Say a local award near you gets no applications this year. Its money -- $500, $1,000, maybe $5,000 -- could go unused until the next round. Meanwhile you might be borrowing thousands in student loans because you assumed scholarships are only for valedictorians.
ScholarshipsCanada.com, a large Canadian scholarship listing site, estimates that $10 to $20 million in scholarship money goes unclaimed in Canada every year. Their database lists more than 98,000 awards totalling over $281 million -- and roughly 3% of those awards receive zero applications in any given year. Not a few applications. Zero.
In Ontario, where OSAP grants have just been cut from 85% to 25%, students in a four-year degree may graduate with more debt than before.
There is a disconnect here, and it is costing students real money. This article unpacks why scholarships go unclaimed, clears up some common myths about who can win, and shows you how to find awards that are easy to overlook.
Five kinds of awards worth a closer look:
| Category | Why it is easy to miss | Typical award size | Where to find them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry-specific (trades, nursing, agriculture) | Listed by industry groups you may not think to check | $500 to $5,000 | Provincial industry associations, union foundations |
| Identity-based niche awards (e.g., descendants of veterans, specific ethnic communities) | Eligibility feels narrow even when it isn't | $1,000 to $10,000 | Indspire, Canadian Heritage, community foundations |
| Local community scholarships (Rotary, Lions, Knights of Columbus, town councils) | Not advertised on national platforms | $500 to $2,500 | High school guidance office, municipal bursaries |
| Workplace and union scholarships (parents' employer or union) | Students forget to ask their parents | $500 to $3,000 | Parent's HR department, union local |
| Faith-based and cultural community awards | Believed to require deep involvement | $500 to $5,000 | Local religious centres, cultural associations |
Want to find scholarships that actually match your profile? Take the 2-minute Funding Type Quiz, it asks about your education stage, province and funding situation, and shows you awards that match your answers. Free, no signup, results in about 2 minutes.
The Numbers: How Much Money Is Actually Left on the Table?
Let's start with what the data tells us.
The ScholarshipsCanada data
ScholarshipsCanada.com is the largest scholarship listing platform in Canada. Their 2025 report provides the clearest picture we have:
- 98,000+ awards in the database
- $281 million+ in total listed funding
- Approximately 3% of awards receive zero applications
- $10 to $20 million goes unclaimed annually
The SchoolFinder Group data
The SchoolFinder Group, which operates ScholarshipsCanada.com, published its 2024 and 2025 reports with additional context:
- The database has grown steadily since 2022, when it listed roughly 88,000 awards.
- Only about 7% of awards are renewable (meaning they pay out year after year). The other 93% are one-time awards -- use them or lose them.
What "unclaimed" actually means
When we say a scholarship is "unclaimed," it means one of three things:
- Zero applicants -- Nobody submitted an application at all.
- No qualified applicants -- People applied, but none met the eligibility criteria.
- Insufficient applicants -- The scholarship intended to give out multiple awards but did not receive enough applications to fill all the spots.
In all three cases, the money either rolls over to the next year or sits idle in the fund. It does not get redirected to other students. It simply goes unawarded.
Why Students Don't Apply: The Five Myths
If you have not applied yet, one of these five myths may be holding you back.
Myth 1: "You Need a 95% Average to Win Scholarships"
Do not let this belief stop you from applying.
The truth: Many scholarships in Canada have no GPA requirement at all. Others set the bar at 70% or 75% -- a B average. Some awards do require 90%+, often the big entrance awards. Many others are awarded based on some combination of:
- Community involvement and volunteering
- Leadership experience
- Financial need
- Field of study
- Demographic background (Indigenous students, newcomers, students with disabilities, first-generation students, etc.)
- Region of residence
- Career goals
- Personal essays
The Schulich Builders Scholarships, worth up to $40,000 for trades students, look at work ethic, character and financial need. Many smaller awards from community organizations, service clubs, and cultural groups have no GPA threshold.
If you have above a 70% average and any kind of involvement in your community, you are eligible for more scholarships than you think.
Myth 2: "Scholarships Are Only for Students Who Can't Afford School"
Some scholarships are need-based. Many are not.
The truth: Scholarships are awarded for academic achievement, community service, leadership, athletic ability, creative talent, entrepreneurship, career interest, cultural background, and dozens of other criteria. Many donors are not trying to fund the poorest students -- they are trying to encourage students in a specific field, support students from their community, or reward a particular kind of involvement.
A student from a middle-income family who volunteers at a community health centre, plays on a varsity team, and studies environmental science is eligible for a wide range of scholarships that have nothing to do with financial need.
Do not self-select out of merit-based, community-based, or field-specific awards because you think your family earns too much.
