October 1, 2025

UCalgary Admissions and Recruitment
 

Think Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries Aren't for You? Think Again.

When you hear the word scholarship, who comes to mind? For many students, it's someone with a long list of accomplishments, and a resume that seems impossible to compete with. It's one of the biggest misconceptions about awards—and one of the reasons some students never apply in the first place.

The reality? Scholarships, awards, and bursaries support a wide variety of students with different experiences, interests, and strengths. In fact, last year UCalgary students received more than $22 million in awards, scholarships, and bursaries, with 35% of incoming students received some form of award funding. So before you decide that awards aren't for you, let's take a closer look.

Awards Aren't One-Size-Fits-All

While some awards are based primarily on academic achievement, others may consider leadership, extracurricular involvement, community engagement, financial need, or a combination of factors. That's why it's important not to assume you won't qualify for funding opportunities.

As an incoming high school applicant, you'll be considered through three main award categories:

Automatic Admission Awards don't require a separate application. Simply by applying for admission, you'll automatically be considered for eligible awards based on your admission average, including opportunities like the President's Admission Scholarship.

High School Entrance Awards require a single application and include more than 1,100 award opportunities ranging from $500 to $10,000. These awards may consider a variety of factors, including academic achievement, financial need, extracurricular involvement, leadership experiences, and even your high school's location.

Prestige Awards are UCalgary's most competitive award opportunities, with values of up to $30,400 and many being renewable throughout your degree. These awards recognize high-achieving students who demonstrate not only academic excellence, but also significant accomplishments and contributions beyond the classroom.

Together, these three award categories help ensure that a wide range of students can be recognized for their accomplishments and potential.

It's also important to know that incoming awards are designed for students applying directly from high school, and transfer students are not eligible for these entrance award opportunities. However, once you begin your studies at UCalgary, you’ll have access to a wide range of continuing undergraduate scholarships, awards, and bursaries throughout your degree.

Awards Don't Just Come from UCalgary

While UCalgary offers a wide range of scholarships, awards, and bursaries, they aren't the only source of funding available to students.

Many community organizations, employers, foundations, professional associations, and government programs also offer financial support for post-secondary students. These external and government awards have their own eligibility requirements and application processes, separate from the UCalgary awards portal.

When you're planning for university, it's worth exploring opportunities both within and beyond UCalgary. The more places you look, the more opportunities you may find. 

Learn more about funding your education here!

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