New students are eligible to apply for scholarships in two rounds for the 2025 academic year.

The main new student scholarship round closes at 11.59pm on Monday 13 January 2025. If you cannot meet this deadline, please contact the Scholarships Manager at scholarships@stmarkscollege.com.au to discuss your situation.

Eligible new students are also invited to apply for the A. Simpson & Sons Scholarship, Robin Ashwin Scholarship, and Craig Family Scholarship. These scholarships have a separate application process. The closing date for these awards is 9am on Tuesday 17 December 2024.

We aim to notify all applicants in the main new student scholarship round of the outcome of their application in early February.

This varies by award, ranging from $500 to $10,000 per academic year. Ordinarily, approximately 40% of new students receive support, averaging around $2,600.

You should submit your application for residence at St Mark’s before submitting your scholarship application. If for any reason you cannot complete your application for residence before the relevant scholarship deadline, please contact the Scholarships Manager at scholarships@stmarkscollege.com.au to discuss your situation. You need to receive and accept an offer to attend St Mark’s to receive a scholarship.

For more information about applying for residence at St Mark’s, go to www.stmarkscollege.com.au/apply/application-process/

You must submit proof of your ATAR (or equivalent) and a transcript of all university study undertaken so far to be considered for any of our scholarships. If you are currently completing year 12, this means you may not know your ATAR until December or January. You can submit the rest of your scholarship application prior to this, but we must receive your ATAR by the relevant application deadline to fairly assess your scholarship application. If you intend to submit your ATAR separately from the rest of your application, please advise the Scholarships Manager when you submit your scholarship application.

If you are applying for the A. Simpson & Sons Scholarship, the Robin Ashwin Scholarship, or Craig Family Scholarship and won’t receive your ATAR until after the scholarship deadline, please contact the Scholarships Manager to discuss your situation.

Your Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is supplied by your state tertiary admissions board (e.g. SATAC, VTAC, UAC, TASC, TISC, QTAC), typically via a letter when you apply for university or via their online portal. If you do not have this documentation, please contact SATAC or your state’s tertiary admissions board in the first instance, and if you have further issues contact the Scholarships Manager at scholarships@stmarkscollege.com.au, who will help you work out what to do.

If you sat the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) to gain admission to your degree, you must submit your STAT results as well as your final transcript from high school and your ATAR if you obtained one.

If you do not have an ATAR, please submit an English-language copy of your secondary school diploma, including a transcript of your results, and transcripts from any university-level study you have already undertaken.

Unfortunately, St Mark’s College scholarships cannot be deferred. If you decide to defer your place at St Mark’s you will need to re-apply for a scholarship in the relevant scholarship round when you commence at College.

Unless otherwise specified, scholarships are awarded as a weekly discount on your College fees. For example, if you receive a scholarship of $2,000, this will be provided as a $50 per week discount off your fees for the duration of your 40-week contract for that academic year. If for any reason you needed to withdraw from College, your scholarship would be adjusted on a pro-rata basis.

Postgraduate students are strongly encouraged to apply for both residence at St Mark’s College and scholarships. You can apply for a scholarship using the online application form for new student scholarships. Postgraduate students are required to provide their university transcripts for all studies as well as their ATAR or equivalent.

If you missed the deadline for the main 2025 scholarship round, please contact the Scholarships Manager at scholarships@stmarkscollege.com.au to discuss your circumstances. In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to provide financial assistance outside the main scholarship round.

Mid-year entry applicants are welcome to apply for scholarships during the main scholarship round. We may also be able to accept applications for financial assistance from students in high financial need at the time of your application for mid-year entry. Please speak to the Scholarships Manager for further information.

The A. Simpson & Sons Scholarship is one of the College’s most prestigious and valuable scholarships. The Scholarship is awarded annually by the College on the basis of excellence in intellect, character, leadership, and service, and to give the recipient(s) of the Scholarship the opportunity to attend the College. The A. Simpson & Sons Scholarship was created in 2022 through a generous endowment by Mr Antony Simpson, Honorary Fellow of the College and Governor of the College Foundation. The A. Simpson & Sons Scholarship is open both to new and to returning students of the College, regardless of gender, and to students studying in any discipline. For information on how to apply, please see the 2025 new student online application form.

