How To Apply To The Western National Scholarship

Western is one of the top universities in Canada! In addition to offering excellent programs, hopeful students can apply for the Western National Scholarship Program. These major entrance awards can provide students with up to $70,000 over the course of four years—that’s enough to cover your tuition! Here at GrantMe, we’ve helped students apply to and win this prestigious award. Here’s our top advice on how to apply to the Western National Scholarship (and win!). 

Available Awards & Eligibility

The Western National Scholarship program offers over 75 scholarships in various amounts throughout five categories. The most prestigious category are the President’s Entrance Scholarships. 20 students across Canada win these awards. The amount varies from $50,000 all the way up to $70,000 over the course of four years! 

The other categories of awards include scholarships for continuing education students, international students, faculty-specific awards, and study abroad awards. 

You can apply to all these scholarships via GrantMe while also getting guidance and support along the way!

Nomination Process

The first step in how to apply to the Western National Scholarship is nomination! To apply for the scholarships, you must get a nomination from your school. Each school can nominate up to 4 students (plus an additional international student). Every school has a different process for nominating students—ask your guidance counsellor or principal what the process is like for yours! 

Once your school decides to nominate you for the Western National Scholarship, fill out Western’s nomination request form online. They’ll send an email to your principal, who will then fill out the nomination form and send in your academic transcripts. 

If you’re in Grade 9, 10, or 11 and unsure if you meet the criteria to be nominated, don’t stress! GrantMe can help you gain the skills and experiences to be a strong scholarship candidate by Grade 12. Check out our free scholarship eligibility quiz today!

Reference

Next in how to apply to the Western National Scholarship is a reference! This reference must come from a teacher or staff member at your school who is familiar with your work. They might teach you a class or they might be a sponsor teacher for an extra-curricular activity or volunteer role!

We made a guide on how to get a strong reference letter. Check it out on our blog here!

Essay

The final part of the application is an essay! Here’s the prompt:

You are required to submit an original essay written by you on an issue important to you, of public concern. The length of the essay should be no less than 1000 words and no greater than 1250 words.

You want to show the selection committee why you’re the best candidate for this scholarship. Do this by highlighting your volunteer and leadership experience! 

For example, perhaps the issue you want to highlight is climate change. You can discuss why it is important to you and how you’ve taken action on this issue through your volunteer 

Connecting the prompt to your leadership involvements demonstrates your character through your actions instead of just your words. It also highlights your skills and shows them the impact you could create on the Western University campus!

Here are some tips on how you can structure your essay.

Introduction

Start with a hook!  Think of something that will capture the reader's attention and encourage them to keep reading—this could be a personal story or a powerful statement. Give the reader a snapshot of your "character"—what specific event/person/experience motivated you to care about this issue and be who you are today?

Body Paragraphs

If the issue you chose requires more context or explanation than you have in your introduction, you could start with a short paragraph further explaining the issue.

Next you want to go into how you’ve taken action on this issue! Choose one or two significant volunteer involvements to focus on for this essay. 

To help you clearly and powerfully communicate your experiences, use STAR structure! STAR is a 4-part acronym that will help you powerfully describe a specific volunteer or extracurricular experience. 

• S — Situation (who, what, when, where)
• T — Task (your objective)
• A — Actions (what you did, how you did it, skills you used)
• R — Result (qualitative or quantitative proof of your success) 

Use this formula to discuss your volunteer involvements in your application! STAR will make your writing powerful and easy to follow.

After you’ve discussed how you are currently taking action on this issue, look to the future! How does this issue connect to your future education and career goals? How will studying at Western University help you to take action on this issue? 

Also spend some time discussing how you will make an impact on this issue at Western! What clubs or opportunities do you want to get involved with? How will you bring a new perspective or initiate new projects within them? What new clubs or initiatives could you start on campus? Try to be specific here. Don’t forget to connect how the skills and experiences you gained during your past volunteer experience will help you to contribute to Western. 

Conclusion

Finally, end with a brief conclusion that provides a reflection on your hopes for the future at Western!

To access in-depth coaching and guidance on your writing, check out the GrantMe platform! Our trained essay editors know exactly what the selection committees look for and can help you draft a winning essay.  

Follow these steps and you’re sure to submit a strong application for the Western National Scholarship program!

If you want even more support, GrantMe can help you stand out. We provide personalized scholarship matches, essay editing, and mentorship from past winners to maximize your success. Complete our short scholarship eligibility quiz to learn more about how GrantMe can help you achieve your post-secondary goals.