Thanks so much for doing this! I'm considering applying so any information would be great.

What were your extracurriculars like? And what do you think made your application stand out?

Okay well without going into too much detail:

- Several Model UN Conferences and awards (at national conferences)
- President of my student council
- Editor of the school's student newspaper which I resurrected with a friend
- Scout's Canada

Those were some of the main ones, but I had a bunch. Comparing extracurriculars is hard to do. Other people received scholarships with many more and many less than that.

Probably for me, what stood out in my application was the fact that I had a part-time job on weekends (20 hours a week), something very few other winners had and my essay.

Speaking with the other winners at the scholarship dinner, it appears many other people's essays were the main focus of the interview whereas for me it was a passing topic which makes me assume they liked it.

In all honesty, the best way to win the thing is to be as different as possible. This isn't like the Ivey applications, where they are just checking off boxes and you're in. Here they are looking for truly unique individuals who stand out. They arn't looking for perfect marks, or a long list of extracurriculars. Instead they want personable, focused individuals. The whole time while you are doing the application, keep in mind why the scholarship exists in the first place: Western is paying you to come and study at their school which means that they are INVESTING in you. Show them you are worth the investment.

I will be applying for said National Scholarships and I'm glad that there's someone I can ask for advice.

Firstly, I noticed many scholarships ask for your employment. I've never had a job before so I will have to leave this section blank. Will this benefit or hinder me in these appliations?

What was your topic essay for the national scholarship and what made your essay unique?

Although I have a 96% average and have won 20+ subject awards in high school, I have very few things to say about myself outside of school. I participate in non-athletic and non-music clubs such as student council and debate club, but the only major thing I've done outside of school is volunteer once a week (2 hours/week) at a microbiology lab. Do I have a good chance of winning a national scholarship or should I apply for smaller ones first?

Well not having a job won't help you if that's what you're wondering. Most of the winners I have spoken with had some sort of summer or school year job to speak of. That being said DO NOT LEAVE THE SECTION BLANK you are asking to get eliminated and I am sure when they start cutting applications, blank sections are one of the first tip offs. Even if you didn't have a paid job, substitute the closest thing to a job you have had even if it was only for a short period of time.

My essay was on privacy on the internet. Other topics I heard from winners were Aboriginal's Rights in Canada, and separatists in Quebec. Make sure you write on a topic that is related to your major/program. If you're in Health Science, don't go writing on the importance of ethical relativism to feminist theory. Pick something that they want to hear. Some more tips:

1: Pick a topic that is simple and EXTREMELY relevant. Don't talk about abortion or gay rights. Pick something they haven't heard before. They are looking for unique personalities. Also it helps if you're personally affected by the issue.

2: Follow the rules they lay out to a tee. Don't go over or under the word limit and ensure you are follow ALL (not some) of the style guides for the reference style they are expecting. (APA I believe?) I have been told that failure to follow this is immediate disqualification.

3: Follow proper essay tropes (No "I", 5 paragraph structure, no verbose language, etc.)

4: Have solid academic references. Not just random news articles. Use Google scholar.

To answer your last question: I cannot tell you for sure. What I can tell you is that I know on good authority that they are not simply looking for kids with high averages and the most science fair wins. I had tons of academic accolades too, but they were secondary to some of the other things I have mentioned. What they are looking for is students that will make a UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION to western. More than anything they want people that are thinking beyond purely academics. Yes you need the main points on the paper, but all that goes out the window during the interviews. They really want personable people that will represent their school well in the future and make positive contributions. If you feel this paragraph is you then you stand a good chance.

But whatever you think APPLY ANYWAY. I applied on a whim at the last moment, but somehow managed to make in all the way.

Good luck!

What was the interview like? What questions did they ask you?
Is having a high average better than having a boat load of extra curricular activities, in your opinion?
How easy is university if you go to every class and put the time in?
Does a 97% in high school correlate to a 97% average in university? How much should I expect my marks to dip?
How intelligent were the other winners? We they people or lifeless matter?

Thanks for all this, I appreciate it.

Oh Scholar's Electives...

Honestly, it is really a program that will reward you the more you put into it. If you don't care about it, you will hate it, but if you have a genuine interest in academically exploring a subject, there is a lot to enjoy.

Keep in mind the program is designed more than anything for getting lab time for Med School hopefuls so if you aren't in that stream, everything is much less clear cut about expectations.