Myth 3: "The Competition Is Too Fierce -- I'll Never Win"
If you assume thousands of others will apply, you may not apply at all.
The truth: Remember -- 3% of scholarships on ScholarshipsCanada.com receive zero applications. And those are just the ones with literally zero applicants.
Here is why some awards may have fewer applicants:
- Niche eligibility criteria narrow the pool naturally. A scholarship for left-handed engineering students from rural Ontario does not have 10,000 applicants.
- Essays take effort. Some awards ask for a 500-word essay. If you are willing to write it, apply.
- Small awards add up. Ten $500 scholarships equal $5,000.
- Deadlines matter. Track every deadline so you do not miss one.
You cannot win a scholarship you do not apply for.
Myth 4: "Small Scholarships Are Not Worth the Effort"
This is the myth that hurts the most at a practical level.
The truth: A $500 scholarship that takes you two hours to apply for is paying you $250 per hour for your time. That is better than any part-time job you will find. And small scholarships stack.
Consider this: if you apply for 20 scholarships in the $500 to $2,000 range and win just 3 of them (a 15% success rate), you could receive $2,000 to $4,000. That is a month's rent. That is a semester's worth of textbooks and groceries. That is real money.
Small scholarships also tend to be:
- Faster to apply for (shorter applications, fewer requirements)
- More numerous (thousands exist across Canada)
- Renewable or repeatable (some can be won in multiple years)
Smaller awards with niche criteria are worth targeting.
Myth 5: "I Don't Know Where to Look"
This one is understandable -- but it is solvable.
The truth: The information exists. The problem is fragmentation. Scholarships are listed on university websites, college financial aid pages, community foundation sites, corporate websites, service club pages, cultural organization portals, and government databases. No single student is going to check all of those.
This is exactly what FundMyCourse was built to solve. We aggregate scholarships, bursaries, and grants from across Canada into one searchable database. Tell us who you are -- your province, your program, your background -- and we show you what you qualify for.
Beyond our platform, here are other places to look:
- Your high school guidance office -- they may know about local awards.
- Your school's financial aid office -- institutional bursaries and awards specific to your program.
- Community foundations -- organizations like the Brampton Community Foundation, the Ottawa Community Foundation, etc. maintain scholarship lists.
- Service clubs -- Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, and Optimist clubs in your area.
- Your parents' employers -- many large companies offer dependent scholarships.
- Cultural and faith-based organizations -- awards for students of specific backgrounds.
- Professional associations -- groups related to your field of study.
The Scholarships Most Likely to Go Unclaimed
Here are kinds of awards that are easy to overlook.
1. Local and Regional Awards
Local awards, like those from a Rotary Club or a community foundation, are only open to people from that area. But the money is just as real. If you live in a smaller city or town, your local scholarships are worth checking first.
2. Trades and Vocational Awards
Look for scholarships made for students entering trades programs. The Schulich Builders program awards 120 scholarships a year across 12 Ontario colleges: $20,000 for a one-year certificate or $40,000 for a two-year diploma. Skills Ontario offers additional awards. The federal apprenticeship grants (the AIG and ACG) closed on March 31, 2025, and no longer take applications.
Scholarships are not only for university students. Some are designed specifically for trades students.
3. Niche Demographic Awards
Scholarships for students with specific backgrounds -- left-handed, vegan, from a particular cultural community, interested in a specific career, from a specific town, with a particular disability -- are open to fewer people. These awards exist because a donor cared about that specific community. If you fit the criteria, apply.
4. Awards Requiring Essays or Projects
Some scholarships ask for a 500-word essay, a project submission, a video, or a portfolio. They take more work than awards that only need a form, but don't skip them for that reason. If you are willing to write the essay, apply.
5. Second-Year and In-Course Awards
Entrance awards are the ones you apply for in Grade 12. Many awards also exist for students already in their programs: in-course scholarships, second-year bursaries, upper-year awards, and research stipends. Keep checking for these after first year.
How to Find and Win Unclaimed Scholarships: A Step-by-Step Plan
Step 1: Build Your Scholarship Profile (30 minutes)
Before you search, know what makes you eligible. Write down:
- Your province and city/town
- Your program and field of study
- Your GPA (approximate is fine)
- Your extracurriculars and volunteer work
- Your demographic background (gender, ethnicity, disability status, first-generation student status, etc.)
- Your financial situation
- Any unique characteristics (hobbies, interests, career goals, community involvement)
Every one of these is a search filter that can surface awards you would otherwise miss.
