Ontario Distance Grants

• Purpose of the program
• Commuting grant
• Travel grant
• How to apply for the distance grants
• Receipt of funding

Purpose of the Program:

Students who must travel long distances to reach a university or college face unique challenges. A Statistics Canada study showed that people who live far from a postsecondary institution are less likely to attend college or university.

In response to this, the Ontario government will begin offering Distance Grants to assist students from remote and rural areas with their travel costs. Eligible students will begin receiving the grants at the start of their first semester, along with the first instalment of the Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan, if applicable. There are two types of Distance Grant:

Commuting grant:

Value: $500 per term

Eligibility:

Students must:

• Be an Ontario Resident for provincial student assistance purposes;
• Attend a publicly-assisted Ontario college or university;
• Be a full-time student, enrolled in an OSAP approved program;
• Be one of the following student status: dependent student living at home with his/her parents during the period of study; independent student living at home with his/her parents during the period of study; married student, common-law student or sole-support parent student;
• Have a home address that is 80 kilometres or more from the closest publicly-assisted Ontario postsecondary institution of the type attended (i.e., 80 kilometres from a college if a college student, 80 kilometres from a university if a university student);
• Have an OSAP assessed financial need of at least $1.00.

Example:

A married student is living in Trenton and commuting to Trent University. There is a college of applied arts and technology within 15 kilometres of her home address, but no university within 80 kilometres of her home. Because the student continues to live at home while attending Trent, rather than moving closer to campus, she is eligible for the Commuting Grant of $500 per term.

Example:

An independent student is living in Kitchener. He is registered in a master’s program at the University of Toronto. He doesn’t want to move to Toronto, so decides to commute regularly from Kitchener (a trip of over 100 kilometres one-way) for his classes.

This student is not eligible for the commuting grant, because there are other postsecondary institutions of the same type as the one he is attending within 80 kilometres of his home address (Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Waterloo, University of Guelph and McMaster University). Distance grants are not awarded on the basis of program choice.

Travel Grant

Value: $300 per academic year

Eligibility:

Students must:

• Be an Ontario resident;
• Attend a publicly-assisted Ontario college or university;
• Be dependent student living away from his/her parent(s) home during the period of study;
• Be a full-time student enrolled in an OSAP eligible program;
• Have a permanent home address that is 80 kilometres or more from the closest publicly-assisted Ontario postsecondary institution of the type attended (i.e., 80 km from a college if a college student, university if a university student);
• Have an OSAP assessed financial need of at least $1.00.

Example:

A single dependent student leaves his home in Blind River to study at Canadore College in North Bay. While there are other colleges closer to home (Cambrian College in Sudbury and Sault Colllege in Sault Ste. Marie) none are within 80 kilometres of the student’s home. The student would be eligible for the $300 Travel Grant.

Example:

A single dependent student leaves her home in Barrie to attend a program at Sheridan College in Oakville.

This student does not qualify for the travel grant because there is a publicly-assisted college in her hometown, Georgian College.

How to apply for the distance grants:

To be assessed for the distance grants, you must complete an OSAP application.

Receipt of Funding

The Distance Grants will be paid by cheque and distributed through the financial aid office at your postsecondary institution.

The commuting grant will be paid in two instalments, in the fall and in the spring. If you attend summer classes full-time, you will receive the grant for the summer semester in the second instalment of your funding. 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.

The travel grant will be paid once per year during the first term/semester of study.