These days, going to university is not a cheap ordeal. Thanks to our great governments, tuition has skyrocketed. If your parents haven't been putting aside money for you, there are alternate sources for funding. One of the main sources are scholarships. If you don't have a 4.0 GPA, don't be discouraged. There are many scholarships for people of certain ethnic backgrounds, people who play certain sports, or just people who help out in the community. That said, you still should maintain a high GPA because things can get competitive.

To begin your search for scholarships, you should start very early. Make sure that you take note of all the particulars e.g. due date, any supplementary information needed. There are many sources of scholarships out there but you need to be prepared to research them. There are numerous books out there and you can type scholarships into one of the search engines, such as , or . Of course, you should narrow down the search and specify Canada. Also, you should ask your parents, or other relatives, if their place of employment or union offers scholarships.

However, the best place to find scholarships is the universities/colleges that you plan to attend. You should check out the financial aid offices of the schools. Be sure to note the requirements. Some, scholarships you don't need to apply for, they automatically consider you when you are accepted. The more presitigious awards require application ahead of time, and this normally means before you know if you're admitted or not. These awards also usually require an essay of some sort and a couple of letters of references. Be sure to check out my links page because the one called 'Winning Scholarships' gives more tips on how to prepare yourself for the grueling process of applying for scholarships. Bursaries are also a great source of funding. These can be found in the same manner as scholarships. Mostly, these are based on financial need, community involvement and/or club affiliation.

If you haven't won a scholarship or bursary, you can apply for student loans. There is a lot of information on Canada Student Loans but I'm too lazy to write them all out at the moment. If you're interested, just go to my page that has links to the provincial and federal ministries for student loans. If the government loans aren't enough, your last alternative is to borrow money from the banks. You should always leave this as a last resort because the interest rates are higher and the government is much more forgiving than banks.