What can my teen gain from a university scholarship? (2024)

The main purpose of a university scholarship is to provide financial assistance. But some scholarships can offer much more than this.

While starting university is an exciting time for your teen, it can also present them with several challenges. The most pressing may be how to pay for their studies, and a scholarship can certainly help with this. There are also big emotional and social changes involved with transitioning from high school to uni, like making new friends and building networks. The good news is a university scholarship can help with these things too.

Here’s what your teen can gain from a UQ scholarship:

• financial support
• adjustment factors
• social and academic support
• extracurricular opportunities
• networking opportunities.

Financial support

The first and most obvious benefit of a university scholarship is financial support. UQ has a wide range of scholarships for commencing and current students, which vary in value and duration. With hundreds of scholarships available for school leavers, some of which are valued up to $60,000, it’s definitely worth seeing if your teen is eligible.

At UQ, we offer scholarships to a variety of people, including those who display academic, sporting and creative excellence in high school. We also provide scholarships to students from regional or remote areas, those who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, and students experiencing financial hardship. There are specific scholarships for students from under-represented groups and those interested in specific study areas.

UQ’s scholarships can help with a range of costs beyond tuition fees. There are scholarships that will cover accommodation fees, study supplies like a laptop or textbooks, and even costs associated with extracurricular activities such as internships, study abroad experiences and conferences.

Find a UQ scholarship for your teen

Keep in mind that some scholarships at UQ are available to commencing students who have taken a gap year between Year 12 and university. So even if your teen isn’t ready to dive straight into university studies, they may still be eligible for a scholarship.

Adjustment factors

A scholarship can also increase your teen’s chances of gaining entry into their desired university program. Our UQ Link Scholarship, for example, adds 5 adjustments (sometimes casually known as ‘bonus points’) to your teen’s ATAR, effectively increasing their ‘selection rank’ (their ATAR, plus adjustments).

For example, if your teen is interested in studying a Bachelor of Agribusiness at UQ, the entry score threshold for Semester 1, 2025 is 72. Your teen gets an ATAR of 67, which isn’t very competitive to get into the program. However, if they apply for and receive a UQ Link Scholarship, 5 adjustments will be added to their ATAR, to bump their selection rank up to 72. As long as they meet the other entry requirements, they now have a much better chance of getting into the Bachelor of Agribusiness.

The UQ Link Scholarship assists students who have experienced educational disadvantage or disruption due to financial hardship at home. It offers $3,000 per year to help with study costs and ensure students with the motivation and desire to attend university can do so.

While UQ Link is for students commencing study at university, UQ also offers a program for high school students going into Years 11 and 12, which can boost their eventual university entry score. If you have a teen in Year 10 who is academically driven, but you’re unsure if you’ll have the finances to help them get to university, consider UQ’s Young Achievers Program. It offers a $1,000 annual bursary in Years 11 and 12 of high school, as well as mentoring support and 5 adjustments to assist with entry to UQ. Participants of the program are eligible for further scholarships when they apply to UQ, including the UQ Young Achievers Residential Scholarship.

Your teen can also receive ATAR adjustments to boost their selection rank without needing a scholarship. Find out more about adjustments.

Social and academic support

Getting into university is one thing, but thriving once you’re there requires support and encouragement. Some scholarships provide recipients with access to mentors, academic support, wellbeing programs, and social opportunities.

The Elevate Scholarship is a great example of a scholarship that endeavours to create a strong sense of community and belonging for its recipients. Its aim is to boost representation of women and non-binary people in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The Elevate Scholarship offers up to $30,000 over up to 3 years of study of an undergraduate STEM degree. It also assists recipients with mentoring and networking opportunities and wellbeing support during their studies.

Another example of scholarships that offer academic and social support alongside financial support are UQ’s residential college scholarships. Residential colleges are on-campus student accommodation providers at UQ’s St Lucia campus. There are 10 residential colleges, all with their own unique student communities. Many of the colleges offer scholarships to help students with accommodation and membership costs. Membership to a residential college greatly assists with the transition from high school to university, with plenty of opportunities to mingle socially with peers, gain one-on-one and group support, and access academic tutoring services.

UQ’s LEAD Law scholarship includes complimentary, non-residential membership to a residential college for the first year of study. This means that even though the scholarship recipient may not live at the residential college, they’ll still enjoy all the aspects of student life involved with being a part of that community. This may include enjoying college meals, joining events, accessing recreational facilities, and undertaking extracurricular courses. This kind of support is invaluable to help scholarship recipients ease into student life.

Extracurricular opportunities

Participating in extracurricular activities will help your teen stand out in the job market upon graduating. They’re valuable for personal and academic growth, and they can help improve emotional intelligence, life experience and industry-specific skills. But they also tend to cost money. This is why some of UQ’s scholarships include an allowance to help recipients access these opportunities.

The UQ Ramsay Undergraduate Scholarship is one of Australia’s most generous scholarships. It’s open to school leavers with an interest in studying humanities and a particular interest in western civilisation. It offers $32,000 a year for up to 5 years of study and includes a return economy airfare to undertake a UQ global experience. This could be a semester-based study exchange or short-term overseas experience like an internship or volunteering program. It’s an exciting prospect, especially considering your teen could end up travelling to places like London or New York.

While applications for the UQ Ramsay Undergraduate Scholarship have now closed for students commencing study at UQ in 2025, it’s worth keeping an eye on this scholarship for 2026 and beyond if you have a teen in Year 11 or lower interested in pursuing studies in humanities at university. Look out for our dedicated information evening for this scholarship next year on our events page.

Networking opportunities

Networking opportunities can also help set your teen up for success after graduation. Some scholarships come with exclusive membership to clubs, societies and academies to help expose your teen to influential people in their industry and make connections that will forward their career.

For example, the Liveris Academy Undergraduate Scholarship is awarded to high-achieving future leaders in computer science and IT, engineering, science and mathematics. It offers $10,000 a year for the duration of the recipient’s undergraduate program (minimum completion time applies) and may also offer an additional $10,000 for travel support for an exchange or internship opportunity.

The unique part of the scholarship is membership to the Liveris Academy, which gathers like-minded scholars to foster a community of excellence and ambition. Your teen will have access to exclusive networking events, mentorships and internships. They’ll bump shoulders with industry elites and build a global portfolio of connections, ready to assist them in making waves in their field.