ontariocolleges.ca's Changing Tomorrow Award Description and Criteria

In celebration of its 25^th anniversary, OCAS, builder of onariocolleges.ca, will be awarding up to twenty-five (25) $1,500 awards to students in the Ontario college system.

The criteria for someone to apply and be selected to receive one of the twenty-five (25) $1,500 awards (the "eligibility criteria") is:

The applicant must be a resident of Canada.
The applicant must have a paid application to a full-time program through ontariocolleges.ca for the 2018 application cycle (August 2018 - July 2019) by February 1, 2018 11:59pm EST.
The applicant must complete the entry form in its entirety. Incomplete forms will not be considered.
The applicant must submit an essay on "what your tomorrow looks like, and how a college education is going to help turn it into reality", by Friday, February 9, 2018 at 11:59pm EST. The essay must be a minimum of 200 words and a maximum of 500 words. The essay must be in English or French and should be submitted to awards@ocas.ca
The applicant must have confirmed an offer of admission with an Ontario college served by OCAS by Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at 11:59pm EST.
The applicant must be enrolled at one of the Ontario colleges served by OCAS on September 18, 2018.
The applicant cannot be an immediate family member living in the same household of an OCAS employee, director or officer.
The award winner must allow OCAS to use their name and picture in promotional materials announcing the award winners. No further remuneration will be paid for such use.
The award must be accepted as awarded, it is non-transferrable.
All decisions made by the panel are final.
No responsibility will be taken for submissions that are lost, misdirected or delayed.

Applications not meeting the eligibility criteria will not be considered.

Each eligible applicant's essay will be judged by a panel in Guelph, Ontario, who will consider uniqueness/originality (80%), creativity (10%), and spelling and grammar (10%) (the "award criteria"). All essays must be appropriate, in good taste, and in keeping with the image of the Ontario college sector, and must not be obscene, profane, hateful, discriminatory, defamatory, or infringe any third party rights.

OCAS will award no more than five awards to applicants from any one college (based on the confirmation made by applicants as of May 1, 2018).

All recipients should consider the tax consequences of receiving the award. The award winners must submit their Social Insurance Number to OCAS for the purpose of OCAS issuing a T4A form. OCAS has no responsibility for any tax consequences or liability associated with an award.

To make a request for accommodation due to disability, contact OCAS at ask-us@ontariocolleges.ca or call us at 1-888-892-2228.

By applying to this award, each applicant consents to OCAS using their name and photograph in promotional material, including announcements regarding the award. OCAS may wish to use an applicant's essay either in whole or in part, but will not do so without the applicant's consent. No further remuneration will be paid for such use.

OCAS will pay the $500 tuition deposit directly to the college where the applicant has a confirmed offer of acceptance when invoiced by the college on the winner's behalf. (If the winner changes colleges after this point, OCAS will not pay any additional amount to another college and the winner will be responsible for the deposit payment to the new college.) The remaining $1,000 of the award, will be distributed directly to the winner when proof of enrolment has been sent to OCAS by the college.

If there are not 25 potential award winners that meet the eligibility criteria and award criteria, a lesser number of awards will be granted.

Application Deadlines

The award application process will open in October following the opening of the 2018 application cycle.
The award application process will close on Friday, February 9, 2018 at 11:59pm EST (the "entry deadline").
Those selected will be notified by email on Monday, May 7, 2018 by 5:00pm EST.
The final $1,000 of the award will be paid no later than September 30, 2018 once OCAS receives confirmation the award winner is enrolled and attending the college on September 18, 2018.