$4m of JCU student scholarships up for grabs

The Federal Government’s $5,000 Tertiary Access Payment scholarship will be available for relocating outer regional and remote school leavers commencing tertiary study in the 2021 academic year.

JCU has more than 800 scholarships up for grabs, worth more than four million dollars.

Vice Chancellor Professor Sandra Harding said the scholarships aim to help close the city-country divide in tertiary education by providing financial assistance to relocate to a JCU campus.

“A recent review found people living in regional and remote areas are less than half as likely as their city counterparts to obtain a university degree by the time they are 35,” she said.

“Furthermore, regional and remote students who received a university offer were almost twice as likely to defer their studies as metropolitan applicants.”

Prof Harding said she hopes the new scholarships will make it easier for students to access university study.

“The scholarship is a once-off payment towards start-up expense such as bond for accommodation, assistance with rent and other household bills,” she said.

“We hope it will provide an incentive for students to start their studies at JCU immediately after finishing secondary school, rather than taking a gap year to save money.”

Prof Harding also hopes the scholarships will help Indigenous students overcome some of the barriers to accessing higher education.

“Indigenous students from regional and remote areas face cumulative challenges that can make it even more difficult to attend university,” she said.

“We hope this financial assistance will improve participation rates of Indigenous students from outer regional and remote areas, and we look forward to welcoming them to JCU.”

More information about applying for the scholarship at JCU is available at https://www.jcu.edu.au/scholarships-@-jcu/search/Tertiary-Access-Payment