To give you an example of what people are doing:

- I am working with a Prof and his PHD student on a book on game design patterns
- My friend is writing a research grant purposal for an anthro trip he wants to take
- My roomate is looking at HIV and it's social affects

So there lots of options for sure.

Those are golden ECs and they seem very similar to what I had. So I think you are good. YES you should mention the protest, that is exactly what they are looking for in applicants.

For your essay, those topics are fine, but far too grand for a 1500 word paper. Those are more like themes, narrow your thinking down to a specific issue.

Thanks man, but I have bad news. I just looked at the application, and it says I can only mention activities from 3 years ago.

Which means I cannot include my President's Volunteer Service Award from my Boy Scout service...nor my Honorable mention from the Int'l MUN Conference :( :(

I am very upset now. Do you think I don't have a chance anymore?

Hey Guys,

Ok, so my main man ModernCreed (lol at the name) told me about the thread he started on here a few days ago. I just read through it all, and thought I may as well give my two cents to any of your questions. See, when I was applying for this scholarship I knew that a thread like this existed at the time, but I refused to look at it or post on it because I thought it would jinx me, haha. However, now that I'm on the other side of it, I would really like to answer questions and help you guys out.

I'm also a National Scholarship winner from last year. ModernCreed kind of mentioned me a few times (wrote my essay on Aboriginal rights in Canada, and am currently designing a field anthropology project for my Scholar's Electives course). So HI!!!

Uh, I guess I'll give a quick background about myself, just as he did:

So, I'm currently in first year at Western, starting a degree in anthropology. I DO NOT have AEO status (eww math), and I am in Scholar's Electives. I was also a Faculty Scholarship winner!

My average out of high school was 95.5%

First year at Western I'm taking:
-Spanish for Beginners 1030
-Intro to Poli Sci 1020
-Earth Art and Culture 1089
-Resources and Sustainability 1086
-Intro to Cultural Anthropology 1025
-Intro to Biological Anthro and Archaeology 1026
-Issues in World History 1081

Hooray...umm...Modern Creed mentioned what he's anticipating his average to be this year, but I really have no clue. Not even gonna go there!

So there you have it...ASK AWAY!!!!!

I will say one thing though. ModernCreed alluded to it before, but I'd like to reiterate: this scholarship does NOT go to the kids who have the highest averages. Once you're past the 90% threshold they couldn't care less what your marks are. They care much more about what kind of person you are. Are you interesting? Are you interested in doing cool stuff with your life? Do they think you ahve the propensity to end up doing said cool stuff? Honestly, they're looking for do-ers...not brainiacs. They're looking for kids who are passionate about something and have shown that passion in their accomplishments.

Also, one quick thought on your essays. Try to pick something that's a Canadian issue. Ignore broad topics like terrorism, for example. You want the people reading your essays to care about the issues. Likely, the judges are going to be just as, if not more, knowledgeable on what you write about. If you write an essay on a broad topic they're going to be bored out of their skulls. Pick something unique (I have a friend from last year who did hers on carbon nano-fibres in surgery or some crazy thing like that, I dunno) that you are genuinely interested in. For me, it was the socioeonomic status of First Nations peoples in Canada. I'm passionate about it because I've spent time living on a reserve with deplorable living conditions. THIS is the kind of thing they want to hear about. THIS will make them want to interview you and ask you about it.

Anyways, enough about me...come on...hit me with your best shots!!! Ask away!

Sure, well...

From what I remember the interview was just under a half hour. Depending on how you look at it, that's either a lot of time, or very little time to show the judges why they should select you.

Unlike ModernCreed, my interview was focused primarily on what I wrote about in my essay. My essay being on First Nations peoples in Canada, we talked a lot about all the different issues that existed, their systemic nature, and we talked about how I thought it could all be changed. Now, given this info, it's pretty easy to assume that every interview will be different. I'm sure there were some questions they asked of everyone, but (from what I've heard) most of the questions would be tailored to the essay you wrote. So, the main point is to know what you wrote in your essay like the back of your hand and be able to discuss all the points you raised in your essay - but as long as you wrote about an issue you're passionate about, that shouldn't be much trouble.

I don't want to give you exact questions that they asked me, for the simple reason that I don't think it would really help you succeed. The point of the questions they ask is to get your honest answer. If you knew questions ahead of time it wouldn't be very genuine, and they'd likely pick up on that. I really don't think the judges are interested in hearing perfectly prepared answers. They want to know what you think and how you can respond to something when you hear it for the first time.

I hope that helps :)
If anyone else wants to know anything please ask...this is proving to be an awesome distraction from midterms, haha