Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact scholarships@maxscholars.org as soon as possible if you encounter technical difficulties. Please remember that there will be no exceptions to late submissions, so do not wait until the last minute to contact us!

Please add scholarships@maxscholars.org to your safe senders list. You will be notified of next steps and contacted should you be successful in advancing to the next stage of the interview process. You will be responsible to respond when/if required. If you do not respond when/if required, you will forego your spot and another applicant will be considered for next steps. Please do not email asking about next steps, we will contact you.

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Many of our scholarships are intended for Muslim students entering or currently pursuing post-secondary education. This is to align with MSF’s overall mission - elevating the brand of Muslims, rewarding and showcasing their many accomplishments and aspirations. Complete the eligibility criteria to know which categories you can apply for.

The High School category is for students in Grade 12 or their final year of CEGEP and who will be entering post-secondary education in the fall for the first time. The Post Secondary category is for students who will be continuing post-secondary education in the fall. Mature students, who have taken a gap year, should apply for scholarships in the Post Secondary category.

Important: If you are currently an undergraduate or already enrolled in post-secondary education, you must apply under the Post-Secondary category. Applying under the High School category incorrectly may result in disqualification.

If you are in Grade 12 or the final year of CEGEP, you should only apply under the High School category. Be careful when selecting your category in the application portal, as applying incorrectly may affect your eligibility.

In this context, post-secondary education refers to any formal education pursued after high school, such as attending college or university. This includes students aiming to complete an undergraduate degree, post-graduate degree, or a professional program.

1. If you are applying to the High School category, you are eligible to apply if you are a Canadian citizen, Canadian permanent resident, or on refugee status and are currently enrolled in a recognized Canadian High School/CEGEP program and intend to be a full-time student pursuing a post-secondary education the following academic year.

2. If you are applying to the Post Secondary category, you are eligible to apply if you are a Canadian citizen, Canadian permanent resident, on refugee status or an international student on a student visa and intend to be a full-time student pursuing a post-secondary education at a recognized Canadian institution the following academic year.

3. If you have been accepted to a recognized post-secondary institution abroad, you are eligible to apply ONLY if you are a Canadian citizen and intend to be a full-time student pursuing a post-secondary education the following academic year.

4. There are specific categories that have slightly different eligibility criteria. Complete the eligibility criteria to know which categories you can apply for.

Yes, all applicants must be registered as full-time students when applying to a MAX Scholarship (in the months of September to April at a minimum). If you are a mature student, this would not apply.

Yes, a scholarship winner must be a full-time student in the following academic year after the applications to be eligible to win a MAX Scholarship. The student must be enrolled in their post-secondary program during the fall & winter semesters (September to April) at a minimum.

A three (3) to five (5) course load is usually considered full-time. If you drop below the minimum course load for full-time studies, you'll become a part-time student. We reserve the right to request confirmation of full-time enrollment if you are selected as a scholarship recipient.

If you are a mature student or an individual who has taken a gap year and are currently not enrolled full time in high school or a post-secondary institution but will be in the following academic year, you are eligible to apply. You can apply for the High School category (if you had finished high school/CEGEP before taking a gap and intend to pursue post-secondary education full time in the fall for the first time) or the post-secondary category (if you had already been enrolled in a post-secondary education prior to your gap and will be returning to post-secondary education full time in the fall).

Yes! You are eligible for a MAX Scholarship to apply if you are in the co-op program.

Yes, with minor exceptions to specific scholarships or subcategories. Please double check the eligibility requirements for each scholarship subcategory before you apply as these change from category to category. Complete the eligibility criteria to know which categories you can apply for.

Yes, you can! We have had many students who have won more than one MAX Scholarship. A winner of a MAX scholarship is not eligible to win the same scholarship in the following years; however, may apply to the same category (and other categories) and may be eligible to win another scholarship in the same category.

You are only eligible to win two (2) times over the course of your lifetime.

Yes, you can! We recognize post-secondary institutions outside Canada as long as the applicant is a Canadian citizen. Refer to the FAQ above.

