Originally Posted by shes-a-diva*

Why should the government help those who are financially well off, when there are people who are in more need of the funds?

The cutoff for 'financially well off' is debatable.

Originally Posted by shes-a-diva*

I believe OSAP is a means of assistance to help break the cycle of poverty, and whether the choose to favor those who are less fortunate, why are you complaining?

Because there are kids who, while their parents are fortunate, aren't entitled to share in those privileges.
While we all agree that factoring in parental income helps prevent abuse of the system so that somebody whose parents have more than enough money to pay for them doesn't apply for OSAP and waste said money...I believe our central objection lies in the fact that you've generalized a higher income to mean an ungrateful student who doesn't deserve entitlement...not ONLY due to the fact that their parents earn more but because of their moral character.

Originally Posted by goodnews.inc

Because there are kids who, while their parents are fortunate, aren't entitled to share in those privileges.
While we all agree that factoring in parental income helps prevent abuse of the system so that somebody whose parents have more than enough money to pay for them doesn't apply for OSAP and waste said money...I believe our central objection lies in the fact that you've generalized a higher income to mean an ungrateful student who doesn't deserve entitlement...not ONLY due to the fact that their parents earn more but because of their moral character.

My objection lies in the fact that a lot of people in this thread have done nothing but complain about how little or no OSAP they have received because they think its unjust that OSAP factor in parental income, when I COMPLETELY agree with the fact that they do factor it. Complaining would suggest ungreatfulness, would it not? Also correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the article doesn't complain about how people who's parents make a decent living do not receive enough funding. Considering the student in the article received 12000, that would only bring me to the assumption she is also considered a low-income family.

I don't take the fact I'm eligible for more funding for granted, I do think its not enough to cover every expense with school though and think a loan for post-secondary school should. I mean complaining about the fact your parents make decent money according to the government, and thus you don't receive much of a loan suggests ungreatfulness. I mean realisically the government governs all laws including minimum wage standards and if they think someone can survive with at least a 9.50/ hour (soon to be 10.25) job at 40 hours a week for a year, that's a yearly income of around 18000 (around the same amount as the 12000 of OSAP for 8 months). You can't tell me because the government believes that's the lowest of low you can survive with that making anymore than that is inadequate money to live decently.

However, there are more costs with post-secondary school than the government likes to think, and I think if minimum wage is increasing by 75 cents every year, OSAP should be increasing too. Especially since tuition rates, and housing prices are on the rise as well.

Originally Posted by temptingf8

The cutoff for 'financially well off' is debatable.

I think the current restrictions that are in place suffice, however like I just mentioned in a previous post, if minimum wage can constantly increase every year, OSAP should be more comparable to the cost of an education.

If they did raise OSAP, then the current family status guidelines should increase too, that way some of the people who feel unappreciative about the amount of funding they currently receive get more too.

I strongly disagree with many of the aspects of OSAP.

The system is set up so that average student is completely dependent on mommy and daddy until they're 23 (5 years out of high school). If you're not independently wealthy or your parents aren't poor you can be forced to drop out basically for disobeying anything your parents set out (i.e., changing religions/becoming an atheist, choosing a career they don't like, not living with people of the same religion/ race/ gender, etc. etc.) or because your parents don't believe in giving handouts to their kids because "elbow grease and loans" got them through university (despite the fact that as noted you can't get loans if your rents have money and if you work it gets clawed back).

Not only is this unfortunate for students who have controlling or ignorant parents, the system also penalizes those who work, earn scholarships etc. by saying "You all have to live in poverty; the only benefit is you will be marginally better off financially in 4 years". I personally believe OSAP should not punish those who better themselves. I believe that OSAP should have a set amount to loan every student and parent's income should only factor in when considering subsidies (i.e., direct transfer of funds to pay for University, feeding you, housing you etc.).

7.50 a day on food? maybe you should learn to f-ing budget your food better instead of whining about OSAP not giving you enough money

Living off 12,000/year is possible although it is difficult because many expenses are slashed. College students receive 11,000/year for schooling that is about half the tuition of university. I can't seem to justify how you pay 3,000 less and get almost the same amount of funding as a university student.

Also, if your parents are that horribly controlling maybe you should do something about it instead of whining about how they act. Seriously parents may not be that educated about certain things thus bringing them to the conclusion their way is the only right way. I mean if living with them were so bad, you could leave, and their would be a paper trail of that. Going into the financial aid office and whining about how controlling your parents are is no proof that things are actually that bad.

I also do know that since OSAP is funding my tuition there is not going to be a transfer of that funding to parents. I pay for it, I will claim it on my taxes. If your parents pay your tuition they deserve every right to claim that as income, not you.

I'm amazed at the plethora of students who clearly haven't seen poverty. OSAP is a meager living, but if your parents are giving you money to pay for school, or make a decent living you are not living a life of poverty. Clearly no one reads their loan documents before signing either because you are considered independent after being out of highschool for 4 years.

Student loans are geared towards low and mid income families:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quoti...60324c-eng.htm

Higher incomed families and home owners are likely to have savings for post-secondary school, which value more than any other category:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-001-...4/6987-eng.htm

Students from high income families with post-secondary education are more likely to obtain a post-secondary education:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11f0019...005243-eng.pdf

Post secondary educated families are still at a higher net income after all debts are taken into consideration:
http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/famil114-eng.htm

There are many factors determining whether one would pursue post-secondary education, some being your highschool experience, family, social influences, parental status, and parental education:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-595-...003006-eng.pdf


There are so many statistics that show that there are many who are a lot LESS fortunate than you think.