The Robin Ashwin Scholarship is for an excellent student whose studies have a strong international focus, and who is in financial need. The strong international focus could be, but does not need to be, in the study of international relations or international politics; it could be in any relevant field or fields of study, such as, for example, health, economics, history, law, development studies, or other fields. The Scholarship was created in 2020 through the generosity of the family of the late Charles Robin Ashwin (1930-2019), former Master of the College (1991-99). It is intended for the Scholarship (which may be shared) to be awarded each year in which there is a suitable recipient. The Robin Ashwin Scholarship is open both to new and to returning students of the College, regardless of gender. For information on how to apply, please see the 2025 new student online application form.

The Craig Family Scholarship is awarded to a rural student of good character and academic merit who is in financial need and has demonstrated resilience in facing and overcoming hardship of some kind. It is open to students of any discipline. One Scholarship will be awarded annually to a new or returning student who is or will be studying at Adelaide University (or a successor institution), to enable and support them to be at St Mark’s. At the discretion of the College, the major part of the award will be used to assist in payment of College fees, and part provided to the Scholar as a direct payment to assist with other living costs (ordinarily, the Scholarship will cover 50% of the St Mark’s residential fee, with a further 50% of that amount paid to the Scholar). It is awarded for a single year (subject to the Scholar remaining in residence for that year). Previous recipients of the Scholarship are eligible to apply in subsequent scholarship rounds.

The Craig Family Scholarship was created in 2024 through a generous endowment by the family of Dr Robert J. Craig OAM (St Mark’s 1954-58) in honour of Dr Craig, and also in recognition of the crucial role that scholarships played in creating opportunities for him. It is their wish to provide these same opportunities for future generations of students.

In 2025 the Scholarship will have a value of $18,000 and is open to any student of the University of Adelaide who meets the membership requirements for St Mark’s College. For information on how to apply, please see the 2025 new student online application form.

Community service is at the heart of the College’s values. In keeping with that, St Mark’s College seeks to “encourage a willingness to serve others and to give back to the community in a spirt of thankfulness” among all our students. All scholarship recipients are expected to contribute time in service to the College and the broader community, in recognition of the support they receive.

This may include volunteering with the student Charitable Foundation, assisting at College events, helping around the College, offering your time in service to local organisations, and volunteering in your home community. Such activities are personally rewarding and will enrich your education and improve your career prospects, while also being valuable to society.

While no set amount of service is required, it is anticipated that students would comfortably undertake at least one to two hours of service a week, over the course of the year. It is expected that students will be proactive in seeking ways to offer service.

Scholarship recipients are asked to write a letter of gratitude to the provider of their scholarship, articulating the impact their support has had. The St Mark’s scholarship program is funded through the philanthropy and spirit of giving of our community, and our donors value hearing from the students they support. If you are awarded a scholarship, you will be provided with information about how to prepare and send this letter.

Scholarship recipients are encouraged to find ways to give back in gratitude for the opportunities that have been provided to them. For most, this begins while they are a student and young professional, with many volunteering their time in service to the College and to the community. As life progresses, many will offer their time, expertise, and resources in service to others and in support of philanthropic causes, including the College.

Increasing numbers of scholarships and prizes have been made possible through the generosity of previous scholarship winners who have been deeply grateful for the opportunity that scholarship support has given them, and are committed to handing on those opportunities to future generations of students. We hope that all scholarship recipients, being grateful, will in time do their best to support those who come after them.

Unless advised otherwise, we ask that students keep the value of any scholarship/s they receive confidential. Our scholarship program is built around the dual purposes of recognising merit and ensuring that, as far as possible, financial need is not a barrier to achieving your potential at St Mark’s. Many of our scholarships therefore consider both merit and financial need, and we do our best to ensure that available funds are distributed fairly with an eye to helping meet the very high level of need we know a sizeable proportion of our students and their families face. For example, recipients of the Margaret and Harry Scott Scholarship may receive an award for academic and personal merit and/or for financial need, with individual awards varying significantly depending on need. Given that the value of many scholarships is tied closely to a student and their family’s circumstances, we ask that students keep the monetary value of their award private to protect the privacy of all. Students are, of course, welcome and encouraged to celebrate that they have received a specific scholarship – the name of the scholarship is not confidential, just the value.

