Every $4,000 raised through donations will provide a scholarship for one student for 12 months. This financial assistance can support expenses such as tuition fees, text books, travel, computer equipment, living expenses and accommodation costs.

Your donation to this mission will go directly to support these students and help relieve the more extreme economic pressures they face daily. Through this support, scholarship recipients will be able to focus on their studies and academic achievement.

Being awarded a scholarship is also a validation of a student’s ability. The recipient gains a sense of recognition which encourages not only a greater sense of self-confidence, but a genuine determination to strive for excellence in their academic study. The experience of receiving a scholarship for a disadvantaged student can, quite literally, be transformational.

Every cent of each donation to the Shaping Futures Scholarship Fund goes directly to ensure that talented students who are committed to taking up the opportunity to study at the University of Newcastle are not deterred from doing so for financial reasons.

All administrative costs for the scholarship fund will be met fully by the University of Newcastle.

Donations to the University of Newcastle of $2.00 or more are tax deductible in Australia.

Why do we need more scholarships for disadvantaged and gifted students?

Full-time students pay from $4,500 - $9,000 per year for tuition fees. This does not include textbooks, photocopying, computer equipment lab manuals, study materials, travel or living away from home expenses.

48% of the Hunter's population come from low socio-economic (financially disadvantaged) backgrounds. Close to one third of our students fall into this category, almost double the national average participation rate. We are very proud of the support we provide to our disadvantaged students but we need more help.

Research undertaken across all universities revealed that 22.7 per cent of full-time student were found to regularly skip classes because they needed to attend employment. And one in eight students (12.8 per cent) indicated that they regularly went without food or other necessities because they could not afford them.

(Source: The Australian University Student Finances 2006 Final Report)

The Shaping Future Scholarships Fund is a general scholarship fund which has been set up by the University of Newcastle Foundation. The scheme is entirely funded by generous donations from alumni, donors, businesses and the community.

Anyone can contribute to this fund. Any amount is gratefully received – no matter how big or small. It all goes towards providing a $4,000 scholarship. The more money raised the more scholarships can be awarded and the more students will be helped.

To be eligible for a Shaping Future Scholarship students need to be academically gifted but also facing hardship from factors such as being from a low socio-economic background, coming from a rural or remote area, living with a disability, or have carer or parenting responsibilities.

Students must also be enrolled in any year of any undergraduate degree program and be a full time student. Both international and domestic students are eligible for this scholarship.

We want students to be able to shape their future and change their lives forever through obtaining an education!

This year we received 232 applications for the Shaping Futures scholarship, almost double the number of students who asked for our help last year.

So many students need our support and thanks to the generosity of donors throughout the 2011 Annual Appeal we have been able to offer the Shaping Futures Scholarship to eight of these students in 2012.

Unfortunately this means that the other 224 students who also asked for help this year, missed out.

Meet some our 2012 Shaping Futures scholarship recipients.