Authors: Mihai Covaser, Ainsley Wood
Pursuing a post-secondary education offers you fantastic opportunities to explore your interests and build necessary skills for your career. Unfortunately, it is not an opportunity that is available to everyone. The costs associated with a post-secondary education are considerable, especially for those with a disability who may require extra support and equipment. Although there is an undeniable financial barrier working against students with disabilities, it is important to know that there are many options available across Canada to help fund your post-secondary experience.
Scholarships
Whether it be through local businesses, large corporations or individual post-secondary institutions, there are thousands of scholarships available to students across Canada. Scholarships are awarded to individuals based on their academic achievements, community involvement and/or leadership. While scholarships are often accompanied by financial support, these funding opportunities can also offer students benefits like internships and job offers. Most scholarships require applicants to explain how they fit the scholarship criteria, by writing essays, doing interviews and submitting reference letters of support. Some scholarships cover tuition, some cover living expenses and some cover a mix of both; it is important to do your research on the scholarships you are applying for, ensuring they fit your needs. One additional thing to note is that when applying to post-secondary institutions, students are often automatically considered for certain entrance scholarships based on academic success, however, most scholarships require students to apply directly to the specific scholarship.
Some quick tips when applying for scholarships:
- Share your story and be vulnerable: businesses and institutions want to get to know you, and so sharing your accomplishments and your moments of resilience can help you stand out from other applicants.
- Be sure to follow deadlines and cut-off dates: To ensure you are considered submit your application on time. Late applications are not accepted.
- Apply to as many scholarships as you qualify for: Even if it seems like a stretch, your chances of winning a scholarship are sometimes greater than you think.
- Most applications for scholarships open in the fall and winter: It is best to start compiling your resume, asking for references and submitting applications in the fall, winter and spring before you plan on attending post-secondary.
- Do not ignore smaller awards: Post-secondary education is expensive; any amount of support can help you tremendously.
Websites with extensive lists of scholarships include:
Another convenient website to check is DisabilityAwards.ca, which collects disability-based student scholarship opportunities for you all in one place.
The Rick & Amanda Hansen Scholarship for Youth with Disabilities
The Rick Hansen Foundation’s goal is to remove barriers to accessibility, ensuring that people with disabilities can have equal opportunities for success. With this goal in mind, The Rick & Amanda Hansen Scholarship for Youth with Disabilities supports individuals with disabilities as they pursue an education, providing them with funding of up to $10,000 per year (up to a maximum of $40,000).
Bursaries
While scholarships are based on a student’s academic merit or achievements, bursaries are awarded to individuals based on financial need. Bursaries are intended to remove barriers to education, which is why many exist that are specifically intended to support individuals with disabilities because of the extremely high costs associated with attending post-secondary school with a disability.
Grants and disability-specific supports
Grants exist somewhere in between scholarships and bursaries. Grants are often judged by demographic criteria, as opposed to merit (unlike scholarships), and are given based on financial need (like bursaries). You may be considered for grants by application, like a scholarship, or automatically, through programs like StudentAid BC, which are designed to streamline applications for students in the province of B.C. The Government of Canada webpage for Student Grants and Loans reads:
“The amount you can receive depends on many factors, including:
- your province or territory of residence
- your family income
- if you have dependents
- your tuition fees and living expenses
- if you have a disability”
What this means is that you may be eligible for different amounts of grant-based funding for different characteristics of your life, so it is important to be informed on what the government is willing to cover.
For example, there are provincial as well as federal grants across Canada for students with disabilities, which are designed to ease the post-secondary experience or even just the experience of daily life. Two examples of websites that show you these opportunities are linked below:
Canada Student Grants and Loans – What student grants and loans offer
StudentAid BC – Full-time student funding
Check out these links if you have a documented permanent disability, or a persistent or prolonged disability and will be studying at a designated post-secondary institution.
Student loans and equipment loaning
Last but certainly not least are student loans. The most important difference between student loans and other forms of funding we’ve discussed so far is that you must pay back your loans. With some exceptions in which the government is willing to forgive, or write off, portions of loans it has given in specific circumstances, a loan must be paid back within a given timeframe after receiving it.
The nice thing about student loans is that you do not have to provide proof of disability to receive them and, if you are a full- or part-time student who can demonstrate financial need, the odds are higher that you will receive the funding. However, there are strict conditions on applying for loans and the amount for which you are eligible, so make sure to read up before choosing to take out a loan.
On the other hand, if you are primarily looking for funding to support you with assistive equipment for education, there are many other options out there for you! Through groups like Assistive Technology BC , using the same portal as other grants (StudentAid BC), you can apply for funding to help pay for things like note-takers, software, interpreters, and more. There is also an option to apply for loaning assistive technology to students instead of applying for funding.
As a prospective post-secondary student, these options for funding should give you a better idea of the options available to you for financial need, disability support needs, or achievements to be recognized. However, if you still find the post-secondary experience financially prohibitive or simply not on the life path for you, stay tuned for our next blogpost on postsecondary alternatives.