We strongly encourage you to apply for all scholarships for which you are eligible, including those offered by your university and other providers. If you are applying for a scholarship from St Mark’s on the basis of financial need, we ask that you detail any other financial support that you are receiving, to ensure that we can make a fair assessment of your situation.

Recipients of the C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship would not normally receive a concurrent scholarship from St Mark’s, as the C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship typically covers the recipient’s full College fees. You will typically hear the outcome of your C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship application before St Mark’s College new student scholarships are announced, with the exception of the A. Simpson & Sons Scholarship, the Robin Ashwin Scholarship, and the Craig Family Scholarship, which are announced earlier. If you are awarded a C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship, you would no longer be eligible for the Simpson, Ashwin, or Craig Scholarships, as you would no longer be considered in financial need, and as such the scholarship would likely be reallocated to another student.

There are a wide variety of scholarships and other support available to university students. We encourage you to conduct regular research, as awards open and close at different times throughout the year. Here are some links that may be helpful.

C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship

C.A.S. Hawker Scholarships are one of the most prestigious and generous privately funded scholarships available to undergraduate and postgraduate students in Australia and are administered by the Hawker Trustees. Each residential scholarship is valued at up to $75,000 over three years. Selection is largely based on personal qualities and demonstrated leadership as well as academic ability. The scholarships are available to all Australian students. The majority have been awarded to students entering their first year of university studies. St Mark’s College is proud to have been the home of 49 Hawker Scholars since the scholarship’s creation.

Applications for the 2025 C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship close on 6 January 2025. You can find out more, and apply, via the C.A.S. Hawker website.

www.hawkerscholarship.org/

Centrelink, including Youth Allowance, Rent Assistance and ABSTUDY

The Australian Government provides means-tested financial support to students in need through a variety of programs. The most common supports received by students at St Mark’s are Youth Allowance, Rent Assistance, and ABSTUDY (Residential Costs Option). You can check your eligibility on the Centrelink website.

www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/centrelink

Tertiary Access Payment

The Tertiary Access Payment is a means-tested one-off payment of up to $5,000 provided by the Federal Government to students from regional and remote areas who are moving away from home to start tertiary study in the year after they complete year 12. You can find out more here:

www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/tertiary-access-payment

University scholarships

The University of Adelaide, University of South Australia and Flinders University all offer a range of merit and equity scholarships for new students. We encourage you to regularly check their scholarship pages and to apply for any scholarships you may be eligible for.

University of Adelaide: www.adelaide.edu.au/scholarships/

University of South Australia: https://i.unisa.edu.au/students/scholarships/

Flinders University: https://students.flinders.edu.au/finances-and-admin/support/scholarships

Country Education Foundation

The Country Education Foundation provides an excellent scholarships guide with links to a wide range of scholarships, bursaries and other support available for students from rural Australia. We strongly encourage all students from rural and remote backgrounds to use this guide to identify any support they might be eligible for.

www.cef.org.au/scholarships-guide/

Wyndham Richardson Scholarship Fund

The Wyndham Richardson Scholarship Fund provides grants to students in financial need who otherwise would not be able to afford the costs associated with university study. You can apply to the Fund directly via their website or through your university.

wyndhamrichardson.org

Bendigo Bank

Bendigo Bank offers a number of scholarships for university students.

www.bendigobank.com.au/community/scholarships/

Playford Trust

The Playford Trust offers a number of scholarships for South Australian students, particularly for students studying STEM degrees.

https://playfordtrust.com.au/scholarships-and-awards/

E.W. Stevens Trust (regional SA)

Scholarships provided by the E.W. Stevens Trust help students from regional South Australia who are in difficult financial circumstances continue their studies.

https://ppsa.org.au/scholarships/

Stand Like Stone Foundation (Limestone Coast)

The Stand Like Stone Foundation provides a variety of scholarships for students from the Limestone Coast region of South Australia.

https://standlikestone.com.au/