In the past, Canadian girls rarely went far in their education. If they finished high school, that was often all that was expected of them. Now, however, women go to all kinds of schools where they learn to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, librarians and beyond. However, all of these opportunities bring expenses with them; this is when scholarships can help.

Studying at colleges, trade schools, or universities can be very rewarding and lead to exciting careers, but it can be expensive. Tuition and textbooks cost a lot, but working to earn money during the school year can be stressful; how can you balance it all? For successful students who have special qualities, scholarships can be a good way of reducing the financial costs of getting an education.

Many scholarships are for people who get high marks in a particular area, but they are much more than that. Some of them are specifically for women to encourage them to enter into certain fields. For example, very few women have traditionally gone into areas such as science and mathematics. Many universities have scholarships to encourage girls to consider these types of fields. Certain trades such as plumber or electrician are also likely to have scholarships for female students who want to train in that area.

Besides encouraging girls to get into certain types of work, scholarships might have other special purposes. Some scholarships encourage leadership qualities, whether this is in starting a school newspaper or leading a recycling drive. Others might go to students who start their own businesses, learn a new language, or develop other skills. Each scholarship is slightly different, and it is important to know the requirements before putting in an application.

Scholarships have different requirements, depending on who has supplied the funding. Funding for scholarships often comes from people who donate to a certain cause, often related to the interests of someone who has died. If the scholarship is in memory of a poet, for example, the money might go to someone who writes and publishes poetry. Sometimes the scholarship applies only to people taking certain types of courses. Financial need is normally one of the criteria, and some scholarships give students enough money to pay for at least a year or two of classes.

Many different organizations offer scholarships for women and girls, but it can be difficult to find them. However, your school counselor likely has a list of some of the money that is available for students who want to continue their studies. Another good place to look is the Canadian Federation of University Women, which has listings of various scholarships and their requirements. It might be hard to know now which source of funding will suit you, but you can already start to develop the qualities that will help you win scholarships for your future studies.
Check out the resources below for more information on scholarships for women and girls.

Bibliography:

Canadian Federation of University Women. “CFUW Fellowships and Awards for the Academic Year 2016-2017.” http://www.fcfdu.org/en-ca/fellowships/fellowshipsandawards.aspx

Canadian Historical Association Committees. “Scholarships for Women.” http://www.chashcacommittees-comitesa.ca/gsc-ced/en/scholarships/scholarships_women.shtml.

Easy Scholarships. “Scholarships for Girls.” http://www.easyscholarships.cc/scholarships-for-girls.

Scholarships.com. “Scholarships for Women.” https://www.scholarships.com/financial-aid/college-scholarships/scholarships-by-type/scholarships-for-women/.