In this section . . .

Find out about how much funding is available for full-time students.

• Types of assistance for full-time students
• Categories of students - who is responsible for your educational costs & who must fill out your OSAP application
• How loan amounts are determined - expenses minus resources equal financial need
• Maximum assistance - the limits on loan amounts
• How access grant amounts are determined
• Tuition fee limits and life-time limits -  something to keep in mind
• Funding for social assistance recipients
• Other options for financing your education - consider all sources of assistance

Also check out:

• Reviews
• Child-Care Funding

Funding Available for Full-Time Students

Types of Assistance for Full-Time Students

Categories of Students

OSAP uses a classification system to determine who, along with the student, is principally responsible for his or her educational-related costs and therefore, who must fill out and sign a section of the student's OSAP application. For example, a married student is expected to have support from his or her spouse, and the spouse will be required to supply information about his or her income, etc. All information provided on the student's OSAP application is then taken into consideration when the amount of assistance the student is entitled to receive is determined.

Married Student

You are married. Both you and your spouse are required to provide information on your application.

Student in a Common-Law Relationship

For OSAP purposes, you are living in a common-law  relationship if:

1. you and your spouse have been living together in a conjugal relationship for not less than 3 years, or
2. you and your spouse are living in a conjugal relationship and are raising any children of whom you both are the natural or adoptive parents.

Both you and your spouse are required to provide information on your application.

Sole-support Parent

For OSAP purposes, you are considered a sole-support parent if you have any dependent children living with you full-time during your study period, AND you are single, separated, divorced, or widowed. You are required to provide information about yourself and your dependent child or children on your application.

Independent Student

You are considered an independent student if:

• You are separated, divorced, or widowed, AND have no dependent children living with you, or
• You have been out of high school for at least 4 years as of the start of your study period. 
• You have not been a full-time student at a high school or postsecondary institution for at least 12 consecutive months on 2 or more occasions.
• You are a current Crown ward or a former Crown ward who has not been adopted.
• Both your parents are deceased.

Dependent Student

If none of the statements listed in the above categories (married, common-law, sole-support parent, or independent student) applies to you, you are considered to be a dependent student. Both you and your parent(s), step parent, legal guardian(s), or official sponsor are required to provide information on your application.

How Loan Amounts are Determined

The amount of funding you may receive is based on your financial need as calculated by OSAP. To determine your financial need, the ministry first calculates your allowable educational expenses, then subtracts from that amount the financial contribution that you and your family (if applicable) are expected to make towards your educational costs. Any calculated financial need is subject to the funding maximums. You cannot receive funding that exceeds the program maximums.

The following formula is used to determine the amount of funding that may be available to you:

Your allowable educational expenses may include:

• tuition fees
• compulsory fees
• books and equipment
• an allowance for computer and computer-related costs
• personal living expenses
• child-care costs

Maximum limits have been set for tuition fees, compulsory fees, books and supplies, equipment costs, and personal living expenses; therefore, the amount of your loan may not completely cover your total educational and living costs.

The expected financial contribution is based on the ministry's calculation of the amount of money that you should have available to pay for your education and living costs. Your marital status, number of dependent children, educational history, and availability for employment are taken into account in this calculation. Resources which are taken into consideration include such things as your pre-study and study period income (including income from government sources, investment income and scholarships, bursaries and awards), assets, and your parents' or spouse's income (if applicable).

After calculating your financial need, the ministry determines the amount of loan you are entitled to receive. It is important to remember that there are maximum amounts of loan available. You cannot receive more loan than the maximum amounts available; therefore, you may not receive funding to cover all of your education-related costs. In addition, your loan may be adjusted based on the application deadlines and penalties.

Maximum Assistance

Tuition Fee Limits

Ontario’s publicly-assisted universities offer some professional and graduate programs in which they have historically been given flexibility to charge higher tuition than for their other programs. This is also the case for high-demand programs, such as some post-diploma programs, at colleges of applied arts and technology.

In these programs Ontario recognizes up to $2,250 per term (plus co-op fees of $425 per term, where applicable) for tuition and mandatory fees when calculating the amount of assistance you are eligible to receive from Ontario.

If you are in one of these programs, and you do not receive enough funds through OSAP to cover your financial needs, your university or college is required by the Government of Ontario to provide additional aid to you. That aid is for the part of your financial need caused by tuition and fees above $2,250 per term. Institutions may choose to provide this aid in the form of work-study programs, bursaries, scholarships, and/or loans. Further information is available from your financial aid office
 

Lifetime limits

You are eligible to receive a Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan for up to a maximum lifetime limit of 340 weeks of postsecondary study. The lifetime loan limit may be extended an additional 60 weeks to a maximum of 400 weeks for full-time students enrolled in doctoral programs. For students with permanent disabilities the life-time maximum increases to 520 weeks on the federal portion of their loan. For the Ontario portion of their loans, exceptions to Ontario’s life-time limits can also be considered for disabled students.

How Access Grant Amounts are Determined

Access Grants are now available to assist students from low-income and modest, middle-income families with tuition costs. Both Canada and Ontario offer these grants to students from low-income families – families with parental net income within the range of eligibility for the National Child Benefit Supplement. For a family with one to three children, this is $36,440 per year.

