The Scholarship was established in 2014 with a generous donation from Eileen (Sunny) Barnes, a close friend of William and Betty Bell. William and Betty Bell both grew up in the Great Depression and thus had an understanding of financial need.
The main purpose of the Scholarship is to assist a student who is the first member of their immediate family to attend university and who, because of financial hardship, may not otherwise be able to undertake a university degree.
How to apply

Please read the regulations carefully to be sure you are eligible before you apply. Then click on the blue “Apply here” button and complete the online application form.

Scholarship applications will usually open around 6 weeks before the closing date. We recommend you check the form early for any request sections, in case a referee or supervisor is required to support your application and to familiarise yourself with the form. Apart from any sections that are sent to a referee to endorse, you can go in to your form and amend your answers for all other sections up to the closing date. All sections (including any request sections) must be submitted by the closing date, which is midnight on the specified date (unless stated otherwise). We recommend you do not have two different scholarship applications open within the same browser.

Outcomes are determined by a selection committee and are usually notified around six weeks after the closing date.
Need more information?

For answers to any queries please go to AskAuckland in the first instance. If you still have a question, contact us as soon as possible, at [email protected]. Please indicate the exact name of the scholarship in your email subject line and mark it “Urgent” if your request is being sent within 72 hours of a closing date.

If you have a technical issue of any kind, please clear your browser cache and try again. To escalate an issue to us, please attach a screen shot of the page to your email showing the error message or issue.