Guidelines & Application

Eligibility

Note: This must be the first time that the student will be attending a post-secondary institution.

• The student is enrolled full time in the first or second year of a multi-year program at a CICan member institution.
• The student must be a Canadian citizen, landed immigrant, permanent resident, or a protected person.
• Students attending colleges or institutes in rural, remote, or northern areas will be given preference for the 10 bursaries of up to $5,000 each.
• Students must contact the registrar office of the college or institute where they are enrolled by Monday, September 23, 2024, in order to express their interest and justify their need for financial support.

Deadline

Institutions must submit an application on behalf of their student by Friday, October 25, 2024.

Application Tips

• Endorsement letter: the endorsement letter presents a great opportunity to highlight the student.
• Application questions: supply data-driven responses when possible, and always keep the focus on the application to help the reviewer understand the key element(s) being highlighted.
• Testimonials: use these three opportunities to provide multiple points of view by requesting a testimonial from both campus and community leaders, and from different levels and/or departments within the campus.
• Student essay: This essay holds weight with reviewers so be specific, be clear, and be bold! Please remember to focus on the following:
  • financial need;
  • challenges and barriers to attending a college or institute;
  • community involvement.

Selection

Each submission will be reviewed by a national committee of regional representatives from CICan member institutions whose positions are directly related to student services: e.g. registrars, academic counsellors, vice-presidents.

Selection Criteria

Bursary application reviews will be based on the demonstration of:

• financial need
• challenges and barriers to attending a college or institute
• impact that the bursary will have on the ability to attend a college or institute
• community involvement

Final Results

Colleges and Institutes Canada will inform the President’s Office of the status of the application by Monday, November 25, 2024. The first bursary disbursement will be done by Monday, December 16, 2024.