The following information should assist students experiencing financial hardship or difficulties with meeting their financial obligations associated with their studies at the University of Wndsor.
Domestic Students
1) Follow the instructions in the Financial Aid Steps link.
2) Log on to UWinsite Student > Student Homepage > Award Profile between August 1 and October 15. Apply for as many scholarships and bursaries that are open and available where you have met the conditions of the award. If you are in receipt of government student assistance, i.e. OSAP, be sure to apply to the University of Windsor In-Course Bursary. Decisions are generally made in late November, early December. After October 15, the next deadline is January 30 with decisions made by the middle to end of February.
3) Once you have completed steps 1) and 2), if you can not wait for a decision and your circumstances are dire, please send an email to award1@uwindsor.ca or submit a service request via www.ask.uwindsor.ca explaining your situation and you will be directed accordingly on next steps. Be sure however, before you contact Student Awards & FInancial Aid, that you complete steps 1) and 2) first.
International Students
1) Ensure that you have exhausted all resources available to you, i.e. parental/family support, bank loans, etc.
2) Log on to UWinsite Student > Student Homepage > Award Profile between August 1 and October 15. Apply for as many scholarships and bursaries that are open and available where you have met the conditions of the award. If you are in receipt of family support, private or bank loans and you have indicated on your applicaiton that you are an international student in financial need, be sure to apply to the University of Windsor International Student Financial Support Bursary. There is an application specific to graduate students and an in-course application that is specific to undergraduate students. Decisions are generally made in late November, early December. After October 15, the next deadline is January 30 with decisions made by the middle to end of February.
3) Once you have completed steps 1) and 2), if you can not wait for a decision and your circumstances are dire, please send an email to isc@uwindsor.ca explaining your situation and you will be directed accordingly on next steps. Be sure however, before you contact the International Student Centre, that you complete steps 1) and 2) first.
Emergency Relief Fund for International Students
Occasionally, international students are faced with unexpected situations which may lead to immediate financial constraints. The University of Windsor has an Emergency Relief Fund for International Students that supports international students during a temporary and unexpected period of financial difficulty. More details can be found here.
Appeal Process for Domestic & International Students
If you have applied for general, financial need bursary support through the UWindsor In-Course Bursary (Domestic) or through the UWindsor International Student Support Bursary (International), and you have been notified that you were not approved, it may be due to one or more of the following reasons:
- Based on your government student aid assessment, i.e. OSAP, your cost of attendance should be met by expected student and/or family resources (for dependent students) and by exempt student resources such as in-study, part-time employment.
- If you are an international student, upon first review, you did not demonstrate through your written submission and supporting documentation that you have extenuating financial circumstances outside of normal cost of attendance expenses, that could not otherwise have been planned for, when compared to other applicants.
- You may be receiving other institutional financial support to assist you with meeting your cost of attendance.
- You are not enrolled or you are not enrolled in the minimum percentage course load required.
If you have not been approved and you would like your application reviewed once again, please send an email to award1@uwindsor.ca with the following information:
- A further, detailed explanation of your financial situation, and the extenuating nature of the circumstances that you are currently facing that could not have otherwise been planned for.
- Supporting documentation to corroborate your situation.
You have already received a bursary allocation(s) and after reviewing your budget, you believe that you will have a significant shortfall in the Winter term:
A student may request to have the level of their bursary reconsidered by submitting via email, to award1@uwindsor.ca, the following documents:
- A statement of financial need (the statement can be embedded in the email) outlining any exceptional expenses or exceptional circumstances;
- A detailed financial plan/budget for the academic year;
- Supporting documentation to corroborate the exceptional expenses (medical, dental, etc.) or exceptional circumstances.
Please note however, that our budget is limited and we have funding maximums in place. Therefore, we may not be able to approve every student's request for additional assistance.
Students may consider the following strategies depending on the situation:
- Part-time employment,
- If you have a tuition balance owing, make installment payments (however you will not be able to register in a subsequent term until your balance is paid in full),
- Request support from family and friends
You should receive a response to your resubmission within 4 weeks of being received. If you do not receive a response within 4 weeks, please follow-up with our office.
