TORONTO, ON - August 11, 2015 /CNW/ - Going back to school? Searching for financial awards to help pay for school? For the 3^rd consecutive year, Scotiabank has partnered with yconic, Canada's leading student platform, to offer students in Canada a chance to win one of several awards that altogether total $50,000 which will help fund their academic futures.

This program provides students in Canada (Canadian students or international students studying in Canada) the opportunity to be rewarded for their continued pursuit of their academic goals while helping to ease the financial burden they face in paying for their education.

"yconic is committed to providing students across Canada with the money, support and connections that they need to be successful," said Rob Henderson, President and CEO of yconic. "The Scotiabank National Scholarship is another example of how yconic works with like-minded organizations who are vested in the success of students and youth."

With eighteen (18) scholarships of $2,500 and five (5) $1,000 Early Bird prizes available, students across Canada will have many chances to win financial assistance that can help pay for tuition, books, and living expenses they incur as part of their ongoing education. The scholarships will be awarded based on creativity, clarity of thought, communication of content, grammar, spelling, and overall content of essays submitted by candidates on a particular topic at b.yconic.com/sns. Winners of the Early Bird prizes are drawn randomly from submissions received by September 15, 2015.

The Scotiabank National Scholarship contest is open to students across Canada, including international students, who are pursuing secondary or post-secondary education in the upcoming academic year. Open to Canadian and international students who are 16 years of age or older, the deadline to apply for a scholarship is October 29, 2015.

"At Scotiabank, we know that the cost of everything from tuition fees and books, to everyday living makes student life expensive," said Emily Field, Vice President of Unsecured Lending at Scotiabank. "This is why we are proud to partner with yconic and to offer the Scotiabank National Scholarship. Together, we are helping students stay focused on their education, not their bank balance."

Scotiabank and yconic have been partners since 2003. In January 2014, the two organizations announced a long-term, expanded partnership that included $750,000 in new financial awards for high school and post-secondary students across Canada. By improving financial literacy and giving students access to new financial opportunities, Scotiabank and yconic work to make students' lives easier.

About yconic

yconic has helped millions of students in Canada and the U.S. through yconic.com, the leading student platform that provides access to more than $170 million in financial opportunities and Canada's largest youth-focused market research panel. We partner with select brands, agencies and higher education professionals that want to better understand, engage with and build meaningful relationships with youth. yconic only partners with brands that share its passion for authentically helping and investing in students. For more information about yconic, please visit we.are.yconic.com.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and parts of Asia. We are dedicated to helping our 21 million customers become better off through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than 86,000 employees and assets of $837 billion (as at April 30, 2015), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). Scotiabank distributes the Bank's media releases using CNW. For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankNews.