A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO THE FINANCIAL AWARDS PROCESS
Click on the colored links for more information.
1) Visit the school website http://kss.sd33.bc.ca under the section Student & Parents/ Financial Award Information. Click the yellow headers which will take you to another page. Read. Check the list of Internals and Externals found under the section SD33 Financial Awards, noting the criteria for each.
2) Make sure you are checking your Microsoft TEAMS Financial Awards Files and listening for announcements.
3) Copy and paste those awards that fit you into your own Word document. Check the list often as they change right up until the deadlines. Look at the top for the most current date.
4) Complete a Reference Resume. This is a resume for your References so that they know about all the things you’re involved in. This is different than a job resume. Provide them with a reference resume.
5) Identify who your references will be. One in school (teacher, counselor, administrator, coach) and two out of school (employer, pastor, coach). Ask more than 2 people. Do this EARLY!! Get them to send it to electronically to you. See letter example.
6) The SD33 Financial Awards Internal and External standard form is found on the school’s website. The General application is a writable form and you need to save it to your computer first. You can amend it many times and eventually will have a finished product ready to be submitted by the due date. Practice filling this out.
The External Specifics have their own form. Some Externals have specific document requirements so read each carefully in the List. There is a page in the application for you to copy and paste any additional essays that the donor requires.
7) The application package requires you to combine the application with your reference letters and the transcript. Combine a PDF and create one file to upload. Use Adobe. If you do not have it on your home computer, it is available on all the library school computers.
8) Create a working document of the activities resume which lists all the school related activities you have done from Grade 10-12. (Leadership, Sports teams, Musical theatre, Drama, WEX, Clubs) as well as all the Community based activities you have done in Grade 10-12. (Paid jobs, volunteer work, tutoring). You MUST add WEX to each activity if it is WEX.
9) List awards and citations you have received in Grade 10-12.
10) If there is a special circumstance, affiliation or adversity in your life put it in the assigned box.
11) Fill in the financial budget on the application.
12) Write your Career Statement. This is a one page essay that includes: where have you been? What are you doing now? And what are you going to do? This all relates to your chosen Career path and passion. See a more detailed outline for this in How to write a Career Statement.
13) Have someone read and edit this essay. This is something you work on for a few months.
14) Access your Transcript Edit out the PEN number and edit out the bottom portion.
15) Upload your applications in Office 365. The link to access this will be in Microsoft TEAMS Financial Awards(found in Office 365). This will be available for a period of time before the final deadline. For the Internals you only need to upload ONE application into one folder. For the Externals you will need to upload one for EACH award that you are applying to. You will see a read response after a successful upload.
16) There will be a practice upload link in Microsoft TEAMS that you can practice uploading a document prior to hand in day.
17) Attend 2 or more Financial Award workshops in Dec or Jan. Specific dates will be in the announcements and in the my blueprint mail.
18) See the other drop down links for the most common places students can access bursary’s and scholarships. Note the different deadlines.
19) Look through the Provincial scholarships. The District Authority is a very accessible and non-academic award.
20) Look at each of the on-line scholarships.
21) For the Schulich Leader Scholarship, The Cmolik Foundation Scholarship and the BC Excellence Award you will need a school nomination. Check in the announcements and TEAMS Financial Awards Files for deadlines for these nominations.
22) Check your chosen university or college for the scholarships that they offer on their websites.
23) Important! The financial awards program is not meant to be done in isolation. The website only provides information to get you started. This is a process that in order for your application to be competitive, you must meet with the career advisor, attend the workshops, have others edit your career statement and of course ask questions for clarification. For some this process will be straightforward, for others it may be more difficult to navigate the different tasks. You can always email the career advisor or the counsellors for guidance. The onus is on you to ask.
24) You want to attend the Parent information night in early September. Dates and times will come out in an all Grade 12 parent email and in the announcements. This is when you need to begin to organize yourself so that all the tasks of the awards process are met and you are ready for hand in day.
25) The financial awards program is optional. Your attendance and performance in your courses is paramount. Therefore, having a good balance of all your activities and having a priorities list before you get started is important. The financial awards program is competitive, be thorough and articulate, you have worked hard through your K-12 education, you deserve a financial award! The most important thing is for you to follow the rules, make note of the deadlines, organize your tasks and ask for help when you need it. This process is meant for students to do. Not your parents. Whether you win one or many awards, the experience of presenting your last 3 years of achievement both academically and through activities is priceless. So, make sure that you own this process. Good Luck everyone! 😊