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Interesting article about OSAP in The Spec

 
Old 03-10-2010 at 03:27 AM   #31
shes-a-diva*
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Quote:
Originally Posted by temptingf8 View Post
That's still a broad generalization to make and I hope you realize that it's a pretty ignorant one too.

My parents may be better off than some others, but between the mortgage and bills, they've NEVER once bought a brand new car, and definitely have never owned a car made in the 2000's. That mortgage they pay is for a house in a not-so-hot part of town. No designer clothes. We're painfully middle class.

My parents came to Canada in 1980 as boat people refugees in Vietnam. They worked their asses off to set up a good environment for my brother and I, even though we lived in a shit area. There just isn't room for things like RESP's and extra savings. They wanted to get out of the roach-infested apartment buildings. They put everything they had into getting their house.

Listen, we all have hardships. But don't go judging other people and jump to conclusions. Don't you say parents don't care. Don't even ****ing think about it.

For the record, there were other posts and I don't really feel like elaborating on it, but they were deleted by admins on here obviously because other users were taking things completely out of context and catching feelings.

My point is, I've done the math through the OSAP calculator online. To be considered a low-income family, your parent(s) make less than 35000/year, mid-income less than 65000/year I believe? and to have OSAP seriously reduced your parents are making close to over 100K/year.

Are you telling me if your parents make over 100K/year you deserve the same financial assistance people who's parents make a third or less? NO. I completely agree with the government. Parental income should be taken into consideration, but OSAP should be raised to cover all expenses associated with post-secondary school. Life is life, if you can't afford it watch your expenses. Don't spend what you cannot afford.

Also, I'd like to add that in one of my posts that got deleted, I described a situation of a friend of mine. In short, they were on welfare while in highschool, and could not surpass the parental income portion of the application thus reducing their loan. SOULUTION: They spoke with an OSAP counseller at school, submitted documentation proving they were on welfare, as well as letters from various people (social worker, and parents) stating their relationship was not good and family problems prevented them from receiving financial assistance. Guess what happened? Their loan got increased because of their "dire" need. IMO not many students who complain about OSAP have horrible situations like this to relate to.

*ALSO* My parent's are landed immigrants as well, and never attended post-secondary school, and in today's world that gives them a handicap on the job market no matter how much experience they have.

Last edited by shes-a-diva* : 03-10-2010 at 03:38 AM.
Old 03-10-2010 at 08:07 AM   #32
ThatGuy
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So many people complain about not having enough osap... they complain the $12000 isn't enough and that they need more. I can't wait until they graduate with some degree, get a decent job ($60000/year) out of university and enjoy paying back the almost $50000 debt they dug themselves into.
I know some people really need the money to go to school, but there are always ways to cut down costs
Old 03-10-2010 at 08:27 AM   #33
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Because people who make 100k a year actually get to keep all of it.
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Old 03-10-2010 at 08:58 AM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ThatGuy View Post
I can't wait until they graduate with some degree, get a decent job ($60000/year) out of university
bahahhaahahahha
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Old 03-10-2010 at 12:10 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shes-a-diva* View Post
The whole arguement of OSAP being not enough to fund an education is true. The government puts these stipulations on loans as if we won't ever pay it back? From what if heard even if you declare bankruptcy you will still be required to pay back your loan at some point or another throughout your life. The amount we receive should be increased as I could careless about the amount I pay back, if the money is used to help me get a career that will pay more than minimum wage in the future. I'd gladly take out a loan to be able to cover ALL of my expenses associated with going to school because at the end of the day it's me who's going to have to pay it back. At the end of the day there are many more costs associated with post-secondary school than the government is willing to provide assistance with.

Also for those who aren't lucky enough to get more OSAP because their parents make too much money, I don't quite feel much sympathy for you. Call me ignorant if you must but there must be a reason why your parents wouldn't be willing to contribute to you bettering your quality of life. Maybe your reckless behaviour makes them incline to believe you will waste the money they give you to obtain a degree? Maybe they already buy you designer brand clothing, and anything else you want? Maybe they already spent that one year of university money on your brand new car?

