So... the entrance scholarship at McMaster is a little less than some of the other scholarship offers I've gotten from other universities. And I remember my law teacher saying that when her son applied to university, he was able to bargain his scholarship from $8000 over 4 years to $10000 over years, by showing the university another scholarship offer.
Does anybody think that this may be a viable option for me to try with Mac? Or have we had/heard of experiences with it not working out? And would I contact the Office of the Registrar or the Student Awards office?

Unless you have some sort of amazing talent to show the registrar... why would they even consider raising your scholarship?

They have thousands who apply...

Who would entertain bargaining from someone who has been fortunate enough to receive a scholarship... when they might actually save money by rescinding your offer and letting someone else in... possibly with a lower or no scholarship.

I think you should be happy to get money off... not looking for more.

The reason you get other, higher offers is because those universities are more driven to get students... the biggest universities sometimes offer no scholarships at all since they have so many great candidates willing to come. I dont think mac would consider comparing itself to other universities...

The only school that I've heard of that will match scholarship offers if OttawaU. I guess you could try contacting someone, but I'm not sure if it would work or not.

I am happy with the scholarship... trust me, any scholarships I receive are only with gratitude... finances are not on my side (therefore the reason I was seeing if bargaining was an option). But if McMaster has had a history of matching scholarship offers then why not give it a try and save some money?

Anyways, it sounds like the concensus is McMaster does not. And I believe that UOttawa is where my law teacher's son was able to do that, therefore the facts are reliable.

Thanks to both of you.

I have personal experience with this exact subject and what was said is completely true.

UOttawa is in fact willing to match any canadian universities scholarship.... though it doesn't help many people since UOttawa, for some reason or other, seems really desperate for students and seem to offer the best scholarships anyways. (I think I was offered like 10k over four years)

And I have e-mailed the head of McMaster sholarships, asking if they had the same process, and unfortunately they don't.

But since McMaster scholarships were the ONLY thing that put me in the negative with mac, it doesn't really affect my decision much.

As had been said, McMaster's growing size means that scholarships tend to be spread over many people.

However, Mac has all kinds of other scholarships and bursaries you can apply for each year. There is a new one this year for First Gen students (students who are the first in their family to go to post-secondary education) that is rumoured to be $1000.

There are TONS of others you can get if you are on OSAP...so I suggest you take the time and apply.

I'm pretty excited about that First Gen. bursary. I just need to actually get some money from OSAP to apply. My situation's not looking good though. My parents make lots of money, but don't have lots to give me... I'm not counting on OSAP in the slightest.

I know how you feel. OSAP sucks if your parents make a fair amount of money.

I'm not entirely sure about the first gen bursary or how it works yet, though.

Originally Posted by jag6232

My parents make lots of money, but don't have lots to give me... I'm not counting on OSAP in the slightest.

I'm also in that situation as well but I heard that you can make a letter to OSAP about not getting money from parents. And you can get more money by doing that. I'm not sure if it's true or it's totally guaranteed that ur getting more money, but it's worth a try, isnt it?

Ive never really been told what is the limit for your parents income to get OSAP? Im sure there isn't a set amount, but do you have a rough estimate?

When I calculated how much I was going to get from OSAP due to my parents' income it was about $300. That doesn't even cover books for the year.

But yes, there are ways to put in a 'plea' to OSAP, but generally I think it is only effective once you've been out of high school for 4 years. I don't know why...but there is some sort of clause I think.

Well, without giving away too much information on my parents when I did the OSAP estimator on their website, my parents collectively make over $100 000, and even when I said I had absolutely no assets, it said my OSAP funds were $0. So... there's a figure to start from. I know my parents make a lot, but they have to give some of it to me for it actually to be of use.

Ok, I guess that answers my question...my OSAP funds will be at $0 too.

Unforunately my parents are seem similar to yours: They'll give me money if its an absolute necessity, but generally they want me to pay for it so I realize the importance of keeping up with my studies and not having to repeat course hehe.

Well my parents have agreed to the sum of half of tuition. And nothing else. Therefore if I need back-up, they've made it clear I shouldn't be going to them. They are also trying to teach "responsibility." I tried to make the argument that if they gave me more money as a "loan" then it would teach responsibility. But they caught on to my gameplan.

Aside from osap as a money source and parents. there are alot of busaries and scholorships out there for you to apply for. You can get more information from the financial aid office and finding them online.

I'm not sure if this applies to anyone. However, after first year of science last year, apparently, those who had a high average were given a bursary of around like $1000 and some got $800. So if you work hard in school, you might just suddenly get some free money. That didn't require any application, you get notified by email if you are eligiable.

In addition to that, there is the McMaster Busary you can also apply for. This comes out in beginning of October. It takes like 1 minute to apply and if you are eligible, then you can get some money. I have received $1000-1600.

Hope that helps.