Finding your way with Scholarships

There are significant costs associated with going to University. From buying textbooks and laptops to paying for your practical placement. The smallest amount can go a long way.

Finding the right scholarship

There are so many kinds of scholarships. This guide covers the main types, and where to find them.

Best place to search

A third-party website is best to search as it will cover different institutions and funding bodies. The Good Universities Guide or the Country Education Foundation are a great starting point.

Equity scholarships

Equity Scholarships help disadvantaged students. These range from carer responsibilities to financial hardship, disabilities along with residing in regional or remote areas.

Students within the Maranoa region qualify to apply for the regional or remote disadvantage.

Government scholarships

The QLD government lists some great scholarships here.

Your institution of study

Use the scholarship finder for your institution, and then filter down to the ones that are relevant for you! If you aren’t tech-savvy, get someone to help – like our Centre Manager.

For our USQ students, search for your perfect scholarship here.

QTAC

The Rural and Regional Enterprise Scholarships (RRES) program was announced in 2016 to help Australians in regional and remote areas to access higher education. It supports people studying from Certificate IV through to Ph.D. level.  As a Maranoa resident, you qualify as living in a regional and remote area.

To be eligible for a scholarship applicants must:

• Be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, holder of a permanent humanitarian visa
• Have commenced the first year of their Eligible Course of Study in 2021
• Have your permanent home address in a regional or remote area as defined by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).
• Applicants must not have relocated to a major city more than 3 months prior to commencing their chosen course of study.

So, if you are a first-year student in 2021 check this awesome scholarship program out here.

Tips for applying

Applying for a scholarship is like applying for a job. Even if you’re not sure whether you are the perfect candidate, it is worth applying and giving it your best effort.

Our best tips are:

1. Look for scholarships as early as possible. Look for them while you apply for the different courses that you are interested in. Applications have closing dates, and you don’t want to miss them. Get your application in early if you can!
2. Think of not only your academic achievement but everything you have been successful in doing. If you do extra-curricular activities, from sport to public speaking, these activities show you give things a go! Even better if you have an award from these activities.
3. Like applying for jobs, have a good cover letter ready to go that you only need to tinker with to address the scholarship you are applying for.
4. Have a referee ready to go to provide you a good reference. This could be a teacher, your boss at work, or a sports coach. Have a chat with them about your goals, and what you’re hoping to achieve so they can best support your application.
5. Apply for as many scholarships as possible. Unless you have a scholarship that says you must only accept that scholarship, then don’t limit yourself! Every cent helps.
6. Don’t let it discourage you if you aren’t awarded a scholarship you have applied for. Take the experience and reflect on where you could improve and try, try again!

This guide is to help you find and apply for scholarships. The process can be overwhelming. So hopefully with this guide and the help of our Centre Manager, we hope we can make this process easier for you.

Contact Bec at rebecca.coffey@cucmaranoa.edu.au