Starting in 2006-07, Ontario is expanding eligibility for its Access Grants so they will also assist students from modest, middle-income families. If you are from a family with two children, your parents can earn up to $74,800 and you could still qualify for a grant.

The value of the grants is highest for low-income families. If you are from a low-income family, you may qualify for both a Canada Access Grant and a Millennium/Ontario Access Grant in your first year. The combined value of these grants could cover up to 100 per cent of your tuition, or $6,000. In second year, you could receive an Ontario Access Grant from the Government of Ontario covering up to 50 per cent of your tuition, or $3,000.

If you are from a modest-middle income family, you will not be eligible for a Canada Access Grant but you can still get an Millennium/Ontario or Ontario Access Grant that can cover between 25 and 50 per cent of your tuition, or $3,000.

For details on Access Grants go to Canada Access Grant for Students from Low-Income Families, Millennium/Ontario Access Grant, and Ontario Access Grant.

Funding for Social Assistance Recipients

Note to Social Assistance Recipients

The Ministry of Community, Family and Children’s Services is working closely with OSAP to ensure that there is no duplication in funding in an effort to reduce overpayments. 

It is important that you contact your social assistance caseworker before you begin your studies to discuss your eligibility for assistance while you are in school. If you are currently receiving social assistance or assistance through Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support program, please contact your contact your caseworker immediately. Please ensure that you do so before you begin your studies and no later than when you pick up your loan certificate. 

You must contact your social assistance caseworker to report your loan funding. 

OSAP Assessment Summary Form

An OSAP Assessment Summary form will be generated for you if your OSAP application indicates that you or your parent(s) or spouse (if applicable) were in receipt of social assistance income. This OSAP Assessment Summary must be provided to your or your family’s social assistance caseworker.

What Funding is Available

If you are a social assistance recipient who is married or in a common-law or same-sex relationship or if you are a sole-support parent, you are expected to apply for a loan through OSAP to cover your education-related and personal living costs for yourself and you family while attending postsecondary studies. You may also be eligible for a top up from social assistance if the amount of monthly personal living funds from OSAP is less than your social assistance entitlement. Your caseworker can provide you with further details about this process.

All other social assistance recipients must contact their social assistance caseworker to discuss their eligibility for OSAP funding and social assistance while in full-time studies.

If You Have Not Received OSAP Funding as of your Study Period Start

If you have not yet received your OSAP funding once your classes begin, you may be able to remain eligible for social assistance for living costs while waiting for your loan funding. However, the social assistance that you receive for this time has to be repaid once you receive your OSAP funding.

Let your social assistance caseworker know that you have applied for OSAP and are waiting for approval of your application. Your caseworker will determine if you are eligible to receive social assistance while waiting for your loan. If you are, you will be required to sign a form indicating that you are responsible for repaying the social assistance once your OSAP is received.

Funding Sources for Health-Related Costs

The Trillium Drug Program helps people who have high drug costs in relation to their income. Trillium application kits are available at your local pharmacy or by calling the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care INFO line at 1-800-268-1154.

The Children in Need of Treatment program (CINOT) provides basic urgent dental care to children checked at school by dental professional. Contact your local Public Health Unit for details.

Other Options for Financing Your Education

OSAP is not the only program that can assist you with your education-related costs. When determining how to fund your postsecondary education, you should investigate other options. Provincially-assisted Ontario universities and colleges of applied arts and technology provide student financial assistance funded through money they are required to set aside from fee-tuition revenues, endowments created through the new Ontario Trust for Student Support, the Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund, and other institutional resources. Assistance can take the form of bursaries, work-study programs, grants, or loans. Many of Ontario’s public universities and colleges of applied arts and technology will be participating in the student access guarantee. These institutions are committed to helping students who face financial barriers and to working with OSAP to ensure that Ontario students get access to the resources they need for their tuition, books and mandatory fees.

Some corporations, unions, religious institutions, service groups, and foundations offer scholarships and/or bursaries to children of their employees. Financial institutions (banks, credit unions, and caisse populaires) offer a variety of special student assistance packages.

For additional information, ask your postsecondary institution for information on where and when to apply or consult the Internet or your public library. Check CanLearn (www.canlearn.ca) which has a free scholarship search you can use to find additional, non-governmental, non-repayable assistance to help you through school, or visit the Ontario Ministry of Education website, ( www.edu.gov.on.ca), for additional information on planning and financing your education.

You may also wish to investigate the following scholarships, bursaries, and fellowships available to postsecondary students:

• Aird Scholarship – funded by the Government of Ontario.
• Fellowships for Studying in French – funded by the Government of Ontario.
• Sir John A. Macdonald Graduate Fellowship in Canadian History – funded by the Government of Ontario.
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship – funded by Government of Ontario and participating Ontario universities.
• Ontario-Quebec Exchange Fellowship – sponsored by the Ontario-Quebec Commission for Co-operation in accordance with the interprovincial Agreement for Co-operation and Exchange in Educational and Cultural Matters.
• Queen Elizabeth II Aiming for the Top Scholarship – funded by the Government of Ontario.
• Explore  (Second Language Summer Program) – funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage and administered jointly by the Government of Ontario and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada.