regarding any other awards they qualify for.
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