Frequently Asked Questions

Entrance Scholarships, Awards & Bursaries

Top 3 Questions

I received an entrance financial aid offer. Where do I find the Terms of Reference and how do I accept or decline my offer?

You can view the Terms of Reference and accept or decline your offer through your Student Centre. Please follow the steps below:

  1. Log in to your Student Centre at applicant.sfu.ca.
  2. Select the “View Financial Aid and Awards” link under the Finances section.
  3. Select the year.
  4. Select the “ACCEPT/DECLINE AWARDS” button. Either button will link you to the next step.
  5. Review the instructions. Click on the scholarship/award/bursary name to view the Terms of Reference. You may wish to print a copy for your records.
  6. Once you have reviewed the Terms of Reference, select “Return to Previous Page”.  The Terms of Reference will remain on your Student Centre for future referral.
  7. Provide your decision by selecting the Accept or Decline checkbox.
  8. Select the “SUBMIT” button.
  9. Confirm the submission and then select “OK”.

Need more information? View screenshots for accepting/declining your offer.

What final admission evaluation range/IB Diploma score must I maintain in order to keep my entrance scholarship, award, or bursary offer?

Your final grades must meet the academic requirements to maintain admission to your program of study for the Fall term.

Entrance Scholarship recipients whose final grades are not in the 90% range in courses required for their primary program or 31 IB points will be contacted by the Financial Aid and Awards office for additional requirements. The minimum requirement for awards and most bursaries is final grades in the 80% range or the IB diploma score required for admission into your primary program. Predicted bonus points are not considered in the calculation.

For information on eligibility requirements for your 2nd term onwards, please review your Terms of Reference or the Regulations page.

How will I receive my entrance scholarship, award, or bursary?

When you enroll in classes in July, your tuition and all SFU fees will show up on your student account, which you will be able to see using goSFU (go.sfu.ca).

Your scholarship eligibility will be reviewed right before the start of your first term, and you will receive an email from our office at that point informing you that your scholarship status has been reviewed and updated on your Student Centre.

Your SFU funding will be placed on your SFU student account during the 2nd week of classes - prior to the deadline to pay tuition and student fees - as long as you continue to meet the scholarship eligibility requirements.

If you are the recipient of the USES with Distinction scholarship that covers tuition and fees, your funding will be calculated and applied to your SFU student account based on your enrollment at the time. You will be responsible for ensuring any remaining balance owing on your student account is paid prior to the payment deadline. Late fees are only charged on the balance remaining after the scholarship payment has been placed on your account.

Accepting Your Offer

1. I received an entrance financial aid offer. Where do I find the Terms of Reference and how do I accept or decline my offer?

You can view the Terms of Reference and accept or decline your offer through your Student Centre. Please follow the steps below:

  1. Log in to your Student Centre at applicant.sfu.ca.
  2. Select the “View Financial Aid and Awards” link under the Finances section.
  3. Select the year.
  4. Select the “ACCEPT/DECLINE AWARDS” button. Either button will link you to the next step.
  5. Review the instructions. Click on the scholarship/award/bursary name to view the Terms of Reference. You may wish to print a copy for your records.
  6. Once you have reviewed the Terms of Reference, select “Return to Previous Page”.  The Terms of Reference will remain on your Student Centre for future referral.
  7. Provide your decision by selecting the Accept or Decline checkbox.
  8. Select the “SUBMIT” button.
  9. Confirm the submission and then select “OK”.

Need more information? View screenshots for accepting/declining your offer.

2. How can I view the status of my entrance scholarship, award, or bursary?

You can log into your Student Centre to view the status of financial aid you receive by following the steps below:

  1. Log in to your Student Centre (SIS)
  2. In the finances section, click on “Student Aid & Award Profile”
  3. Click on the tab along the top that says “FA Term Selection Detail”
  4. Click on “view term details” – if your entrance scholarship, award, or bursary consists of more than one payment, this will show you the value of the payment for that term only, not the total value.

This is the best way for you to check the status of any scholarships, awards, or bursaries that you receive now or in the future.

3. If I receive an entrance funding offer that is higher in value from a competing institution, will you match or exceed the offer?

No, we do not match entrance funding offers. 

4. Can I have multiple entrance scholarships, awards or bursaries?

If you have been offered two SFU entrance scholarships, you will only receive the one with the higher value. Students may have SFU entrance bursaries and awards in addition to entrance scholarships.

SFU does not restrict you from having additional external scholarships in addition to an SFU entrance scholarship; however, check with the external donor if they have any restrictions.

