Why am I doing this?

Let's face it, at some point in our lives the majority of us will need to get a post-secondary education. Only these days you spend thousands of dollars to get it. I for one know how hard a full-time student needs to work to get through the university years. As a second year student at Saint Francis Xavier University I am paying close to $50,000 for my undergraduate degree. I have friends graduating with student loans close to $70,000, that's scary. One of my close friends is working three jobs to pay for tuition, rent and to help support his mom because his father recently became ill. This is when I realized that something had to be done. I know that there are tons of students going through situations just like his and I wanted to get involved in a project that could help these students focus on their books rather than their bank accounts. With tuition costs increasing annually, the average Canadian, American and UK students owe $20,000 CAD (StatCan), $19,202 USD (FinAid) and £13,500 (Thompson, WSWS) respectively.

This scholarship differs from the scholarships you fill out at your high school or university in a variety of ways. Not only is it a fun way to try and earn your tuition money but it doesn't depend on academic merit; it's based on your need for the scholarship and how creatively you present this need to others. Do you know how hard it is to maintain a part-time job while being a full-time student and get great marks? I'm sure the majority of you do. This is where Help A Student comes to the rescue. The goal is to raise one million dollars and award it to the top 100 students that are selected according to their essays. The money will be distributed to the top 100 students in the following way:

I'm hoping that this project will benefit students coming from various social classes and different parts of the world. It's quick and simple and a great way to help you through university so take the time to make your profile today!

About Me

My name is Kellie Duggan, I'm 20 years old and I'm currently attending Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. I'm in second year and I'm working towards a degree in Human Kinetics with a minor in Health Sciences. Although I'm not positive as to what I want to do after my undergrad, I will most likely attend a graduate school. I'm dreading the days after I finish my first degree because I know how ridiculously expensive it's going to be, not that school isn't already outrageous. I played varsity volleyball my first year of university but now I've decided that school (and a job) need to take priority, especially if I'm going to be able to afford next term! With this in mind, I'm hoping Help A Student can help not only undergraduate students, but graduate students as well. I'm sick of hearing about how people cannot afford to go to school and how some people are majoring in areas they're not even interested in because schools such as dentistry are so expensive. We want to help. Seeing how the internet seems to be the way to spread the word quickly, HelpAStudent.com will hopefully be able to help these students out, even if we can only help out 100 of them at a time. Feel free to express any ideas you may have and contact me with any questions, concerns or input. After all, Help A Student is here for you.