I find it very hard to believe your parents "don't care about you" to want to help you financially. Coming from a low-income family, I'm glad there's OSAP to help fund my education. With all the debt my mother's in from being unemployed over the years, and spending tons of money on lawyers throughout her divorce, working at Tim Hortons is not what I see for my future. I don't think until you actually become financially unstable do you realize the importance of money, and realistically speaking a lot of students think of college/university as a party and drink 24/7.

wrong. Parents do care. However some people belive in the idea that paying for your education in whole has more value to it. which it does. Some people also are very independent people and do not want to rely on their parents for everything.
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Old 03-10-2010 at 12:15 PM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thedog123123 View Post
wrong. Parents do care. However some people belive in the idea that paying for your education in whole has more value to it. which it does. Some people also are very independent people and do not want to rely on their parents for everything.
If you're independent and don't want to rely on your parents, then you shouldn't rely on the government either. If you tell your parents not to pay for school, and then turn to taxpayers for it, what have you accomplished?
Old 03-10-2010 at 12:24 PM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sniderj View Post
If you're independent and don't want to rely on your parents, then you shouldn't rely on the government either. If you tell your parents not to pay for school, and then turn to taxpayers for it, what have you accomplished?
A false sense of independence and a superiority complex that allows you to judge others who have no qualms about admitting that they can't pay 12k a year out of their own pocket for school?
Old 03-10-2010 at 12:50 PM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lawleypop View Post
Man, I pride myself on being as obnoxious as possible, but this takes the cake.

Come on bud.
I don't think I've ever read a worse post on this board.
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Old 03-10-2010 at 01:02 PM   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sew12 View Post
I don't think I've ever read a worse post on this board.
But I'm the one on the verge of being perma-banned from MI.
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Old 03-10-2010 at 02:12 PM   #40
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I think one of the biggest flaws with OSAP is that the students who get the most benefit are the ones being irresponsible with money.

The higher your educational costs, the more money you'll get. So students who do things to lower their tuition as much as possible, like applying for scholarships, spending less money on housing, living at home, etc get less money.

In addition, students who work get penalized, as already stated.

And students who decide to start saving in high school will find that because the money they've saved is an asset they'll qualify for even less money.

If OSAP was actually going to be fair, they wouldn't give a loan greater than that students income. That would certainly help cut the costs of it, and maybe make some more money available to students who need it.
Old 03-10-2010 at 03:26 PM   #41
shes-a-diva*
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12,000/year barely covers tuition, food and housing for a school year only. Affordable housing is slowly diminishing, and Ontario's tuitions are the highest in Canada. There isn't really a way to "curb your spending" when an education is so costly.

Also, your loan only gets affected if you work and your parents "make too much money" and even then it doesn't get affected alot. Seriously play around with the online estimator and see that maybe your parents are saving a lot more than their spending, hence why your getting such little money from them.

I'd gladly be 50K in debt with a degree when I graduate, this world's all about education and who you know, and like I previously said without a degree your future career may be in jeopardy. OSAP debt isn't that bad if you make it a priority in its repayment stage. Living at home again would help out with that too.
Old 03-10-2010 at 03:54 PM   #42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shes-a-diva* View Post
Realistically speaking, when my mother was unemployed for many years, solely relying on the income of her boyfriend, money was real tight. Sorry to hear that your father is unemployed, but he could do what my mother does and work at Tim Hortons for minimum wage if you are in dire need of assistance. With that said, the minimal income he would be making, if he badly needed funds, would make you eligible for OSAP even as a low-income family. He clearly has enough money to support his family even without a job.
Both my parents did work minimum wage jobs while my dad was out of work, and I've always worked part time during school. In second year, I had two part time jobs. That doesn't mean they had enough money to pay for my school. Sometimes, there are things more important than tuition and not everyone's parents can come to their rescue.

Why are you making such ignorant, sweeping generalizations? It's great that you and your family were able to work out a situation that you were able to fully pay tuition, but that is not the case for every single person. Simply working hard doesn't mean you can get through every difficult financial situation scott free.

You are in for a big surprise if this is seriously how you think the world works. It's one thing to state your opinion, but you are just being rude and ignorant.
Old 03-10-2010 at 04:18 PM   #43
shes-a-diva*
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kathy2 View Post
Both my parents did work minimum wage jobs while my dad was out of work, and I've always worked part time during school. In second year, I had two part time jobs. That doesn't mean they had enough money to pay for my school. Sometimes, there are things more important than tuition and not everyone's parents can come to their rescue.

