Financial Anxiety Remains
Last fall, the Argus wrote an article regarding the late arrival of the student scholarship application site called MyAwards. Typically, students can begin applying for scholarships on August 15th, but the website was undergoing updates until October. Once the last week of October came around, the website announced that it would need more time and did not specify a date, leaving many anxious. On December 10th, 2021, MyAwards was once again open to students. Crucially, this is typically the time of year when students would be receiving emails announcing the scholarships and bursaries that they will be receiving in the upcoming weeks.
Most of the applications had a deadline of January 31st, 2022; however, there has been no word on when students might expect to receive their scholarships. So, after facing many months-worth of anxiety about being able to apply, students are now wondering how much longer their budgets can stretch. Moreover, students never know how much money they will be receiving, if any. Students that were once able to sustain their living expenses throughout each school year are now left to fend for themselves without any assurance of how much or when their aid will arrive.
It has always been an option that one can either prioritize school and win scholarships based on their high academic performance, or they can sacrifice potential studying time to work and earn a definite paycheque. While both are valid choices, students that chose the former have been irrevocably and needlessly plagued with financial uncertainties that enveloped the holidays. Mostly, it leaves students feeling extremely undervalued by the institution that they have given all of their time and finances. We reached out to Lakehead students, asking if they were experiencing any financial anxiety at this time, and here’s what they had to say:
Fourth-Year Honours Student
“I had to take on a second job this year on top of my full-time schooling. I didn’t want to because I knew that my grades and mental health would suffer, but I couldn’t afford groceries. I had lost so much weight waiting for an email saying that I had gotten something, as I have every year. Still, nothing has come. I can appreciate that the new application site is easier to use but I had already missed spring-summer school scholarship applications due to the site maintenance. No one has given me any information about when I’ll hear back, either. It’s such a source of dread for me.”
Fourth-Year Interdisciplinary Student
“I didn’t qualify for OSAP when I lived at home with my parents. I qualify now that I’ve moved out but it’s only for $2300 a year on top of paying for the cost of living on my own. Either way, my parents never helped me and OSAP didn’t care; it just took their income and labeled it as my own. Now the scholarships aren’t coming in either and, honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t get them for several more months with the way things have been going.”
Third-Year Interdisciplinary Student
“I decided to take a full-time job for weekdays and a part-time job for weekends. I do homework, assignments, and readings at night. I feel like I haven’t spent any quality time with my friends and family in months. I know that the scholarships are coming and I’m grateful to be in an okay place right now, but I should have never had to do this. Why can’t we just get a date to expect a response?”
These sentiments by Lakehead students are not new or unique experiences. In fact, this financial anxiety surrounding late scholarships comes in the wake of the call for pandemic tuition decreases, which has largely been ignored. This January, an opinion piece published by 6ixbuzz gained a lot of traction on Instagram, saying “Students at Ontario Universities and Colleges are Being Robbed by Having to Pay the Same Tuition Fees for Less Education and Experience.” For students, things are all building up right now as we pay our high tuition fees while sitting at home on our computers paying for food and shelter that are on the market with the highest inflation prices yet. As compensation, most of us are paid a $15 minimum wage, which the public has advocated for for so long that it is no longer enough to keep anyone satiated.
With scholarships at MyAwards, students are not demanding anything rash. No one has asked for immediate financial aid, lower tuition costs, or emergency funds to sustain themselves. Instead, students plead that Lakehead grants them clarity and true-to-plan timelines that can allow them to plan appropriately. Constant setbacks and a lack of available information cause a constant strain on students’ financial anxiety. The institution has the ability to communicate better and should do so.