Reviews

OSAP uses standard criteria to assess your financial need and to determine the amount of funding available to you. There may be situations, however, where these criteria may not adequately reflect your particular circumstances. If this is the case, then you may request a review of your OSAP application.

Common review situations considered through the OSAP review process include:

• Family breakdowns (e.g., you may be a survivor of family violence or other severe family problems and may be unable to obtain some of the information needed to complete your OSAP application);
• Provincial residency (e.g., you and your supporting individuals have never lived in a Canadian province or territory for 12 consecutive months);
• Exceptional parental expenses (e.g., your parents have child-care costs for dependent children with disabilities who are12 years of age and older);
• Pre-study and study period income contributions (e.g., as a dependent student, you had to live away from home during the pre-study period to obtain full-time employment);
• Study period exceptional expenses (e.g., you have child-care costs for dependent children with disabilities who are 12 years of age and older);
• Joint custody and legal guardianship;
• Asset contributions (e.g., your vehicle has been modified to accommodate a disability);
• Loan overpayments (e.g., hardship review);
• Academic progress (e.g., academic progress restrictions and/or probationary conditions);
• Institutional bursary/work-study support (e.g., costs not covered by the Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan need assessment);
• Bankruptcy reviews;
• Credit screening appeals; and
• Reviews of Ontario Student Opportunity Grant (OSOG) ineligibility.

Not all review requests can be considered. For example, the following types of reviews will not be considered:

• Reviews for a student who is already at the maximum amount of assistance available for his or her current study period.
• Reviews for a student whose parent(s) arbitrarily refuse to assist him or her with education-related costs.
• Reviews concerning a student’s citizenship status.
• Reviews submitted after the deadline date for submission.

Review Process

To start the review process, you must contact the financial aid office at the institution you are attending. Your financial aid administrator will discuss your situation with you and, using ministry review criteria, will determine whether your request can be considered further. For further details on the review process, see the following brochure: "What You Need to Know About the OSAP Appeal Process."

If you are planning to attend a postsecondary institution outside of Ontario or your institution does not have a financial aid office, contact the Student Support Branch, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities for further information.

Deadline for Submission of Reviews

The deadline date for submission of a review to the FAO is eight weeks before the end of your study period. Reviews submitted after the deadline date will not be considered.