Rich Student, Poor Student - Post #3
Before I start with tip #3 I would like to ask any of you out there that feel you have some good advice for students when it comes to saving money to write a comment and I will read it and include it in the tips. I admit that I don’t have all the advice that there is and some of you would have vastly different experience, and therefore some different advice, so please let me know. If you don’t have any advice then feel free to read along or write on your own Blog about how I don’t know what I am talking about and that the advice of “Invest Your Student Loan” is bad (even though I haven’t written that part yet).
Step 3: Milk the system
Take advantage of any little bit of money that you can get your hands on. If there is a chance that you could get a grant, bursary, scholarship, or student loan, then take it. I know what you might be thinking – I don’t have good enough grades to get those things – but you have to remember that not all of these are given out based on grades. There are a lot of things that you need to keep in mind when trying to get your hands on this money, so I will lay it out by category.
Grants/Bursaries – A grant (or bursary) is essentially money that you get for free. There are a number of different ways to get grants, places to get them from, and reasons to apply for them. Of course the main reason to get a grant would be that you need help with tuition. The university has needs based grants that are awarded through the registrar’s office twice a year. Other grants (such as the Millennium Scholarships) are given out by the government and the way that you apply is by getting a student loan. In fact the only way that you can usually get any sort of grant or bursary is if you have applied for a government student loan every year that you have been in school. You can find the application forms for these grants online. Another reason that you could apply for a grant is to go on a conference or attend an event that is pertinent to your academic field of study. These grants are awarded by the student union and also by you’re A level society. Generally the amount that you can apply for is not that much ($100 from the DSU) but every little bit helps.
Student Loans – As mentioned in the Grants/Bursaries section it is to your advantage to apply for a student loan every year that you are in school, if just for the fact that you are then eligible to apply for more bursaries and grants. Another reason that you should be applying for a student loan every year is that the loans have 0% interest until you are out of school, that is free money. I challenge you to get a loan from the bank for that level of interest. Later on in the tip about investing your student loan I will point out why it is important to get a student loan even if you don’t need one. The main thing you need to realize is that just because you get a student loan doesn’t mean you have to spend all of it, if you don’t need it, don’t spend it. In my first year I somehow burned through an $8000 student loan and I am regretting it now.
Scholarships – Everyone knows what a scholarship is, but a lot of people think their grades are too low to apply. If you have extracurricular activities, are a minority, have a disability, or are from a certain geographical area you could get a scholarship based on that, and there are a number of other distinguishing factors that could come into play. I am not saying that there is a scholarship that you will get just because you are disabled, or are from the North End of Halifax and have Irish decent, but it could help. Apply for everything and just cross your fingers, you would be surprised how many scholarships people don’t apply for.
I’m sure there are some things that I am missing here, and I know I didn’t go too in depth. If you have any more ways to ‘Milk the System’ then please comment on this post and let everyone know. I would encourage everyone to look online for information on the Canada Student Loans program and be informed about their provincial loans and also to look on Dal’s website for more information on Grants and Bursaries.
Step 3: Milk the system
Take advantage of any little bit of money that you can get your hands on. If there is a chance that you could get a grant, bursary, scholarship, or student loan, then take it. I know what you might be thinking – I don’t have good enough grades to get those things – but you have to remember that not all of these are given out based on grades. There are a lot of things that you need to keep in mind when trying to get your hands on this money, so I will lay it out by category.
Grants/Bursaries – A grant (or bursary) is essentially money that you get for free. There are a number of different ways to get grants, places to get them from, and reasons to apply for them. Of course the main reason to get a grant would be that you need help with tuition. The university has needs based grants that are awarded through the registrar’s office twice a year. Other grants (such as the Millennium Scholarships) are given out by the government and the way that you apply is by getting a student loan. In fact the only way that you can usually get any sort of grant or bursary is if you have applied for a government student loan every year that you have been in school. You can find the application forms for these grants online. Another reason that you could apply for a grant is to go on a conference or attend an event that is pertinent to your academic field of study. These grants are awarded by the student union and also by you’re A level society. Generally the amount that you can apply for is not that much ($100 from the DSU) but every little bit helps.
Student Loans – As mentioned in the Grants/Bursaries section it is to your advantage to apply for a student loan every year that you are in school, if just for the fact that you are then eligible to apply for more bursaries and grants. Another reason that you should be applying for a student loan every year is that the loans have 0% interest until you are out of school, that is free money. I challenge you to get a loan from the bank for that level of interest. Later on in the tip about investing your student loan I will point out why it is important to get a student loan even if you don’t need one. The main thing you need to realize is that just because you get a student loan doesn’t mean you have to spend all of it, if you don’t need it, don’t spend it. In my first year I somehow burned through an $8000 student loan and I am regretting it now.
Scholarships – Everyone knows what a scholarship is, but a lot of people think their grades are too low to apply. If you have extracurricular activities, are a minority, have a disability, or are from a certain geographical area you could get a scholarship based on that, and there are a number of other distinguishing factors that could come into play. I am not saying that there is a scholarship that you will get just because you are disabled, or are from the North End of Halifax and have Irish decent, but it could help. Apply for everything and just cross your fingers, you would be surprised how many scholarships people don’t apply for.
I’m sure there are some things that I am missing here, and I know I didn’t go too in depth. If you have any more ways to ‘Milk the System’ then please comment on this post and let everyone know. I would encourage everyone to look online for information on the Canada Student Loans program and be informed about their provincial loans and also to look on Dal’s website for more information on Grants and Bursaries.
posted by Chad LeClair at 11:13 p.m.
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