Headlines: How to Study in Canada for Free
So how true are the headlines that you can study in Canada for free? If the headlines are true, how do you get these full ride scholarships? And, if they aren’t true, where can you go for the most correct information? The bottom line is: can you study in Canada for free? How easy is it to get that full scholarship?
As an education advisor and in-country representative in Pakistan for several Canadian colleges and universities, this is the most common question I get, “How can I get the full scholarship?” It is then I know the ads are out again. I just came across one such article today in Daily Pakistan, their March 31st paper. The headline reads, “Want to study abroad for free? Consider these Canadian universities offering scholarships.”
Half-Truths Don’t Help You Get a Scholarship
I decided to dig a bit deeper into the article to see what it really said about scholarships. When you click on the link they give for scholarships to York University in Toronto, you will get a no page found message. When I looked up the mentioned scholarships at the University of Toronto they were for domestic students and students from the Atlantic provinces. The ones for Carleton University were for domestic students or of a very small value. The only Canadian scholarship information that was accurate was for international student scholarships at UBC. But all in all, these kind of articles don’t help you get the scholarships, and they are half-truths.
Is the information in the photo too good to be true?
How to Find out the Truth about Canadian Scholarships
The best place to get information about international student scholarships is at the source. Go to the university’s website or contact the In-country representative for the Canadian university or college you want to attend. It means a little extra work than just reading an article found on Facebook or somewhere else on the Internet. Advertisements like this might be bait to make you click on the site or become their customer, but it doesn’t help you get the scholarship you need. So, you really need to visit the university’s website or talk to their in-country rep. There is no other way.
What Should I Believe about Canadian Scholarships?
Yes, Canadian Universities Offer International Student Scholarships – all universities and some colleges will offer merit scholarships to their international students. Some might be as small as $500 CAD or as large as $20,000 CAD. Several universities such as UAlberta, Western, St Francis Xavier and Trent offer application-based scholarships up to $127,000 CAD depending on the university. These international student scholarships cover up to 100% of tuition costs.
Full Scholarships are Competitive – remember that students from all over the world are competing for these full scholarships. If there are a 1000 students applying for the scholarship and only 5 to offer, only a small percentage of international student applicants will have their tuition covered. So, it is important to try for these scholarships but don’t be disappointed if you don’t get as much as you would like. You will likely get something but not all of it.
Can Pakistani Students Get Full Scholarships? – this is a resounding YES. Last year 3 Pakistani students got the $120,000 CAD President’s International Distinction Scholarship at the University of Alberta. That covered full tuition for 4 years with the students needing to cover their cost of living. This year several students got the $10,000 International Leadership award. This trend goes the same for other Canadian institutions as well.
You Need to Apply for Admission First – the fine print in these articles doesn’t tell you that you need to submit your admission application before you will ever be able to apply for a scholarship let alone know if you will receive a scholarship offer. Therefore, you need to spend some money on the admission application first. That amount could be as low as $40 or as high as $200 or more if applying through OUAC 105.
Canadian Scholarships for International Graduate Students
While I have talked about undergraduate scholarships above, there are good scholarships for graduate students as well. These funds usually come in the way of a tuition award and stipends for research or teaching assistantships. Entrance scholarships are also available. And yes, Pakistani students do get them. I am currently aware of one student to Western University who got a full package for tuition and cost of living. Of course, she will have either a research or teaching assistantship position at the university to maintain her stipend.
The Canadian government’s scholarships for non-Canadians are not available as Entrance Awards as they will require the signature or input of your supervisor at the university. Hence, while these are available for students who are doing cutting edge research in much needed areas, you do need to be a graduate student already studying at a Canadian university before applying.
Conclusion
Yes, as an international student scholarships and funds are available at Canadian universities and Colleges, but you really need to go to the source – that is the university or college websites or in-country representatives and learn all you can about applying for one of their scholarships.
Over the summer months I will be doing a series of articles on different international student scholarships offered by Canadian universities. Please keep watch for my upcoming articles. And before you ask the question. Yes, these ones you can trust for accurate information.