Maintaining Your Entrance Scholarship/Award/Bursary Eligibility

5. What final admission evaluation range/IB Diploma score must I maintain in order to keep my entrance scholarship, award, or bursary offer?

Your final grades must meet the academic requirements to maintain admission to your program of study for the Fall term.

Entrance Scholarship recipients whose final grades are not in the 90% range in courses required for their primary program or 31 IB points will be contacted by the Financial Aid and Awards office for additional requirements. The minimum requirement for awards and most bursaries is final grades in the 80% range or the IB diploma score required for admission into your primary program. Predicted bonus points are not considered in the calculation.

For information on eligibility requirements for your 2nd term onwards, please review your Terms of Reference or the Regulations page.

6. How many units do I have to enroll in to receive my entrance scholarship, award, or bursary?

Entrance Scholarships:

You must be enrolled in 12 units throughout the SFU term in order to receive your funding. If you enroll in fewer than 12 units, your scholarship payment will automatically be deferred; however, your academic performance on any SFU work attempted will be considered for future scholarship eligibility.

If you are completing your final academic term and do not require 12 units to meet graduation requirements, please contact us.

Entrance Awards/Bursaries

You must be enrolled in 9 units throughout the SFU term in order to receive your funding. If you enroll in fewer than 9 units, your scholarship payment will automatically be deferred; however, your academic performance on any SFU work attempted will be considered for future scholarship eligibility.

7. I have a disability. Am I eligible to receive my payment at a reduced course load?

Students registered with SFU’s Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL) are eligible for a reduced course load. A reduced course load is enrollment in a minimum of 6 units of standard graded courses. You must meet all other eligibility requirements of your scholarship/award/bursary.


To register with SFU's Centre for Accessible Learning, please visit their website for their contact information.

Scholarship Coverage and Perks

8. Will I receive my entrance scholarship during Co-op terms?

You will not receive an entrance scholarship payment during a Co-op term. During a Co-op term, you are not enrolled in standard graded units and therefore you are not meeting the scholarship eligibility criteria. Your scholarship payment will be automatically deferred to a future term when you meet the eligibility criteria again. 

9. Will my scholarship cover summer terms and intersession courses?

Yes, unless otherwise stated in your Terms of Reference, the scholarship covers your summer terms, as long as you are enrolled in at least 12 units and you are meeting the CGPA requirements.

Intersession and summer session courses are included in the total unit requirement. However, because the timing of registration for intersession and summer session courses varies, the units may not calculate accurately at the beginning of the term. Please contact our office if your scholarship status needs to be reviewed.

10. Will my scholarship cover study abroad terms?

Yes, the scholarship covers study abroad terms that are administered by SFU’s International Services for Students (ISS) as follows:

Full-time exchange programs where SFU tuition is charged and a minimum 12 units are earned. Direct-pay Exchange and Short-term Summer programs are not covered by scholarship funding.

Full term Field Schools in which a minimum 12 units are earned.

11. Do I have priority for course enrollment?

Entrance Scholarships

As an entrance scholarship student, you have priority course enrollment access for as long as you hold your SFU entrance scholarship. For the Fall term, course enrollment takes place in July. You will be notified about your course enrollment date via email in June, and it will also be posted on your Student Centre. Please see our guide to enrolling in classes.

Entrance Awards/Bursaries

Recipients are not eligible for priority course enrollment.

Entrance Scholarship, Award, and Bursary Payments

12. How will I receive my entrance scholarship, award, or bursary?

When you enroll in classes in July, your tuition and all SFU fees will show up on your student account, which you will be able to see using goSFU (go.sfu.ca).

Your scholarship eligibility will be reviewed right before the start of your first term, and you will receive an email from our office at that point informing you that your scholarship status has been reviewed and updated on your Student Centre.

Your SFU funding will be placed on your SFU student account during the 2nd week of classes - prior to the deadline to pay tuition and student fees - as long as you continue to meet the scholarship eligibility requirements.

If you are the recipient of the USES with Distinction scholarship that covers tuition and fees, your funding will be calculated and applied to your SFU student account based on your enrollment at the time. You will be responsible for ensuring any remaining balance owing on your student account is paid prior to the payment deadline. Late fees are only charged on the balance remaining after the scholarship payment has been placed on your account.

13. What expenses can my funding offer cover?

Your funding is applied towards any outstanding balance on your SFU student account such as tuition, student fees, U-Pass, residence, and meal plan. The funding doesn't cover textbooks or other supplies as these require traditional methods of tender: cash, debit, and credit. However, if your funding exceeeds the outstanding balance on your SFU student account, you will be issued a refund after the 6th week of classes. It is then up to you to use the money as you wish.

