Parent Guidebook
Thanks for booking a free consultation!
At GrantMe, we are dedicated to the success of our students and wanted to share some steps on how you can get the most from your consultation.
This guidebook will cover how GrantMe works, how to prepare for your child’s consultation & some tips on how you can support your child with their education journey.
On This Page:
Our Mission
Your child's future is a big deal. We think it should be full of options.
GrantMe is in the business of student futures. And when students and families feel they have options – the future looks bright. Education and careers are changing, and the marketplace has been crying out for an innovative partner to help navigate that change.
The GrantMe philosophy is simple. Remove the uncertainty. Create options. Let our education planning platform be your expert guide. You deserve to graduate to the next level.
Your Free Consultation
Your consultation is designed to help your family build an actionable plan for your student’s educational goals. This means we’ll go over your child’s resume, academics, and experiences. Using this profile, we will explore what pursuing the right post-secondary opportunities will look like, how to land a great career opportunity, a realistic evaluation of scholarship winnings and what the next 5 years of education look like.
If your child is a good fit, then we may offer your family the opportunity to start with GrantMe’s program. If it’s not a good fit because we don’t think we can help you, we’ll be upfront about that and let you know.
Do I need to be there?
We have a high volume of consultation requests from families at this time of year. As we work with students and build a plan for your family to tackle the university & scholarship process, we request that parent(s) or guardian(s) are also available to attend the call.
What do I do to prepare?
Keep your ringer on & be ready on Zoom at the time of your child’s consultation! Expect a 10 minute call from our team in the next 24 hours to confirm your family’s consultation and answer any questions you may have.
Or if you have a few minutes to confirm your family’s consultation – give us a call.
How GrantMe Works
GrantMe simplifies all things education. Admissions, scholarships, career and grades. Your education planning platform for a future full of options.
Accurate admissions & scholarship information
No need to scour through articles and websites claiming to know how to win scholarships & get into your top schools.
We’ll help your child find the accurate scholarships & the right universities to apply to. Plus, we’ll build the plan to keep them on track.
Writing, interviewing and university preparation for your child's future
GrantMe will support your child with developing the skillset needed to get into top schools, win funding & above all – excel when they get there.
With writing support, interview prep & workshops with university students, they will walk into their university of choice ready to succeed.
A streamlined process and clear roadmap
We want to ensure that your student is receiving all the support they need to succeed in the admissions & scholarship process.
We have a curriculum built & led by our mentors, who are university students at the top schools across Canada. We designed a 100-day journey where we check in at key milestones with you and your child.
We also have super fast email, text, and live-chat response times – so you can always get a hold of us.
Wealthsimple x GrantMe | RESPs
Scholarships aren’t the only way you can support your student in achieving their educational goals. You can also set up an RESP!
What is an RESP?
A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) is a special savings account to save for a child’s education after high school.
RESPs are great as the funds are not taxed so long as the gains are spent on education, making it easier to save!
The earlier you start an RESP for your child, the better. However, it’s possible to retroactively claim grants if you start late. Visit this article by WealthSimple for more info on RESPs.
Maximizing Your RESP
Canada Education Savings Grant
This grant matches 20% of your RESP contributions each year. That means you could eventually receive up to $7,200 from the government towards your child’s education! Consider topping up your annual contribution to your student’s RESP to maximize the amount of funding you can receive from the grant.
Canada Learning Bond
This program provides up to $2,000 in additional funds to the RESPs of low-income children. Eligibility is based on the number of children and the total income of a household. You can view the eligibility criteria here!
Setup an RESP
GrantMe has partnered with WealthSimple to make setting up an RESP easy! Wealthsimple provides a personalized profile with low fees, expert advice, and high security to allow anyone to invest like a pro.
Opening an RESP with Wealthsimple is free. All you need to do is:
1. Click the button below and create a free account
2. Fund it with at least $100.
3. Through our partnership, you will get a $50 cash bonus back with your new account.
4. Wealthsimple will check your eligibility for the Canada Learning Bond on your behalf which can be up to $2,000! So sit back, and (hopefully) watch the money roll in. (You can find out more info on their page)
Learn more about WealthSimple and create an account here!
Bonus: How To Support Your Child
Although your child is responsible for much of their success, there a few key things you can do to support them!
Preparing for Post-Secondary
Your student’s volunteer and leadership experience is key to their success. Encourage and support their involvement in extracurricular activities and volunteer work! They want to aim for a mixture of initiator, leader, and member roles.
Initiator roles are volunteer roles in which they start an initiative like a new club or project. Leader roles are a step down from initiator roles, like being a coach or a camp counsellor. Lastly, member roles are involvements in which they volunteer as part of a team.
Timing is also key to success. You want to help your student prepare for post-secondary admissions and scholarships early. If you have students not yet in Grade 12, they can start their admissions and scholarship applications now so that they have less work to do during their busy Grade 12 year.
You also want to encourage your student to consistently apply for scholarships.
Help them to create a consistent schedule for writing applications so that it becomes a habit.
You can also take some responsibility off their hands by helping them to research financial requirements and create a budget for post-secondary. This helps them set goals for the funding they need and reduce surprises or stress.
One of the final challenges your student may face preparing for post-secondary is managing their time and stress. They may have a busy schedule, especially if they’re engaging in difficult academics and engaging in extracurriculars. Help them create a schedule for themselves to ensure they can complete their responsibilities and make time for post-secondary and scholarship applications.
Your student should aim to start school admissions applications at least a month before the deadline. Applications for scholarships worth more than $10,000 should also be started a month ahead of time. Smaller scholarship applications can be started 2 weeks in advance.
Managing their schedule and thinking about finances and the future may also be stressful for your student. Encourage and support them in also taking care of themselves during this process. Help them ensure they get enough rest and nourishment to be able to accomplish all their goals.
Thriving in Post-Secondary
You can support your child in thriving through post-sec by helping them with budgeting. You can show them how to set up a budget and manage their finances throughout the year. You can even go a step further by helping them automate part of their finances, like bill payments or spending limits!
The scholarship process doesn’t just end after Grade 12. You can continue to help your student create a habit of consistently applying to funding. They can check their school for new scholarships and bursaries or continue to use the GrantMe matching app to access scholarship opportunities.
Transitioning into post-secondary is a big change. There are new academic standards to get used to, new friends, and new opportunities. You can continue to help your student manage their time and the new stresses of post-secondary.