[MSU VPEd]

The McMaster Students Union (MSU) in association with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is happy to announce that the Ontario Tuition Grant is now available to help thousands of students across Ontario in their quest to receiving a quality and more affordable post secondary education.

Check out www.ousa.ca/tuitiongrant to find out if you are eligible, or go straight to www.ontario.ca/30off to apply.

Starting January 5, eligible students can apply for the grant. For the winter term, eligible undergraduates will receive $800. 310,000 students across Ontario will be able to access this grant, based on the following eligibility requirements:

• A Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident, or Protected Person
• An Ontario resident (student or parent resided in Ontario for 12 consecutive months prior to beginning study)
• A full-time student (minimum 60% of a full course load as defined by your institution / 40% of a full course load for students with disabilities)
• In satisfactory academic standing (can gain grant back of student returns to satisfactory standing)
• Studying toward a undergraduate credential, including any first-entry professional program such as engineering, commerce, architecture, or nursing
• From a family with a combined parental income before taxes of less than $160,000
• Deadline to apply for the term starting January 2012 is MARCH 31, 2012

Students receiving OSAP need not apply. If you are eligible for the grant, you will receive the grant automatically. For those not on OSAP but still eligible for the grant, you will need your Social Insurance Number (SIN), your parents’ SIN and line 150 from their tax return. Applicants will also need their parents’ signature, as well as sign the form themselves.

Access to the new Ontario Tuition Grant is obviously welcome news for Ontario students. That being said, the value of this grant will be quickly eroded if tuition continues to rise. The MSU is looking forward to working with OUSA and the government of Ontario on the next important step – the development of a new tuition framework for September that is fair, predictable and affordable for students

This is the most useful post on macinsiders for 2012. (so far)

what does it mean to have "satisfactory academic standing"?

Pardon me while I call bullshit on the "out of high school for 4 years or less" part of eligibility.

Anyone think this tuition grant should be retroactive for people already entrolled in university for more than one year so far? :/

Oh and I was happy the past week dreaming about that $2500 I will get from this .. Then I see $800 on the site today ... F the system

So this year we're only getting the $800 and not the full $1600?

Originally Posted by jackiemac

Pardon me while I call bullshit on the "out of high school for 4 years or less" part of eligibility.

I'll second that. Absolute Grade A bull dung.

oh lord this thread will turn into the other one

I agree. How is this supposed to help students who further their education through post-graduate or bridging programs, like myself.... not at all. Even though some of us have been out of high school for 4 years, we don't make large amounts of money - especially with the cost of tuition that we pay to mac.

yep bullshit to the 4 years or less.. I have worked my butt off all my life and have to scrape by to get money to go to school.

The reason why they don't give this grant to students out of highschool for more than 4 years is because these students are considered independent from their parents which is taken into account when OSAP is calculated. Therefore these students generally receive way more loan/grant money than students out of highschool less than 4 years.

This is a little bit more fair to those students who've worked a lot but who are getting 0 estimate for OSAP because of their parents income (<<160,000 anyway).

Originally Posted by RyanC

Anyone think this tuition grant should be retroactive for people already entrolled in university for more than one year so far? :/

Yes. I really hope so. That was like my second thought when I heard this (the first was something like "guess tuition/fees/MSU/etc is going up $1600 next year")

Originally Posted by macsci

This is a little bit more fair to those students who've worked a lot but who are getting 0 estimate for OSAP because of their parents income (<<160,000 anyway).

I think the issue with that is having the option of your parents. Say your parents are doctors but don't pay for school. If you got in trouble (lost your job, etc), they could help you. If your family does not make that kind of money and you lose your job, you don't have that safety net.

Problem is the govt seems to think everyone is quite happy to rely on whatever safety nets they have to pay for school that year (ex, OSAP gets pretty destroyed if you own a car, as if they expect you to sell it that year to pay for school when you probably need it for work, school, etc).