My point was that OSAP does NOT just give you all the money you need for university, because it defines "need" as how much money you CAN get, not how much you WILL get. Therefore, going back to your point about how if you need financial aid you should have been working since high school, this is true, but there is no way high school jobs can adequately pay for four years of university.

This person got $11 700 to pay for school, b/c their financial situation obviously allowed them to. However to say that others who are struggling to pay for school simply haven't filled out their application right, or are just SOL, is pretty dumb and completely unhelpful.

And as to why they haven't said if they have a job or not, maybe they just don't feel like facing more judgement from you?

Originally Posted by Geek

My point was that OSAP does NOT just give you all the money you need for university, because it defines "need" as how much money you CAN get, not how much you WILL get. Therefore, going back to your point about how if you need financial aid you should have been working since high school, this is true, but there is no way high school jobs can adequately pay for four years of university.

This person got $11 700 to pay for school, b/c their financial situation obviously allowed them to. However to say that others who are struggling to pay for school simply haven't filled out their application right, or are just SOL, is pretty dumb and completely unhelpful.

And as to why they haven't said if they have a job or not, maybe they just don't feel like facing more judgement from you?

THIS.

[EDIT: To the person that wasn't being so nice] Jesus christ why are you being so harsh? There are tonnes of people that don't have enough money for school, even with OSAP.

I took a year off after high school to work to make enough money for me to get by in first year university. I hated having to stay back when all my friends went off, but I wasn't fortunate enough to have that kind of money. You just have to do what you do to get by, regardless if it's not that most desirable method or not.

And for OP, apply for the grants as well. It's given later in the year, but it'll definitely help you pay for school. I got $900 last year from the grant, I'm sure others have received more as well. If you can't pay your first initial payment all in one go, it's okay. The interest is high, but if you do get that grant, and you can cover the rest I'm sure you can manage it somehow. There's always a way.

I believe it's illegal in Canada to not be able to go to school due to financial issues. Something I've heard.

Geek wasn't talking to the OP, he was talking to... well, someone who wasn't being nice.

Originally Posted by feonateresa

Geek wasn't talking to the OP, he was talking to... well, someone who wasn't being nice.

Haha yeah I was just too lazy to quote that other poster. Edited

Originally Posted by TTHX

Haha yeah I was just too lazy to quote that other poster. Edited

Hahah.
Anyway, I've also heard of it being illegal to keep a student from school for financial reasons, so that should be kept in mind. A bank loan could help too, but the word loan is scary.

Originally Posted by feonateresa

Hahah.
Anyway, I've also heard of it being illegal to keep a student from school for financial reasons, so that should be kept in mind. A bank loan could help too, but the word loan is scary.

OSAP is also a loan, you just don't collect interest until you are done school.

Originally Posted by jhan523

OSAP is also a loan, you just don't collect interest until you are done school.

I know ;_; just taking out a loan for a loan is extremely scary lol.

Originally Posted by feonateresa

I know ;_; just taking out a loan for a loan is extremely scary lol.

It's actually not as scary as you would think. The interest on a bank loan is much lower than for OSAP. So for someone (like me) who have a bank loan, you can pay off OSAP as soon as they say you have to start paying and then just slowly pay off your bank loan and you wouldn't have to pay as much interest. Therefore the government doesn't rip you off as much.

Originally Posted by alyssabriere

It's actually not as scary as you would think. The interest on a bank loan is much lower than for OSAP. So for someone (like me) who have a bank loan, you can pay off OSAP as soon as they say you have to start paying and then just slowly pay off your bank loan and you wouldn't have to pay as much interest. Therefore the government doesn't rip you off as much.

The interest on a bank loan begins to accumulate immediately however, whereas OSAP doesn't start until you are six months out of school.

Originally Posted by PTGregD

The interest on a bank loan begins to accumulate immediately however, whereas OSAP doesn't start until you are six months out of school.

That's actually not true... The interest on OSAP start accumulately once you finish school. It's just that you don't actually have to start the repayment until 6 months out of school.

Originally Posted by myster

That's actually not true... The interest on OSAP start accumulately once you finish school. It's just that you don't actually have to start the repayment until 6 months out of school.

Sorry, you're right. Either way, interest on a bank loan is much more inconvenient.

Well what I would think is that you take out a loan when you're done or almost done school and pay back your osap then, that way when you would have started to accumulate the high interest rates on OSAP, you have instead begun to pay off lower interest rates on a student bank loan. But I'm not sure how much or what conditions you need to get student interest rates from banks (if there is such a thing), haven't started doing much research since I'm not going to be paying back OSAP till after med school (hopefully) which is a long way away...

Even though the interest on the bank loan starts to accumulate before I graduate, I use it only if I really have to. The interest only builds if there's money taken out of that loan. I still end up paying less than paying my OSAP back slowly. Also I can pay back my bank loan any amount I want and whenever I want. So as soon as I have money i put it into my bank loan so that the interest isn't building up.

Originally Posted by alyssabriere

Even though the interest on the bank loan starts to accumulate before I graduate, I use it only if I really have to. The interest only builds if there's money taken out of that loan. I still end up paying less than paying my OSAP back slowly. Also I can pay back my bank loan any amount I want and whenever I want. So as soon as I have money i put it into my bank loan so that the interest isn't building up.

Hopefully this hasn't already been mentioned, but another awesome pro about OSAP is that you automatically get considered for some scholarships/bursaries that non-OSAPers otherwise wouldn't.

Sigh. And the work-study program. And the Queen Elizabeth scholarship. And some random bursary given out in the middle of the year. If I had gotten OSAP, I could've probably paid it off already with all the other scholarships and bursaries I would've been eligible for.