A Guide to Lakehead Scholarships
When and Where to Apply
Lakehead’s scholarship website, MyAwards, opened on August 15, 2022 for scholarships that will be granted in the 2022-2023 school year. For most scholarship applications, the due date is October 15th, and you do not want to miss it. Earlier this year, Lakehead completely revamped its scholarship application website. As a result, students are asked to fill out one comprehensive, online form, and the system will then automatically apply them to scholarships they are likely to receive. What may go unnoticed, however, is additional scholarship applications that may apply to the student but were not automatically entered because they require an additional essay that is unique to their funding requirements. So, make sure you check the “Recommended Opportunities” section before the deadline!
What About Other Scholarship Websites?
There are a number of other scholarship websites that are not affiliated with Lakehead. There are two problems with these websites. Firstly, they will not automatically apply to any scholarships for you, so they are incredibly time-consuming. Secondly, because these websites are available to all students, the competition is intense. At the end of the day, you often spend a lot of time on something that will not reward you. With this being said, websites like ScholarshipsCanada are completely legit, and, if you have the time, there is no harm in trying!
When Do You Receive Scholarships?
With Lakehead’s scholarship website, MyAwards, you can receive notice of winning scholarships at any time throughout the school year. However, you are most likely to receive notice within the first two weeks of December. You will receive an email stating that you have been selected and then told the amount of money you will obtain. Afterwards, it is crucial that you log in to MyAwards and ACCEPT the scholarship. Often, you will also be asked to write a “Thank You Letter” to the donor. If you do not do these things once you have been notified, you can lose your scholarship.
WARNING: If you receive OSAP…
Lakehead scholarships, bursaries, and awards are automatically reported to OSAP, which can change your funding estimate. For example, if you receive a $3000 scholarship and you also already received $9000 from OSAP, you might automatically owe that $3000 to the Ontario government. In this circumstance, it does not make sense to apply, since you just end up with the amount you were initially given from OSAP. Instead, it may be better to just not apply for scholarships at all and allow other students (who can keep the money) a chance to earn the money. Of course, it is totally up to you, but always keep in mind that your scholarship amount will be deducted from your OSAP grant and, most likely, you just won’t end up with the money.