Hi all, sorry if similar inquiries have appeared on the site but I'm terribly confused about making payments for tuition and what exactly is the step I should be doing next.

So far I have applied for OSAP and I did receive an email regarding how much money I'm estimated to receive when I click "Check Status". I can now access my application and it shows the certain amount of loans I'm estimated for, as well as the amounts for the grants + bursaries.

I have also went through with the Payment Agreement on MUGSI and I have chosen OSAP and scholarships as my funding options. And at the bottom of that page, it showed me the amount of deduction due to OSAP and showed me a balance amount of about 4000. (I'm guessing this is the amount that scholarships, grants, OSAP and bursaries do not cover).

So what confuses me now is how do I go about paying my tuition. Do I personally go pick up my OSAP and have it loaded onto my bank account (how and where) and then write a cheque to McMaster with the full amount? Or will Mcmaster automatically consult with OSAP and I send the cheque of about 4000, and this is due on September 1st?

Any help would be deeply appreciated, thank you.

You have to personally go and pick up your OSAP from the Student Centre, 3rd floor. The line up is massive in the first couple of days, so get ready haha. After that, you write a cheque/internet banking/whatever to Mac with the remaining amount. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. This is just how I remember doing it.

I think you can do it that way Sam but there's also the option of having Mac take the money directly from OSAP and then whatever is left over will go to your bank account. That's the way that I do it anyway.

Whatever isn't covered by OSAP and your bursaries/grants is owed by Sept 1st. The school would like to have the cheque/money order before then but you can post date it to Sept 1st as it won't actually be cashed until then.

And yes, get there EARLY my friend. And bring a book or something to study.

hey just wondering would it be possible for me to drop my cheque for the money I owe MAC first year on the day I move in (Aug 30th) and post-date it for Sept 1st?

Yep, that should be fine

Originally Posted by kokosas

I think you can do it that way Sam but there's also the option of having Mac take the money directly from OSAP and then whatever is left over will go to your bank account. That's the way that I do it anyway.

Whatever isn't covered by OSAP and your bursaries/grants is owed by Sept 1st.

Could you explain this method a bit more detailed? Do I just write them a check with the remaining amount that OSAP doesn't cover? And how would you really know when OSAP has issued your money (as long as I see it in that chart when I log in OSAP)?

Or do I need to talk it with OSAP and let them know that it's going to mac or something? Sorry for the noobish questions.

Thanks for your help

Its not noobish, don't worry. I was just as confused as you were only I had to go blindly through it and hope to god I didn't screw up and get kicked out of school for missing something important. Believe me, I feared that.

Anyway, when you go pick up your OSAP (which they call 'negotiating your loans') they will ask you for your personal deposit information and then tell you what the minimum payment the school is asking from you. At that point you can say "give them the minimum payment" or "give'em all I got".

You should have sent in a cheque or money order or direct banking thinger by Sept 1st with the remaining money that your OSAP and bursaries/grants doesn't cover. By the time you pick up your OSAP loan that money that you sent in for Sept 1st should be either proccessed or at least noted. I don't know about that for sure though because I've never done half and half.

Any money that is left over from OSAP will be put in your bank account (which is why you have to bring a void cheque or a banking print out... not just any print out you have to tell the teller what you need it for so they give you the right one).

You don't have to call or write anyone at the government about your OSAP, all that goes through the Financial Aid Office, they are representatives of the government working specifically at McMaster, every institution has a financial aid office like ours. They will know that your going to McMaster because when you first applied for OSAP you had to specify which institution you were planning to attend remember?

If you have any doubts what so ever you can always call the financial aid office, I've never had any problems with those ladies, they're very kind. I hope this answers your questions, if I've confused you any more I'm sorry, just let me know and I'll clarify. I sometimes confuse myself...

Okay, that really clarified things for me, I just have a few questions about what you said:

Originally Posted by kokosas

Anyway, when you go pick up your OSAP (which they call 'negotiating your loans') they will ask you for your personal deposit information and then tell you what the minimum payment the school is asking from you. At that point you can say "give them the minimum payment" or "give'em all I got".

Where and when does this actually take place, McMaster Financial Office when school starts right?

Originally Posted by kokosas

You should have sent in a cheque or money order or direct banking thinger by Sept 1st with the remaining money that your OSAP and bursaries/grants doesn't cover.

So basically from now 'til School starts, I should just write a check (postdated for sept 1st) with the amount of money that osap/grants don't cover, and once school starts, I must speak to Financial aid office at McMaster to claim my OSAP loans to pay off the rest?

Thanks

Originally Posted by dr34mXXX

Okay, that really clarified things for me, I just have a few questions about what you said:



Where and when does this actually take place, McMaster Financial Office when school starts right?

Close but no cigar! That office is way too small for all us poor students. It takes place in the McMaster University Student Center (MUSC) on the 3rd floor in a hall called CIBC Hall (I know a lot of our buildings are called "blahblah Hall" but this 'Hall' is inside the building so don't wander around campus looking for it). OSAP will begin being released Sept 4th (the same day classes start GAAAH!!) and the lines will be LONG LONG my friend. Get there early (like 7:30 early) and bring a book or something cause you'll need it.

Also, what you MUST MUST have to pick up your OSAP:
Gov't ID (passport, citizenship card, drivers license, etc HEALTH CARDS DO NOT COUNT)
Student Card with VALID STICKER (you'll get that in the mail with the card)
Social Insurance Number Card (SIN Card)
Void Cheque or Banking information

The Financial Aid office will also send you emails as the summer closes up about this with reminders and what not.

Originally Posted by dr34mXXX

So basically from now 'til School starts, I should just write a check (postdated for sept 1st) with the amount of money that osap/grants don't cover, and once school starts, I must speak to Financial aid office at McMaster to claim my OSAP loans to pay off the rest?

Thanks

Exactamondo my friend. You claim your loan and pay off the rest of your tuition and fees to the school. You don't actually have to go to the Financial Aid office, just to CIBC Hall with all of your ID.

And keep the paper work they give you in a safe place. It's your record of your loan.

hey guys. i was wondering if you guys knew how RESPs work too

how exactly do i go about getting my RESP money? and how do i pay in combinaion with my OSAP loan (roughly 1500)?

hopefully i can get answers. it would make my life easier haha

I have no idea, if your parents don't know then call Financial Aid in the morning, they'd be better set to advise you.

I know this sounds really stupid... but if we've paid off the rest of the year by Sept 1st and the school has already deducted the fall portion of your osap from your total...

what exactly do we do with the loan we pick up in Septemeber....? Pay the school?

that's what i'm guessing. they deduct the fall portion of your osap from the total, but it won't be paid for until you pick up the loan and do all that jazz. it's only the cheque that you sent it before september 1st that they get, so the loan is needed to pay the difference. i hope i answered your question correctly, lol.

Just some friendly advice... go earlier BUT not on the first day.
I remember going on the first day early in the morning in my first year... 3 hours in line =(

By going on a later day... you'll have less people b/c everyone that really needs the money in their bank accounts would have gone already =)

Sorry if I'm hijacking the thread, but do you mail the check that pays the balance, or drop it off on the 1st when you pick up your loan. I thought you had to mail it but now I don't know :S