Step 2: Search Broadly (1-2 hours)
Use FundMyCourse's scholarship search as your starting point. Then supplement with:
- Your school's financial aid website
- ScholarshipsCanada.com
- Your provincial student aid website
- Google searches like "[your city] scholarships" or "[your field] scholarships Canada"
Cast a wide net first. Narrow later.
Step 3: Target the Low-Hanging Fruit
From your search results, prioritize:
- Awards with no GPA requirement or a GPA threshold you easily meet
- Awards from local organizations
- Awards requiring an essay or project
- Awards for your specific field, background, or situation
- Awards under $2,000
Step 4: Create a Tracking System
Use a spreadsheet to record:
- Scholarship name
- Amount
- Deadline
- Requirements (essay, references, transcript, etc.)
- Status (researching, in progress, submitted, result)
Treating scholarship applications like a job -- organized, scheduled, tracked -- helps you apply to more awards and miss fewer deadlines.
Step 5: Apply Consistently
Set a target: two applications per week. From April to August, that is 40 applications. Even with a modest 10% success rate, that could mean four wins totalling $2,000 to $8,000.
Step 6: Reuse and Adapt
Most scholarship essays ask variations of the same questions: Who are you? What are your goals? How have you contributed to your community? Write strong base essays and adapt them for each application. The second application takes half the time of the first.
The Real Cost of Not Applying
Let's put the cost of inaction in perspective.
A student who spends zero hours on scholarship applications and borrows an extra $6,000 per year in OSAP loans will carry $24,000 in additional debt over a four-year degree. At a typical repayment rate, that debt will take 10+ years to repay and cost thousands more in interest.
A student who spends 80 hours total on scholarship applications over the summer (roughly 10 hours per week for 8 weeks) and wins $5,000 in awards has effectively earned $62.50 per hour -- tax-free. And that $5,000 reduces their lifetime debt by far more than $5,000 when you account for avoided interest.
Time spent on scholarship applications can pay off well.
The Bottom Line
ScholarshipsCanada.com estimates over $10 million in scholarships goes unclaimed every year in Canada. And with OSAP grants cut, scholarships matter more.
Some common beliefs can stop you from applying: that you need perfect grades, that the competition is impossible, that small awards are not worth it. None of that is true.
Search, apply, and keep going. Target local awards. Write the essays. Apply to 20 or 30 scholarships, not two.
You can be one of those students. Start now.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money in Canadian scholarships actually goes unclaimed each year?
ScholarshipsCanada.com estimates $10 to $20 million in scholarship money goes unclaimed in Canada every year. Their database lists more than 98,000 awards totalling over $281 million. Approximately 3% of those awards receive zero applications in any given year.
Why might a Canadian scholarship go unclaimed?
Five common reasons. Check provincial trade associations for industry-specific awards. Identity-based niche awards (descendants of veterans, specific ethnic communities) may be open to more people than the name suggests, so read the rules. Local community scholarships from Rotary, Lions, Knights of Columbus rarely appear on national platforms. Workplace and union scholarships exist, so ask your parents whether their employer or union offers one. For faith-based and cultural community awards, ask at local religious centres and cultural associations.
Are there Canadian scholarships with no GPA requirement?
Yes. Many bursaries are need-based with no minimum GPA. Many identity-based awards weight community involvement or essay quality over grades. Some industry and union scholarships have no academic requirement at all. Do not assume scholarships are only for high-GPA students. Filter scholarship databases by category to see what is available without a GPA cutoff.
Where do I find the unclaimed scholarships nobody applies for?
Five reliable places. Your high school guidance office may know about local community foundation bursaries. Your parents' employer HR department or union local often runs employee-dependant awards. Provincial industry associations (trucking, nursing, agriculture) run trade-specific scholarships. Municipal governments and community foundations publish bursaries on their own websites. Indspire and other Indigenous-focused foundations maintain databases of awards.
Are smaller scholarships ($500 to $2,000) worth applying for?
Yes. A $1,000 scholarship that takes one hour to apply for is worth $1,000 for that hour if you win it. Several smaller awards added together can make a real difference. A portfolio of five $1,500 community awards equals $7,500 of debt-free money. Treat smaller awards as the floor of your funding plan, not an afterthought.
Find Scholarships You Qualify For
FundMyCourse.ca matches you with scholarships, bursaries, and grants based on who you are. Your province, your program, your background, your goals.
Search Scholarships -- Takes 90 Seconds
Scholarship availability and amounts change annually. Always verify details directly with the awarding organization before applying.
Sources: ScholarshipsCanada.com (2024 and 2025 reports); SchoolFinder Group; CBC News; BeMo Academic Consulting; Student Life Network; Schulich Builders; Skills Ontario; TD Community Leadership Scholarships; Statistics Canada.