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With increasing university tuition costs, and the current economic situation playing havoc with some people's education savings funds, finding the money to go to school can be a huge challenge.

One of the options students have is to find the right fit from a large pool of potential scholarships, bursaries and awards. But finding one can be tough slogging.

Tessa Mintz is the vice-president of studentawards.com, a free scholarship and award matching service. Ms. Mintz has a Bachelor and Master of Science in Communicative Disorders from University of Western Ontario, and a Master of Health Science in Health Administration from the University of Toronto.

She took your questions about where to find information about paying for a post-secondary education, options for paying for school, tips on how parents and children can talk to each other about paying for school, and the costs of a post-secondary education.

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GlobeCampus editor Christina Varga: Thank you for joining us today, Tessa. To start us off, can you tell us whether you've received more requests for information about scholarships since the markets have started playing havoc with some people's education savings funds?

Tessa Mintz: Thank you so much for inviting me today. You are absolutely right that the current market turmoil has left many students and their families in a financial situation that they had not anticipated and they don't have contingency plans in place to pay for school. What is unfortunate is that the economic downtown has also had an impact on what is available to students in terms of scholarships and awards administered by universities who are using endowed funds that are not yielding dividends, so there is less money that can be given out to students. As a result, students are turning to studentawards.com by the tens of thousands to help them to easily find other opportunities to find money for school. There is plenty of free money out there, outside of what is administered by universities.

david latner from Toronto Canada writes: Are any bursaries, scholarships etc. available for students accepted at universities outside of Canada?

Tessa: Thank you for your question. In our experience, scholarships that are specifically for Canadian students studying outside of Canada, particularly the U.S., are rare. The majority of scholarships that are available are targeted towards very specific fields of study or for post-graduate or post-doctoral studies. For example, the National Society of Accountants has a scholarship program for Canadians in a U.S. accounting program. On the good news front, however, many Canadian scholarship programs allow their winners to use the money wherever they choose to study, be it in Canada, the United States, or abroad. The best idea is to check with the award administrator before applying to their scholarship in order to find out where the scholarship money can be used; it would be disappointing to win an award only to find out that the money cannot be applied to international studies. I would also suggest visiting the Scholarships/Financial Aid section of the school you or your child wishes to attend to look for any scholarships they may be eligible for.

Zoe Morrow from Canada writes: Tuition costs are a pain, but get a loan or apply for OSAP. We all did it, so why should students now complain?! Many of us in our late 20s and 30s are still paying down university debt and that's the reality of getting a university education today. One thing I feel strongly about is that I do not agree with the low standards for university admission. Too many people have university degrees and it cheapens it for all of us. Having a degree now does not open doors to employment or opportunity. It is a waste of time for many people who cannot do better than retail once they graduate. And it is because degrees have become so devalued and are so plentiful.

Tessa: Hi Zoe. I am sorry to hear that you have been saddled with a large student debt. You are in good company. According to the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation, the average undergraduate student in Canada graduates with $24,000 worth of debt. And, 22% of university and 41% of college students who interrupt their studies do so due to insufficient funds.

While I agree that OSAP and other forms of student loans are essential in the mix of your education funding, I always recommend that students find free money first: It's always best to get money for school that you don't have to pay back! The burden of paying back debt well into your 20s and 30s should be plenty of motivation for students to spend a little time and energy now in taking advantage of these options. We recently spoke to a student who set aside 2 hours each month to submit scholarship and award applications and it paid off handsomely: $9,000 in free money during his studies.

As for the value of a university education, in my opinion, one has to weigh the tangibles and intangibles of the experience and decide if the investment is worthwhile for you. Most students continue on to post-secondary education and find that the experience is of great value in developing who they are as people and helping them to decide what they want to be "when they grow up."

That being said, I agree that students should certainly be taking more time up front to decide what they expect as their return on investment to avoid paying big bucks for an education that is heading them in the wrong direction.

kkj 123 from Richmond Hill Canada writes: Hi. In order to access the scholarships, bursaries or awards, is it a requirement that the household income be below a certain level or if we have an RESP, are we not eligible? Or can anyone apply? The reason I ask is because I have RESP investments set aside for my 16 and 14 yr olds (Grade 11 and 9) but they have been significantly affected by the meltdown. I need to know if other avenues of financing are available as a result.

Tessa: Thanks for this question; it is definitely something that will resonate with many other parents who have unexpectedly found themselves in the same situation. I applaud you for planning ahead.

The good news is that there is money out there for all kinds of students. You and your child will now have to make the investment of time and energy in identifying opportunities for free money.

