How to apply for scholarships in Canada as a high-school student

Sort each award into one of four types before you plan your time. Automatic awards reward the marks you're already working on, so your writing time belongs to the other three. For how OUAC, OUInfo and Ontario university awards fit together, read our Ontario scholarships and financial aid guide.

The average that counts is the university's admission average for your program, including required courses. You can qualify in one program and not another.

Timing matters. Waterloo uses your early May average, but it still awards the scholarship if your final June or July average reaches 85%. Western's Ontario high-school students hear about its $8,000 scholarship in mid-to-late May, before the response deadline. Its $3,500 and $2,500 awards are confirmed to your Western email in September.

Most of these awards need you to accept the offer on time and enrol full time. Read the conditions before you compare offers in accepting university offers in Ontario.

The largest university awards need their own application, usually a 90% average or higher, and a reference. Some need a school nomination.

See the full picture in our guides for U of T, McMaster, Waterloo and Western for the full picture at each school.

Loran and Terry Fox let you apply on your own. Schulich runs only through a school nomination, so ask your guidance office in September who coordinates it.

Older lists still show TD Scholarships for Community Leadership. TD says the program has concluded and won't accept new applications for 2026 and beyond.

If you play a varsity sport, athletic awards follow separate rules. Read the athletic scholarships guide.

Big awards look well beyond marks. Loran looks for character, a commitment to service and leadership potential, and says it looks past grades to find them. Terry Fox selects for humanitarian work, courage in overcoming obstacles and persistence across academic, athletic and civic life. Financial need isn't a criterion on its own, but it can count as an obstacle.

Schulich wants entrepreneurial-minded students who show leadership, charisma and creativity, and gives strong consideration to financial need. It asks about your top three achievements, a risk you took and what you're passionate about. U of T and Western describe their national awards as recognizing creative thinking, high achievement and real commitment to school and community.

So write about what you did, why it mattered and what changed because of it. For help describing activities, see extracurricular activities for university.

Ask referees in September, not the week of the deadline. Loran and U of T email your referee a link from their own systems, so enter referee details early. Loran says it's your job to make sure the form arrives on time. Loran and Terry Fox don't accept family members as referees, and Loran also excludes friends.

Give each referee a one-page summary of your activities, the award's criteria and the due date. Our reference letters guide compares referee rules across ten programs. Loran wants a transcript or marks summary PDF from your school, board or ministry, and it won't accept a report card.

Write it yourself. U of T prohibits generative AI in any of its undergraduate award applications and disqualifies applicants who use it. A teacher or parent can read a draft, but the ideas and words should be yours.

Work backwards from each deadline and aim to submit a week early. Put these dates into the deadline planner next to your Ontario application deadlines.

You can't always keep everything. Waterloo lets you hold its President's or Merit Scholarship alongside faculty scholarships. McMaster lets domestic students hold one entrance bursary, one award by application and one automatic award. Western's National and Schulich recipients can't also receive its automatic scholarships. Queen's Major Admission Award winners can't hold other merit-based scholarships.

OSAP is separate, and the amount depends partly on your family's income. Western tells students not to report Western awards on OSAP because it reports them itself, but you must report outside awards. Ontario says that for programs starting on or after August 1, 2026, more provincial OSAP funding comes as loans rather than grants, so money you don't have to repay counts for more. See the OSAP guide.

U of T warns that people pose as university agents and send fake admission and scholarship offers. It says it never makes unsolicited scholarship offers, doesn't offer scholarships before an admission offer, never sends offers through WhatsApp or social media, and only emails from @utoronto.ca. Its Pearson program says it doesn't work with agents and warns against anyone asking for fees.

Red flags anywhere: a fee to apply or hold an award, a guaranteed win, an award you never applied for, or a request for bank details or your SIN outside an official portal. If something seems wrong, report it at reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca or call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501. If you've been a victim, contact your local police as well.

The national awards in the table need Canadian citizenship or permanent residence, and OSAP isn't open to international students. Your best options are university awards for international students. A Canadian citizen finishing school in the Caribbean can still apply for Queen's Major Admission Awards, which accept high-school students in Canada or abroad.

Read the international students guide and Caribbean pathways for documents and timing.

Parents can own the dates, documents and money paperwork. Need-based awards want proof of income. Horatio Alger, for example, asks for income verification, usually a parent's tax form.

Leave the writing to your teen, because committees want the student's voice. Our university application guide for parents covers the rest of the year.