There is a category intended to support individuals who have experienced hardships and challenges (such as sickness, parental leave or stay-at-home) that prevented them from entry into the workforce and are seeking additional skills training and education for employment purposes.

An immigrant or refugee who has been in Canada for less than five years is considered a newcomer. International students or those on student visas are NOT eligible to apply for the Newcomer and Refugee to Canada category.

A refugee is someone who has fled their country due to a well-founded fear of persecution. In Canada, a refugee's status is valid for five years from the date of a final determination on their claim or application for protection. As such, for the purposes of the Newcomer and Refugee category, only those applicants who have been in Canada for less than five years under Refugee status (or who came to Canada as a refugee) would be eligible for these scholarships.

No! You are not eligible to apply if you are a resident.

Please note the deadline on the Home page of maxscholars.org. Please follow us on social media to be aware of any changes to timing. We will not be making exceptions for late submissions - please be sure to complete the application ahead of time.

The MAX Scholarship Fund (MSF) is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free application process. If you require accommodations to complete your application, please inform us by email at scholarships@maxscholars.org as soon as possible, so that we may make appropriate and reasonable arrangements. All information received in relation to an accommodation will remain confidential. Please make sure to give yourself enough time to complete the application before the deadline as no exceptions will be made for late submissions.

We encourage applicants who require accommodations to reach out to external organizations such as the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), SMILE Canada, DEEN Support Services, for support during the application process.

Applicants are eligible to apply for up to 2 categories and will automatically be considered for all the scholarships within the categories they applied for.

You may apply to a maximum of 2 categories and will be eligible for all the scholarships in a category that you meet the criteria for. Once you register and create your profile, please select 'Eligibility' and answer the questions. Depending on your answers, the portal will determine and let you know which categories you are eligible for. Please do keep in mind that each category has a certain set of requirements that you must meet to be eligible for the scholarship(s) within the category.

For example purposes only: if an applicant applies to the All Star subcategory, which has 12 scholarships, and the Law subcategory, which has 2 scholarships, the applicant will be considered for any of the 14 scholarships. Please note that the number of scholarships in each subcategory may vary each year.

The application portal may allow you to select subcategories you are not eligible for, depending on how you answer eligibility questions. It is the applicant’s responsibility to carefully read and understand the eligibility criteria for each subcategory before applying.Failure to meet the eligibility criteria will result in the disqualification of your application. Additionally, all applicants may be asked to provide proof that they meet the eligibility criteria before advancing to the final round of interviews. Failure to provide this proof will result in immediate disqualification.

There will be minimum and maximum word count limits for essay questions. These will be noted on the essay question itself. Note that some application questions are the same across subcategories, so write your answers in a word document to facilitate your application process.

Your profile section must be completed in one go as it will not save. Although your application essay questions will save, we recommend you write your answers in an external word document and once you're ready to submit, copy them into the portal. Please make sure to complete the application before the deadline as no exceptions will be made for late submissions. Note that some application questions are the same across subcategories, so write your answers in a word document to facilitate your application process.

Unfortunately, once you submit your application you will no longer be able to edit it. Please make sure you are ready to submit the application before pressing submit. We encourage you to review the questions and write out your responses in a word document. Once you are comfortable with your responses, input them and press submit!

You will not have access to your application once the application portal closes. Please ensure you save your answers in a separate word document.

Throughout the application, you will be notified of which question is mandatory as you will not be able to submit without inputting an answer! We encourage students to understand the eligibility criteria ahead of time to prepare the necessary information. Note that some application questions are the same across subcategories, so write your answers in a word document to facilitate your application process.

You will be prompted to upload the following documents in PDF FORMAT:

1. Unofficial transcript for the last two years and up to and including December 31 of the preceding year of your application;

2. One academic reference;

3. One community reference;

4. Acceptance Letter to post secondary institution for Fall Semester OR Proof of Enrollment for Fall Semester. If you have not yet received your acceptance letters, please provide proof of application to the university.

