New “Cost-of-Living” Scholarship Announced by University

Words by Zoë Mills (they/she)

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington has announced a new “cost of living scholarship” to help support students as the cost of living soars.

In an article published by Re: News, the university shared news of a “recently announced” scholarship, aimed at helping Te Herenga Waka students who are feeling the burden of the cost of living crisis. 

The scholarship is yet to be listed on the university’s scholarship database, but can be found under a donations page on the university website. 

Members of the public are encouraged to fund the scholarship with donations. “Every single gift made in support of our Emergency Cost of Living Scholarships will be matched, dollar for dollar, by Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington until the end of May 2023,” the university writes. 

Students will be able to apply for the scholarship in early June, and will be informed in July of their application status. While the university is unable to confirm the exact criteria of the scholarship at this stage, the university told Salient that the scholarship will be open to all returning students.

While the unusual approach of fundraising for a scholarship has been met with confusion from the student community, a spokesperson for the university told Salient that VUW carries out “many fundraising campaigns each year” for different student support programmes. 

“This year we have asked our alumni to support this cost-of-living scholarship, in response to the unique set of circumstances currently facing our students.”

The foggy nature of the scholarship has meant details, such as how many students the scholarship will actually be able to help, are unclear. 

As of this week, the fund for the cost of living scholarship has received over $13,000 in donations from alumni and other donors. The donations campaign will close on 30 May, when the final donations number will be assessed. 

“The number of scholarships we will be able to provide with this fund will depend on the total amount raised,” the university told Salient.