International Supplementary Bursary Application Tips
Submit your Supplementary Bursary application successfully the first time.
Below, find information on how your application will be assessed and what will qualify your application to be accepted, reopened or deemed ineligible.
On this page
Financial documentation | Proof of funding | Moderate standard of living | Explanation of financial situation | Deviation from financial plan | Financial statement checklist | Sample bank statement
Requested financial support documentation
Status: Accepted
All financial statements requested in the application are provided and include the following:
- Two financial statements (per bank account and asset) that include the account balance throughout the months of August and September.
- One financial statement (per credit card, line of credit, or other debts) for the most recent month.
- If the applicant is married or common law, their partner’s financial statements for the months listed above must also be provided.
- Financial statements are provided in an acceptable format (see sample bank statement) with visible daily transactions, opening and closing balances, and all transactions are labeled.
- Resources or expenses entered in the application are demonstrated on the financial statements (e.g. rent payment amounts entered in the application are clearly seen on bank statements).
- Explanations for transactions larger than $500.00 in financial statements are included in the essay section of the application.
Status: Reopened
Not all financial documents requested in the application are provided.
Documents are submitted in an incorrect or unacceptable format.
Resources or expenses entered in the application are not demonstrated on financial statements (e.g. deposits on bank statements do not match student loans amounts or family support entered in the application).
Status: Ineligible
All financial documents requested in the application have not been provided after the applicant has had at least one additional opportunity to submit them.
Proof of funding received/expected
Status: Accepted
Documentation is provided of other funding supports (e.g. parental support, RESPs, sponsorships, awards, or scholarships not from the University of Alberta, etc.).
Refer to the Explanation of Deviation from Financial Plan for the Duration of Studies section of this document for more information.
Graduate students: Include department pay documents for the current academic year for a minimum of eight months from September to April or September to August if twelve months have been confirmed.
Status: Reopened
Deposits are visible in financial statements but no document or explanation is provided to confirm the funding sources.
Graduate students: Department pay documents do not report a minimum of eight months of funding support.
Status: Ineligible
No demonstration of accessing funding supports for the current academic year.
Demonstrated moderate standard of living
(Based on Alberta Student Aid Education and Living Costs )
Status: Accepted
Application and financial statements demonstrate a Moderate Standard of Living. Any additional monthly or yearly expenses include supporting documentation or explanation (e.g. dental costs, child care, medical costs, etc.).
Status: Reopened
Application and financial statements demonstrate greater than Moderate Standard of Living expenses and no supporting information for additional costs have been included in the application.
Status: Ineligible
No shortfall is demonstrated in the application after additional costs have been evaluated and a Moderate Standard of Living is applied to living expenses.
Explanation of financial situation
Status: Accepted
Essay description is detailed and documents (if applicable) are provided to support the financial shortfall situation.
Status: Reopened
Essay description is unclear or vague and/or additional supporting documentation is required.
Status: Ineligible
No essay explanation and/or no documentation provided to support the financial shortfall situation.
Explanation of deviation from financial plan for the duration of studies
Status: Accepted
Essay description explains the original financial plan to pay for all educational and living costs for the duration of the applicant’s program of studies and what has changed from the original financial plan that is causing the current shortfall of funds.
Applicable documents are provided to verify any extenuating circumstances that affected the original financial plan.
Note: International undergraduate students must also provide a detailed letter from parents/sponsors confirming the original financial support plan for the duration of studies, the total amount of funding provided for the current academic year, when the money will be provided and why full support can no longer be provided.
Status: Reopened
Description is incomplete and/or does not verify what has changed from the original plan or what extenuating circumstances were present.
Status: Ineligible
Description and/or requested documents are not provided.
Financial statement checklist
Avoid having your application reopened due to an incomplete bank statement. Below is a checklist of things we look for when assessing a bank statement. Make sure you can check off each one before submitting.
- Is my statement from an official source?
- Does my statement display my full first and last name?
- Is my statement showing a full month of transactions?
- Does my statement show running account balances?
- Does at least one of my statements clearly show my payment of rent/mortgage if I’m paying rent/mortgage?
- Are any transfers in or out of my account larger than $500.00 labelled?
Sample bank statement
Below is an example of a bank statement that meets all the criteria outlined above.