Why are you making such ignorant, sweeping generalizations? It's great that you and your family were able to work out a situation that you were able to fully pay tuition, but that is not the case for every single person. Simply working hard doesn't mean you can get through every difficult financial situation scott free.

You are in for a big surprise if this is seriously how you think the world works. It's one thing to state your opinion, but you are just being rude and ignorant.

If your parents WERE working for minimum wage, OSAP would not be based on their income from TWO years ago. They would also receive MORE benefits of filing taxes with such LOW income, and pay LESS tax. You would also be eligible for MORE than $300 from OSAP. My post was far from rude or ignorant. What I don't think you realize, and most people don't know this is that your "savings" don't count as income until you begin to spend it as income.

Did you also know that your parents get PAID for having kids until they turn 18? And that its almost 600/month for one child and almost 1000/month for two? I generally would feel sympathetic if someone's particular situation was in fact worthy of complaining but in most cases I feel no sympathy. I'll say it again though, do the math yourself on the online OSAP estimator, you're parents are making decent money if your loan is getting significantly decreased.
Old 03-10-2010 at 04:29 PM   #44
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shes-a-diva* View Post
If your parents WERE working for minimum wage, OSAP would not be based on their income from TWO years ago. They would also receive MORE benefits of filing taxes with such LOW income, and pay LESS tax. You would also be eligible for MORE than $300 from OSAP. My post was far from rude or ignorant. What I don't think you realize, and most people don't know this is that your "savings" don't count as income until you begin to spend it as income.

Did you also know that your parents get PAID for having kids until they turn 18? And that its almost 600/month for one child and almost 1000/month for two? I generally would feel sympathetic if someone's particular situation was in fact worthy of complaining but in most cases I feel no sympathy. I'll say it again though, do the math yourself on the online OSAP estimator, you're parents are making decent money if your loan is getting significantly decreased.
"If your parents WERE working for minimum wage, OSAP would not be based on their income from TWO years ago". What? As of May 2009 when this situation happened to me, OSAP considered the income of parents from two years prior for all students not out of highschool for 4 years. It doesn't matter how much money they make now, or the year before - OSAP only looked at what they made 2 years before you apply. This policy may have changed since then, but this is what happened when I applied in May 2009.

I don't think you understand that someone's parents' income doesn't necessarily always affect how much they are given by their parents to pay for tuition. Not every family is exactly like your family. And if you don't think it's rude and ignorant to say "You must be doing something wrong if your parents don't pay for your tuition. Maybe it's your attitude or that brand new car they bought you", then this conversation is clearly not worth having. Get over yourself.
Old 03-10-2010 at 04:30 PM   #45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shes-a-diva* View Post
12,000/year barely covers tuition, food and housing for a school year only. Affordable housing is slowly diminishing, and Ontario's tuitions are the highest in Canada. There isn't really a way to "curb your spending" when an education is so costly.

Also, your loan only gets affected if you work and your parents "make too much money" and even then it doesn't get affected alot. Seriously play around with the online estimator and see that maybe your parents are saving a lot more than their spending, hence why your getting such little money from them.

I'd gladly be 50K in debt with a degree when I graduate, this world's all about education and who you know, and like I previously said without a degree your future career may be in jeopardy. OSAP debt isn't that bad if you make it a priority in its repayment stage. Living at home again would help out with that too.
Not true. Plain and simple.

What's the price difference between living in Les Prince and Edwards? What's the difference between commuting from Mississauga or living in a $500/ month house with a 12 month lease? What's the price difference between a meal plan and cooking for yourself? There are plenty of ways to cut back on spending. I calculated my school spending from last year and I spent under $7000. Admittedly that will be a bit higher this year, but there's no way it will exceed $12 000. If you're spending that much you have a problem with budgeting.

My parents don't make that much money, and I haven't been able to qualify for two years running. If they didn't take into account outside assets, how much your tuition price is, etc. they wouldn't ask for it. The calculator is an estimate, nothing more.



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