Further, if a student is looking around for what colleges to apply to, getting access to all of these bursary lists in order to make an informed decision regarding available financial aid can be a hassle. Obviously it should be becoming clear that some bursary lists are going to be more useful than others, and students in certain situations are going to want different amounts of information available for them depending on their current status. So what will be important going into a bursary search is going to be how to find lists of bursaries, and then how to use them to a student’s greatest advantage. Knowing what to search for and then once found how to make best use of available information is going to give any student a massive leg up in their continued search for financial aid.
One of the first and easiest places to find a list of bursaries is on the internet. While the information is often freely available, students will have to wade through an incredible mountain of information in an attempting to whittle down applicable lists. This represents a huge problem with bursary lists available online, and getting around it can be troublesome. Instead of doing a simple blanket search for “list of bursaries” or even “bursary lists” it may be wise to add another modifier into the phrase. For example, a student can do a search for “bursary list Canada” or switch out Canada for any region a student is planning to attend school in. Results will flood in with bursary lists that look specifically at the region modifier the student uses, which will help narrow your search a fair amount. Of course once the list has been narrowed sufficiently a student will then need to locate reliable lists. As with many things on the internet, bursary lists can quickly go out of date. If there is not a person who is focusing on keeping the lists current, or they are not directly involved with the organizations that are offering the bursaries then bursary lists can easily become unreliable. If a student is looking for bursaries in 2011 but comes across a list where many of the dates are 2010, it would be wise to move on because there is no guarantee that those programs will even be available in the new academic year.A good example of a website which maintains excellent updates would be Scholarship Canada which keeps on top of their material from deadlines to award amounts.
If a student is having trouble locating bursary lists which will apply to them on the internet, a good place to get more information is from the individual college or regional office which awards bursaries for students in a particular locale. In Canada this is an excellent place to find applicable bursary lists and apply for programs at the same time. Similarly, students in the United Kingdom will find available lists of bursaries at their local university detailing not only programs offered through the individual college but also nationally. Where this is not always as applicable is in South Africa where bursaries are often offered through private organizations or through public/private partnerships. Although a list of bursaries will be available through a local university, they are unlikely to be incredibly inclusive and will miss many programs available nationally through private groups. For these students an internet search as detailed above will likely be the best method for finding as many programs as possible.