The first step is to sign up for a free service like studentawards.com that will match your child's particular set of circumstances, including household income, with available scholarships, bursaries and awards. The service will give you a listing of available opportunities and will keep you updated on new opportunities and deadlines for applications.

Now the real work starts — apply, apply, apply. Every day we are contacted by students who are can't believe that they have won an award and are thrilled that they have less financial stress.

I would also recommend that you contact your HR administrator at work to find out if they have a scholarship program for children of employees. There might be free money right under your nose. Another alternative is to look for any awards that your child might be eligible for simply by belonging to a certain group. Your child may decide to start a part-time job with a company that offers scholarships for employees and will be ready to apply once they are in Grade 12. There may be awards for members of your church, your community group, your bank or a club that you belong to. There's usually a lot less competition for these awards, because they have quite narrow eligibility criteria.

The federal and provincial governments offer a wide variety or grants, bursaries, and loans to help out students with financial need. You can learn more about these opportunities by visiting www.canlearn.ca. Open up a dialogue early with your banker to find out about special interest rates and payment programs for student loans that can be worth a closer look, the more information you have now the better so that you can plan for your shortfall.

S Turn from Ottawa Canada writes: The meltdown has severely depleted our RESP and we were not able to use it to pay for our son's first year at university. I would be grateful to know of any scholarships available either in-course at Queen's for arts students (English/PoliSci/global development) or available from outside the school to students heading into second year. Also, aside from books, how much should we expect our son to pay for, given his tuition and res cost $15,000 this year. Thank you!

Tessa: This is a great question because a lot of students assume that the majority of scholarships are only for students entering their first year of university or college. This is far from the truth.

There are plenty of scholarships, awards and bursaries for undergraduates, graduate, and post-graduate students. As an example, National In-Course awards are awarded by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation on the basis of merit through the Millennium Excellence Award Program. These awards are specifically for students who have already completed some post-secondary studies. This program will start accepting applications in spring 2009.

Another example is the RBC Royal Bank Scholarship for Undergraduates that is currently accepting applications from students who are entering their second through final year of undergraduate studies.

The rest of your question regarding how much your son should be expected to chip in for his education is very interesting. In our experience, parents who can afford it will pay for the basics and encourage that their child work through the summer or maintain a part-time job during the school year to pay for all the extras. You know your child best and whether or not they can juggle this level of responsibility and what your budget can reasonably handle.

mini wheat from Toronto Canada writes: I was able to save almost enough money through my summer jobs to pay my way through school as long as I went locally. I chose to go away for school and I regret all the extra money thrown away for living costs (paid for by the gov't essentially). Don't you think we should limit government money given away to students just so they can go to school 150 kms down the 401, when a local option is available?

Tessa: Congratulations on your diligence in working your way to an education. The money that the government is contributing is typically in the form of a loan and students are required to pay this back whether or not they used the money locally or to pursue a passion a little further away. The key to any student using their government loan effectively is to create a workable and realistic budget and stick to it. They also have to decide what the debt is actually going toward. There are many resources and tools accessible to students that will allow them to compare the merits of different schools and their programs to make an informed decision about whether or not to stay local or go away to school.

Tony Fronda from Toronto Canada writes: Question 1: I have two sons that plan to go to university in two and four years. My suspicions lead me to believe that some education funding will be cut in these times of recession and while the RESPs and other funds are melting like the snow in May the tuition fees are going to go up to make up the deficit. Your comment please?

Q2:As a middle income family I am afraid that our sons would not qualify even for loans. Is this a possibility? If so, what is the family income threshold at which no loan is available in Ontario? Thank you!

Tessa: Hi Tony, you are wise to be planning ahead. The amount of financial aid available to your child is based on a formula that compares educational costs and expected contributions from parents and student income, school enrolment status, and many other variables. Students can receive enough funding to cover all school related costs including tuition, residence and related expenses. To help estimate the loan amount available, I would suggest that you use the Loan Estimator tool at www.canlearn.ca. Although parents are not obligated to contribute to their child's post-secondary education, the amount that should be provided is one of the factors used to assess students' applications. All things being equal, the higher the parental income the lower the amount of financial aid a student might receive. To help determine if your child will be eligible to obtain a government loan based on your income, use the Parental Contribution Calculator at www.canlearn.ca.

Christina: I'm afraid that's all the time we have today. Thank you for your questions and thanks for your comments, Tessa. Hopefully, this will help people find the money they or their children need to get the education they're looking for.

Feel free to look around the rest of the GlobeCampus website, which includes our exclusive Campus Navigator (see the tabs at the top) interactive tool that lets you compare Canadian universities with each other according to the criteria that matter to you most.