2. Federal and provincial government student loan and grant programs

The federal and provincial governments provide financial assistance programs to qualified students to help cover the costs associated with attending university.

Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP)
OSAP provides loans, grants, bursaries, and scholarships to qualified students. Your level of assistance is determined by considering your complete financial situation including parental income level, number of dependants in the family, your savings, educational costs, living costs, and any other resources available to you.

The OSAP application is typically available in early May. If you wish to have your OSAP assistance ready for September/October, you must complete the online OSAP application and submit all necessary supporting documentation to Student Financial Services by June 30. If your documentation is incomplete, letters are not signed, additional information is required or significant income changes need to be reported, you will experience delays in receiving your funds until October or later. http://osap.gov.on.ca

The Ontario Government’s ACCESS WINDOW Web site provides excellent resources to help with your financial planning for university and it includes tools such as an OSAP estimator and a loan repayment calculator.

Fellowships for studying in French
Available to Ontario residents who take 60% of their courses in French at a value of up to $1,500. Applications are available in the spring.

Residents from other Canadian provinces and territories
Information on other provincial student assistance programs is available at http://sfs.yorku.ca/aid/outofprovince.

Next - 3. External funding