14What happens if there is money left over once my entrance scholarship, award, or bursary is placed in my SFU student account?

If your funding covers all of the fees on your account and you have extra funds remaining, these will be available to you in the form of a refund after the 6th week of classes. We strongly encourage all students to set up Direct Deposit administered through the Student Accounts office in order to receive their refunds as soon as possible. There are no stipulations on how you use your refund.

15. I am eligible for an SFU Employee Tuition Waiver. Can I combine my entrance scholarship/award/bursary with the SFU Employee Tuition Waiver?

If you are the recipient of a USES program scholarship, you cannot hold this scholarship and the SFU Employee Tuition Waiver concurrently in the same term. However, the SFU Employee Tuition Waiver can be used in academic terms in which you do NOT receive entrance scholarship payments.

If you are eligible for an SFU Employee Tuition Waiver and have received another type of entrance scholarship, award or bursary, please contact our office at fiassist@sfu.ca to review the terms of reference of your funding.  

For more information about the tuition waiver, visit the Employee Tuition Waiver webpage.

USES Scholarships That Cover Tuition and Fees

16. I received a scholarship which covers "tuition and fees". What does this mean?

The tuition and fees based Undergraduate Scholars Entrance Scholarship (USES) with Distinction covers course Tuition, Supplementary Fees and Mandatory Supplementary Course Fees to complete your first undergraduate degree. Your first undergraduate degree can include various combinations including Major/Minor/Honours/Joint Majors. For domestic students, this can translate to around $27,000 and for international students to around $130,000. However, the exact amount depends on and matches the cost of the program(s) of study and the cost of tuition at the time. It also accounts for any annual increases to your tuition and fees.

Supplementary Fees include fees that all undergraduate students are expected to pay during the course of their studies, including fees such as Student Services and Recreation-Athletics Fees, and Simon Fraser Student Society’s Student Activity Fees, among others. These fees amount to around $475 per term for a full-time student. Fees not covered by USES include Co-op fees, medical insurance, extended health and dental benefits and other Special Fees.

This scholarship will continue supporting recipients until they have completed their first undergraduate degree at SFU. SFU’s tuition and fees are outlined on our website.

17. I have been awarded a Scholars Living Allowance. How does it work? What will it cover?

Recipients of the Undergraduate Scholars Entrance Scholarship (USES) and Scholars Living Allowance (domestic or international) will see their funding applied in two payments. One payment is the calculation of the USES scholarship – the amount varies and is determined based on your course enrollment each term. The other payment is the Scholars Living Allowance, which will always be $8,000 (effective Spring 2023). Both payments are always provided together.

Transfer Scholarships 

18. I enrolled in less than 12 units in my first term. Can I claim my Transfer Scholarship next term?

As per the Regulations, transfer scholarships must be claimed in the first term. If you do not enroll in a minimum of 12 SFU standard graded units in your first term, you will not be eligible for the scholarship in a later term.

Other/External Funding

Tuition Waiver

If you are the recipient of a USES program scholarship, you cannot hold this scholarship and the SFU Employee Tuition Waiver concurrently in the same term. However, the SFU Employee Tuition Waiver can be used in academic terms in which you do NOT receive entrance scholarship payments.

If you are eligible for an SFU Employee Tuition Waiver and have received another type of entrance scholarship, award or bursary, please contact our office at fiassist@sfu.ca to review the terms of reference of your funding.  

For more information about the tuition waiver, visit the Employee Tuition Waiver webpage.

Provincial Scholarships

If you have won a provincial scholarship, you should have a provincial scholarship voucher. Bring this, along with picture ID, to the Registrar and Information Services counter at the Burnaby, Surrey, or Vancouver campus. After your voucher has been stamped and signed, refer to the instructions on the How to use a Scholarship Voucher webpage to redeem your scholarship. After approximately eight weeks, the Ministry will send the scholarship cheque to the mailing address that you provided.

External and Private Funding

SFU does not restrict the number of external and private scholarships, awards, or bursaries a student may receive. However, the organizations donating the funds may have stipulations regarding the amount of entrance funding you can hold. We recommend you consult the sponsoring organization for their funding requirements.

Parking and Residence

Parking

Please refer to the Parking and Sustainable Mobility website for further information on parking permits.

Residence

Recipients of the Undergraduate Scholars Entrance Scholarship who meet all applicable deadline dates have priority access to Residence. Residence deadline dates are specified at Residence and Housing.