Ontario Access Grant

The Government of Ontario offers Ontario Access Grants to assist second-year students from low-income or modest, middle-income families with their tuition costs.

Value

Ontario Access Grants will cover between 25 and 50 per cent of your tuition, to a maximum of $3,000. The maximum percentage of your tuition covered depends on your parents’ income.

If your parents’ 2007 income was within the range of entitlement for the National Child Benefit supplement, this grant can cover 50 per cent of your tuition. If your parents earned more, the percentage of your tuition that can be covered is lower.

The value of this grant also cannot exceed the Ontario portion of the Canada-Ontario Student Loan assistance you are eligible to receive.
 

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for an Ontario Access Grant, you must:

• Meet all eligibility requirements to be considered for a Canada-Ontario Student Loan.
• Be enrolled in a second-year postsecondary program.
• Have been out of high school for four years or less as of the 1st day of your current period of study;
• The program is an undergraduate, “first-entry” program (second entry programs like Law or Medicine, or graduate programs are not eligible);
• The program is two or more years in length, and at an institution approved for purposes of the Ontario Student Loan;
• Your parents’ 2007 net income (from Line 236 of the Income Tax form) was at or below these income ceilings.

Please note that if you receive an Ontario Access Grant, the amount of Ontario Student Loan that you are issued will be reduced by the amount of your grant.

The table below shows income ceilings by family size.

(1) Number of dependent children, including the applicant, identified in Item 805 or Item 014 of the OSAP application.
(2) Net income (from Line 236 of the Income Tax form) of the applicant’s father, stepfather, legal guardian or official sponsor plus the applicant’s mother, stepmother, legal guardian, or official sponsor as identified in the OSAP Application.
(3) Higher ceilings are in effect for larger families.

How to Apply

You do not need to fill out a special application for this grant, because the information that you and your parents supply on your OSAP application is used to determine your eligibility. If you qualify for an Ontario Access Grant, the amount of the grant will be identified on the OSAP website under "Check Status" and in the Notice of Assessment that the ministry sends you.

Receipt of Funding

The Ontario Access Grant is paid by cheque and distributed through the financial aid office at your postsecondary institution at the start of your second term.

If your program is two or more terms, you must still be a full-time student as defined by OSAP at the start of your second term to be eligible to receive this grant.

Further Information

Contact your financial aid office for further information.