Canada Merit Scholarship Foundation - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation (CMSF) is a national charitable organization awarding scholarships for students entering university or community college in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Founded in Toronto in 1988, it awards the prestigious Loran Award as well as the Garfield Weston Award scholarships.

Loran Award

The Loran Award is a large and prestigious undergraduate scholarship in Canada. It is valued at up to $75,000 and awarded to 30 students each year. The Loran Award has been awarded since 1990, and is administered by CMSF.

Loran Awards are tenable at twenty-four public universities throughout Canada; however, the lower level awards (provincial awards and finalist awards) can be used at any public Canadian university or college. Twelve Loran scholars have gone on to win Rhodes Scholarships. The Loran Award is granted over four years of study, and consists of tuition waivers, living stipends, summer enrichment funding, and mentoring. Since the award was established in 1990, the foundation has selected 443 Loran scholars.

Candidate selection

The Loran Award selection process is rigorous. The selection process is as follows:

Approximately 1,800 nominees come as sponsored candidates, with endorsements from their schools. Each secondary school can sponsor up to three students for the Loran Award. Evaluations are made by 26 Area Committees in 21 centres, from St. John's to Victoria, and then as many as 250 semifinalists, or approximately 10 candidates, are chosen for Area regional interviews. 50-60 candidates are then invited to attend National Selections in Toronto.

Approximately 1,800 candidates from across Canada come through the CMSF Direct Pool as self-nominated candidates. The 12-member National Assessment Panel sits during December and January and evaluates the application of each candidate, and telephone interviews are conducted with semi-finalists. 15-25 candidates are then invited to attend National Selections in Toronto.

76 finalists are chosen from across Canada and flown to Toronto for National Selections.

Up to 30 candidates are offered Loran Awards.

Awards

Several scholarships are awarded by the Foundation.

$75,000 Loran Award, awarded to 30 finalists.

$3,000 Loran Finalist Award, offered to all finalists who attend National Selections but are not selected as Loran scholars. 42 available.

$2,000 Loran Provincial Award, offered by regional committees outstanding semi-finalists who are not asked to attend National Selections. 40 available.

Honour Citation, granted to students who distinguish themselves at regional interviews but are not offered any monetary awards.

Semi-Finalist Certificate, issued to students selected for a regional interview.

Criteria

Loran Awards are granted to Canadian students on the basis of character, service and leadership potential.

Financial value

The Loran Award is valued at up to $75,000 and has three main financial components:

The institution at which the scholar chooses to study grants a tuition waiver up to $8,000 per annum.
As of 2008, the Award offers an $8,000 living stipend per annum.
Scholars are awarded $7,500 for three summer enrichment experiences.

The Loran Award is tenable at the following universities in Canada:

Atlantic Canada:
Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...

, Memorial University, Mount Allison University

Mount Allison University

Mount Allison University is a primarily undergraduate Canadian liberal arts and science university situated in Sackville, New Brunswick. It is located about a half hour from the regional city of Moncton and 20 minutes from the Greater Moncton International Airport...

, Université de Moncton

Université de Moncton

The Université de Moncton is a French language university located in Moncton, New Brunswick serving the Acadian community of Atlantic Canada...

, University of King's College

University of King's College

The University of King's College is a post-secondary institution in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. King's is a small liberal arts university offering mainly undergraduate programs....

, University of New Brunswick

University of New Brunswick

The University of New Brunswick is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and among the first public universities in North America. The university has two main campuses: the original campus founded in 1785 in...

.

Québec:
McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

, Université Laval

Université Laval

Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...

, Université de Montréal

Université de Montréal

The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...

.

Ontario:
McMaster University

McMaster University

McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...

, Queen's University

Queen's University

Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...

, University of Guelph

University of Guelph

The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...

, University of Ottawa

University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...

, University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

, University of Waterloo

University of Waterloo

The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...

, University of Western Ontario

University of Western Ontario

The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...

, York University

York University

York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....

.

Prairies:
University of Alberta

University of Alberta

The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...

, University of Calgary

University of Calgary

The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...

, University of Manitoba

University of Manitoba

The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...

, University of Saskatchewan

University of Saskatchewan

The University of Saskatchewan is a Canadian public research university, founded in 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An "Act to establish and incorporate a University for the Province of Saskatchewan" was passed by the...

.

British Columbia:
Simon Fraser University

Simon Fraser University

Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...

, University of British Columbia

University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...

, University of Victoria

University of Victoria

The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...

Experiential value

One of the many things that makes a Loran Award unique is the mentorship program, where each Loran scholar is paired with a mentor who is in their field of academic interest. Furthermore, CMSF offers funding, up to $7,500 each summer, for three summer experiences:

The Enterprise Summer
The Personal and Community Development Summer
The Public Policy Summer

Garfield Weston Award

The Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation also administers the Garfield Weston Award for outstanding college or CEGEP

Cégep

CEGEP is an acronym for , which is literally translated as "College of General and Vocational Education" but commonly called "General and Vocational College" in circles not influenced by Quebec English. It refers to the public post-secondary education collegiate institutions exclusive to the...

-bound students in Canada. Established in 1999 with the support of the W. Garfield Weston Foundation, it awards up to 25 scholarships to entering college students, and up to 25 scholarships to upper year college students.

External links

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