Some categories have specific requirements; please take note of these. Regardless of the requirement, please ensure all uploads are in PDF format.

Report your GPA as a percentage. We ask that you report the average percentage GPA for the last two years, as of December 31 of the year preceding your scholarship application. If you are entering your first term of post-secondary education, this means you should determine your average percentage GPA of Grade 11 and 12. If you are going into your second year of post-secondary education, use the last year of your high school and the first year of college/university, etc…

Provide your most recent transcript, for the last two years and up to and including December 31! If you make it to the second round of the scholarship application process (e.g., Interview Day), we reserve the right to request an updated transcript.

No, we only require you to upload unofficial transcripts.

We are aware that some professional schools usually grade with pass/fail. The application takes this into account. The GPA question in your profile submission is not mandatory, especially for this reason.

A reference letter is a document that details a student’s academic or community achievements, character traits, and personal attributes. Teachers, guidance counselors, school administrators, club organizers, and coaches often have ample evidence of a student’s capabilities. Academic letters of reference can supplement a student’s transcript to help us better understand who you are and what you aspire to be. Community reference letters can help us understand how you contribute/impact and support a specific community, program or group of people.

For a reference letter to be effective, it should include the following:

1. A brief introduction;

2. Outline the student’s qualifications;

3. Describe a time that the student impressed you, academically or for what they did to the community;

4. Describe the students character and qualities, and highlight what makes them a worthy candidate;

5. Provide the referees contact information and signature.

Please ensure the reference letter is written using organizational letterhead, otherwise it will not be accepted. Please note that there may be application questions that ask for referees to complement/provide reference to your answers, so you may have to complete your application ahead of time and provide your referees with your application answers.

Please address all reference letters to 'MAX Scholarship Fund' - there is no need to address a reference letter to a specific scholarship. You may also request your referees to address the letter to ‘Whom it may concern’.

Yes! You may use the same reference letter for both scholarship categories that you apply for.

A referee can submit a reference directly to the MAX Scholarship Fund. Please fill in their name and email address on the Reference Form that is available as part of the Application process. Your referee will get an email from us with a unique link to upload a PDF. Please ensure that you give referees enough time to complete the reference as they will no longer be able to submit a reference after the application deadline. We will not be granting exceptions, so make sure you directly contact your referee and highlight to them the deadline to submit their reference letter for you.

No, you will not be able to submit your application if both of your reference letters are not uploaded. If you are asking a referee to submit a reference letter for you, please make sure you give yourself enough time to upload this reference to your application in time to submit. No late submissions will be accepted - you are responsible to make sure everything is submitted on time.

We have 2 rounds of application review. Round 1 will involve the review of each application by a team of MAX Executives, volunteers, as well as sponsors and externally recruited judges. Round 2 is where we invite successful finalists for a virtual interview.

Each application will be judged by a panel of judges. Selected applicants will then be invited to an interview (videoconference). Selected applicants will receive an invitation to this interview via email. Please ensure you have added scholarships@maxscholars.org to your safe sender list.

MSF is committed to ensuring a fair adjudication process. To reduce unconscious or implicit bias, we encourage applicants to minimize reference to their cultural background, age, race, language and gender and remove proper nouns and names of people in their application essay answers.

The reception normally takes place in early fall. More information will be available at a later date.

We send the scholarship funds directly to your school's tuition account. We will work with the winners to get the necessary details. More information will be provided to the winners.

No, your scholarship will not be taken away from you. We understand things do change. When submitting your applications, try to be as forward thinking as possible. A lot of these scholarships are designed with a program in mind, or just a general interest in the field. There are many scholarships that don't have to do with a program - such as the All-Star Scholarships. If you decide that you will no longer be pursuing post-secondary education, then you will not receive the scholarship.

Your application will only be seen by those judging the application - which includes the MAX Executive team, the sponsors who have generously donated the scholarships, and external judges that are recruited, and who have at least several years of professional work experience.