Repaying

When You Must Repay Your Loans

Full-Time Students:

You are responsible for beginning to repay your loan six months after you have completed your studies or have stopped being a full-time postsecondary student.

Important!

Interest on your loan builds from the time you stop being a full-time postsecondary student.

The actual rates and conditions for repayment are set at the time you begin repaying. In addition, it is important to realize that if you have negotiated more than one loan, you may be responsible for making repayment arrangements with more than one agency.

You must contact the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) to make repayment arrangements if you have any of the following:

• Canada Student Loans negotiated on or after August 1, 2000, or
• Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loans negotiated after July 31, 2001.

You must contact the financial institution (bank, credit union, or caisse populaire) holding the loan(s) to make repayment arrangements if you have either of the following:

• Canada Student Loans negotiated before August 1, 2000, or
• Ontario Student Loans negotiated before August 1, 2001

Part-Time Students:

Effective August 1, 2009, part-time students do not have to start paying the interest or principal on their part-time student loan until six months after they complete their full-time or part-time studies. However, interest will accrue while they are in school and during the six month grace period.

Students may defer payments on their part-time loans until 6 months after they complete their studies. At any time students may also make voluntary payments on their Part-Time Canada Student Loans, which will be applied first to accruing interest, and then to the loan principal.

The actual rates and conditions for repayment are set at the time you begin repaying. You must contact the NSLSC to make repayment arrangements. If you are unable to meet your repayment obligations, you may be eligible for repayment assistance. Contact the NSLSC for further information.

How to Repay Your Loans:

During the six-month period after your studies end, you must contact the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) and/or the financial institution holding your loans to make arrangements to repay your loan(s). You are not required to make any loan payments during the six month period.

For your full-time loans, interest will begin to accrue on your outstanding loans during your six-month grace period. If you choose to make voluntary payments, they will be applied against your outstanding loan principal.

For your part-time loans, interest will continue to accrue on your outstanding loans during your six-month grace period. If you choose to make voluntary payments, they will be applied first to the accruing interest and then to the principal of your part-time loan.

Your loans go into repayment on the first day of the seventh month following the month your studies ended. This is called your "consolidation date". For example if you finish school in April, your consolidation date would be the first day of November. You are required to submit your first monthly payment by the last day of the seventh month following the month your studies ended.

Before your consolidation date, the NSLSC will send you what is called the Consolidation Agreement. It tells you how much you owe, your expected monthly payment and the interest rate. You are required to sign and return a copy of the Consolidation Agreement.

As of your consolidation date, the amount of interest which accrued on your loans is calculated and you can either pay the interest or add (capitalize) it to your loan principal. If you choose to capitalize the interest, your financial institution and/or the NSLSC will adjust your monthly payment amount accordingly. If you choose to pay the grace period interest you may be eligible for a tax credit on your T4A for the tax return season in the following year.