Education experts urge prospective students to diversify funding sources beyond scholarships alone.
Barbadian students eyeing overseas education need to think strategically about how they will pay for their studies, rather than relying on a single funding source, education leaders said at Saturday’s CUP Fest International Education Fair. Sheena Alleyne, Managing Director of The Student Centre, told media that prospective students and their families must look beyond the appeal of attending a foreign institution and develop a realistic financial plan that draws from multiple pipelines.
Alleyne outlined a range of funding strategies available to students, including scholarships, bank loans, the Student Revolving Loan Fund (SRLF), personal savings, and support from family members. She cautioned that while scholarships offer valuable assistance, students should not depend on them as their sole source of funding. Some institutions provide automatic scholarships, she noted, while others require separate applications for financial aid consideration.
The CUP Fest fair, organised by The Student Centre, brought together 25 institutions to help secondary school students and working professionals explore further education pathways. According to Barbados Today, 21 of the represented institutions were from Canada, with four from other countries, offering undergraduate programmes across arts, science, engineering, and medical education. Representatives from the SRLF and RBC Royal Bank were on hand to advise attendees on financing options.
Canada continues to draw strong interest from Barbadian students and families, said Caroline Mourand, Senior Trade Commissioner at the High Commission of Canada in Barbados. She attributed this to Canada’s reputation for educational quality and safety. Mourand encouraged prospective students to conduct thorough research, ask detailed questions about tuition, living costs, campus communities, and scholarship opportunities, and consult the EduCanada website for programme information. She noted that Canada expects to welcome 155,000 new international students this year, with opportunities remaining for Caribbean applicants.
The CUP Fest International Education Fair, which stands for College and University Prep, was held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre and is designed to help secondary school students and working professionals considering further education make informed decisions about their academic and career futures.
For Barbadian and Caribbean students planning overseas education, this reporting highlights practical strategies for financing studies abroad and showcases the range of institutions and funding mechanisms available to regional applicants seeking to advance their qualifications.
Sources and attribution
- Barbados Today
- 2026 provincial and territorial allocations under the international student cap
- CIMM – International Students – March 23, 2026 – Canada.ca
Written & Edited by Orlyn Edwards. Published by Caribbean Air Force Media.
Category: Community · Island routing: Barbados