THE INS AND OUTS OF OBTAINING A BURSARY
| Author | :Rodney Weidemann |
| Published | :Apr 30, 2009 |
Bursaries pay for your tuition, but there are strings attached
So you want to study further, but are not sure how to pay for it? A bursary could be a good option. It often means a company will pay for your studies and offer you a job when you graduate.
However, don’t rush into anything before you give the situation some serious thought. When you accept a bursary, you are signing a legal document with obligations and responsibilities. Usually the bursary giver agrees to sponsor the bursary holder's tertiary education in return for which the student agrees to work for the company after graduation, generally on a year-for-year basis.
“While a bursary contract is done very ethically and legally from the providing organisation’s side of things, it is still a contract between the student and the company, meaning there are certain obligations,” says Andre Britz, a director at Career Wise. This company specialises in student recruitment and development as well as bursary administration.
“For example, if you decide to leave the company’s employment before having worked through the period you owe them, you will be expected to pay back – with the relevant interest – the outstanding money on the bursary. This is done according to South African law, which means you must only pay it back when you can, and only within the boundaries of what you can afford.”
Why a bursary?
Studying is an expensive business. The average bursary will cover tuition, prescribed books and either the full or partial cost of accommodation in an approved residence.
It is worth remembering that there are two kinds of bursary recipients – the pursued and the pursuers. The first group are those who would be considered super-achievers and viewed as the 'cream of the crop'. They are pursued vigorously by organisations offering bursaries. The second type would be the majority of recipients, who must apply for the limited remaining bursaries available.
Bursaries are sourced through major companies, tertiary institutions, or academic foundations. They are usually awarded to students who have either performed exceptionally well at school or are considered to be in need of financial assistance.
Obtaining a bursary
“The most important advice I can give to school leavers hoping to obtain bursaries is that they should start looking now,” says George Chauke, manager: study finance consultants at the University of Pretoria.
“If you are unsure where or to whom you should be applying for a bursary, I would suggest that you consult your nearest tertiary education institution as well as check the print media, as many of the larger corporations that offer bursaries advertise aggressively in the newspapers.”
Chauke says that there is also a brochure available called The Bursary Register, which is compiled and revised on an annual basis and which contains information on the various organisations and companies that offer bursaries.
“It is a rather expensive booklet, but most universities have copies available that students are welcome to come and peruse. Another good option is to visit the Career Wise Web site (www.careerwise.co.za), as this is a wonderful source for finding out about many of the bigger corporate bursaries available.
“When it comes time to apply for a bursary, it is imperative that an applicant studies the application form thoroughly before filling it in. It is very similar to writing an exam – you must properly understand the questions posed before you can answer correctly,” says Chauke.
Sports bursaries
Students who have excelled on the sports field should check to see if the university they want to study at offers sports bursaries.
“Anyone can apply for a bursary of this nature. Decisions here are made by a committee as well as the manager of the particular sport they are applying for, so provincial achievement is fairly important,” says former Springbok rugby player Gerrie Germishuys, sports manager for recruitment and social sports at the University of Johannesburg.
“In most cases, the university’s sports department has a recruitment arm. This will involve the various sports managers going out and recruiting students at national championships, trials and also at schools.”
He says that obviously if one is awarded a sports bursary, the university would expect the applicant to play that sport. “Nonetheless, they must remember that we are in the academic game, not the sports game, so they need find a balance between sport and their academics, as first and foremost we want them to pass.
“As for applying for such a bursary, the earlier you get your application in, the better. Also you will have to reapply for the bursary every year, because you will have to achieve certain targets in order to receive it again, since we believe it is important to instil a work ethic in our students to ensure they keep working hard.”
Ultimately, Germishuys says that you must work hard while you are still at school, so that you have no regrets later about what you can and cannot study.
“If you don’t have the guts to work hard at school in everything, how are you ever going to have the guts to achieve anything on the sports field? After all, success breeds success,” he says.
What do bursars look for in an applicant?
Britz says that companies providing bursaries look for an applicant that will suit the organisation, rather than simply looking at who has the best marks.
“Usually they want someone who displays a decent fit with the organisation’s culture, someone who can fit in with their operations and most importantly someone who displays leadership potential, since they almost always look for those with the potential to be future managers,” he says.
“They also look at whether you are suitable to your chosen career – you can’t be a city slicker and want to work on a rural mine, after all – as well as your interests, personality and career conviction.”
Britz advises that applicants research the company they are applying to – not just in terms of what it represents, but what type of work will be involved, what the company culture is like and what type of people it is after.
“There is enormous competition for the available bursaries. We get around 68 000 applicants annually, as well as another 15 000 from tertiary institutes, and most applicants don’t realise just how much they need to differentiate themselves in order to be selected,” says Britz.
“In your interview, don’t just give the common text book answers. Look at the technical reasons why you want to study engineering, for example, and refrain from giving monosyllabic answers, but at the same time, don’t ramble on and on.”
He says you should be relaxed and talk about your activities outside of your studies too, since companies generally prefer applicants that have a balanced life, rather than constantly having their noses stuck in a textbook.
“It is also important to show a level of social responsibility, so if you have been involved in any community-based programmes at school, that will be a plus in your favour. Awareness of communities at large is now a big part of modern corporate culture.
“Finally, once you have applied, don’t waste your time trying to contact the company to find out if you were successful – the normal procedure is that they will inform you within one to three weeks whether you have made it,” he concludes.
Among the options are...
• The FNB Fund Bursary Programme (a total of 240 tertiary education students benefited to the value of R6.6 million this year)
• The South African Actuaries Development Programme (SAADP) aims to unearth and harness mathematical and analytical skills among black students in order to expose and help them to capitalise on career opportunities in the field of actuarial science
• TRAC SA has started a bursary programme where its laboratory managers – all of whom are qualified physical science teachers – identify the top learners in every class and provide them with the opportunity to apply for a bursary
• The Friends of Design Academy of Digital Arts has launched a scholarship to provide free tuition on its two-year digital course for talented individuals from financially disadvantaged backgrounds
Points to remember
• Make enquiries early in the year
• Apply to as many donors as possible
• Check closing dates – many donors and sponsors will not accept late applications
• Apply directly to outside organisations for full particulars and application forms for bursaries, scholarships and loans offered by them that have no contract commitments
• Get onto www.google.co.za and use the search word “bursaries”
• Buy a copy of The Bursary Register by contacting Riva Levin on (011) 672-6559
