Financial Aid Directory
Using the Information Superhighway
In the information age the use of the Internet is a vital resource. This is true with all types of information, including assistance with obtaining funding for post-secondary education. Here are a few uniquely Canadian sites, and one American site, that are valuable for those seeking a solution to worries about money while going to school.
Of course, there are other great sites that you can search for on your own.
www.canlearn.ca: CanLearn Interactive is supported by Human Resources Development Canada and is intended "to provide an Internet-based one-stop resource for learning information, products and services that support decision-making by individual Canadians in pursuit of their learning and career goals." This is a site that allows the search for funding to be uniquely tailored to one's specific needs. It involves a six-step registration process, which can seem tedious but there is a purpose. The web site is built around a scholarship database and it matches scholarships to the particular need of the person based on information provided in the personalized registration process. In addition to the scholarships, there is an accessibility guide of particular interest to people with disabilities and other general information designed to make planning for the future easier.
www.studentawards.com This is similar to the Canlearn site. The site offers opportunities to get help in making applications for academic scholarships.
www.scholarshipscanada.com: This is a new site that is just beginning to build a knowledge base. It is still worth checking out.
www.schoolfinder.com: This is primarily designed for those earlier in the education process but it may also be useful to students pursuing college or university study.
www.heath-resource-center.org: The HEATH Resource Center of the American Council on Education is the national clearinghouse on post-secondary education for individuals with disabilities. Support from the U.S. Department of Education enables HEATH to serve as an information exchange about educational support services, policies, procedures, adaptations and opportunities at American campuses, vocational-technical schools and other post-secondary training entities. HEATH has a number of excellent publications available including: "The 1999 Financial Aid Guide For Students With Disabilities." The first copy ordered is available free of charge. HEATH promotes the publication as: "...(a) resource paper that guides the student through a maze of funding options available to help pay for post-secondary study. In addition to providing an overview of federal and state based financial aid sources, the paper includes a listing of private, disability related scholarships as well as detailed references of resources in print on the internet."
www.graduateaid.com GraduateAid.com is one of Canada's largest free scholarship databases containing over 9,000 scholarships, worth over $57 million dollars.