University of Toronto
Get $7,500 in your first year and $1,500 a year for three more years at U of T if you are a runner-up in its National Scholarship Program, which needs your school's nomination for the National Book Award.
Published by G Paul · last checked September 26, 2026
Runners-up in the University of Toronto's National Scholarship Program receive an Arbor Scholarship: $7,500 in the first year and $1,500 per year for three additional years of undergraduate study. (The National Scholarship itself covers tuition, incidental and residence fees for up to four years.) This is a scholarship, not a loan, so you do not have to pay it back. This is for you if you are a high-achieving student in your final year of high school or first-year CEGEP (Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel — a pre-university college in Quebec) who has been nominated by your school for the U of T National Book Award. Your school must submit its nomination by October 9, 2026, at 11:59pm EDT. You must also apply for admission to the University of Toronto by October 16, 2026, and submit your scholarship application by October 30, 2026. If you are selected as one of approximately 25 finalists, you will be notified and invited to virtual interviews in February 2027. You apply through the National Scholarship Program; Arbor Scholarships go to its runners-up. Winners are chosen through a process that includes school nominations, a formal application, and virtual selection interviews for finalists. Selection criteria aren't published — ask University of Toronto how winners are chosen and roughly how many applicants they typically receive so you can judge your odds. Ask University of Toronto during your application how the money will reach you — some awards pay students directly, others apply funds to tuition. Confirm this so you can plan your cash flow. After the first-year $7,500, you receive $1,500 a year for three more years of undergraduate study at U of T. Conditions for keeping those payments aren't listed — confirm them with the University of Toronto.
To qualify, you must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or a protected person (someone with refugee or protected-person status in Canada). You must be in your final year of Canadian secondary school or your first-year of CEGEP (Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel — a pre-university college in Quebec) and plan to start university in the upcoming academic year, though you may take a gap year. Additionally, you must be nominated by your school for the U of T National Book Award and you must enroll at the University of Toronto, as this award is tenable only at that institution.
This is what the award's official page said when we last checked. Rules change, so confirm on the award's official page before you apply.
Check you meet every requirement, and note each document they ask for.
Give your referees at least two weeks' notice, and send them your résumé.
Save a copy, and submit at least a day before the deadline shown above.
Use the Apply on the official site button on this page: it opens the official application page in a new tab.
Applications close on October 30, 2026. Submit a day or two early: application sites get busy at the end.
No. You need to be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person.
FundMyCourse.ca · checked Sep 26, 2026
$7,500 in first year, then $1,500 a year for 3 years
fundmycourse.ca/scholarships/arbor-scholarship-national-scholarship-runner-up