Originally Posted by FireDragoonX

I got told.

well it does depend on what you select, your parents income and your program as well. Like, they ask you how much a return ticket costs for travelling from Mac to your home.
But generally it is around $12000

also, the 11700 is an estimate. I have not received more than that over the past few years.

they have given me low family income grant and remaining amount as loan..

Originally Posted by Bobby66

Bank Loan, I did it for this year because of low interest rate.

at what rate u got that bank loan?? anything special for student?

Originally Posted by patelp

woah... you got a lot for OSAP!!

I got $0 haha. You should be happy with what you get. Getting $15,000 doesn't come by easily.

its not about being happy or not.. its all about how to afford it immediately bcoz me and my parents are not in this position..

Originally Posted by dacrown4life

awww, dont panick much. first year is the most expensive year, no matter what program. engineering is just way more because you take 3 extra courses i think.
may be you should apply for a double room and cheaper rez, it might be too late now, but doesnt hurt to try.
or, may be you should opt out of rez and live in a house off campus, you will save about $3000 plus. as rez and the meal plans are overpriced!
i dont see how you can pay the difference, unless you do apply for a bank loan.
no matter how much u saved from high school, it still wont be enough. i spent all my savings on first year expenses (laptop took a good chunk).
And i dont think you should get a job in ur first year, since engineering is the hardest program in 1st year.

yeah i must hv applied for double room only.. it would save me around 1000$.. but at that time they just asked for the options.. i did singe room as my first option and then double etc... they hv the lottery system.. and.. fortunately or unfortunately i got that one... at that time , i dont know that... in total it will cost me that much.. apart from $17000.. books and other expenses are thr too...

well i was not in the position to do work during my high school... becoz i came to Canada 2 years back, in school .. my counselor really messed my course and i dont know what to do..beocz i was new and dont know the system exactly at that time.. and thr were others prob too.. i did sum part time work.. but thats not enough....

Originally Posted by endearing66

they have given me low family income grant and remaining amount as loan..

Hi Keshav,
Okay, there should be more than 1850 as a grant.
A substantial amount of it should be a loan but you should at least have over $4000 as a grant. (Look in the little spreadsheet where your "funding summary" is and see how the money is divided).

The next thing I would do would be to go to McMaster and visit the Student Financial Aid and Scholarships office. Take your parents and just tell them the predicament you're in. Bring those Canada tax forms if you can, where you can show them that you clearly make the amount for a low income family and then you can talk about the reasons why your family can't pay for this themselves.

There are other options but since we can't make changes to your OSAP funding because we aren't in that position, we can only suggest you go see McMaster ASAP for your OSAP!

We're a low income family too with 4 dependents and neither income providers makes a substantial amount of money. My sister was told by UTM (UofT Mississauga) that they would find other options to make sure she could pay for university and this is somebody who's been paying off her tuition each year, she just didn't get any jobs before this school year started.

Originally Posted by alyssabriere

I just have to say something quickly about this and this whole thread. Yes it's shitty that the OSAP is released as 60/40 in september/january, but I don't totally feel bad. I don't really feel bad for this person if they aren't working for the summer and they don't have any money saved up and they are getting 11700$ from OSAP.

Throughout highschool I saved up money for university because I knew it was going to be expensive. I worked full-time throughout my high school years because I knew that my parents couldn't afford to pay for my schooling (which they also had to help my sister and brother go through school). Also I've worked every summer and now because my OSAP amount has been going down each year I have to work during the year so that I can pay for things. I also applied for a bank loan. There are definitely ways that you can get this money without just saying that you can't afford everything because of OSAP. They give you an estimate ahead of time so that you can make sure to find ways to have the money you need for school. I might sound mean but trust me there are people who aren't getting 11700$ and have to pay as much as this person does to go to school.

If you really need money and you can't find any work this summer, then apply to scholarships or go to your bank and see if you can get a loan. The banks are sometimes generous to students.

well i just mention on my previous post, i was not in the position to work during 2 years of my high school.. because i was new here.. ..dont know the system. and my counseller messed up with my courses.. also at that time i hv to support my family too.. so whatever i worked part time.. not get saved!!! so its better u cant say any1 abt in particular unless u know the actual position of that person.. abt scholarships and all.. obviously i applied in as many as possible.. but they r not easy to get!!!

Hello to all..

Thanks alot for all ur suggestion and advices.. just want to mention that..

my circumstances were not good enough to do work regularly during my high school to save money for univ... i explained it in my previous post...

I post this thread.. to get sum helpful advices. one should not comment abt any1 before knowing the actual situation.. i m not arguing with any1 or fighting!!! no more comments...

anyways many of the posts in this thread help me.. i want to thanks each one of u..

most prob i i will go to mac tom to discuss abt it.. and i will take a least possible meal plan which will save me abt 400$...every dollar counts!!! and will also talk abt residence if its possible to change or they can do sumthing else in helping out in this matter.. i know its a big worry for me... lets see how its goes.. hope for best...

Thanks alottt!!!!!! for all ur advices...

Good luck endearing, I apologize for the way the thread turned out, but I'm glad you got some good advice. :]

Originally Posted by endearing66

Hello to all..

Thanks alot for all ur suggestion and advices.. just want to mention that..

my circumstances were not good enough to do work regularly during my high school to save money for univ... i explained it in my previous post...

I post this thread.. to get sum helpful advices. one should not comment abt any1 before knowing the actual situation.. i m not arguing with any1 or fighting!!! no more comments...

anyways many of the posts in this thread help me.. i want to thanks each one of u..

most prob i i will go to mac tom to discuss abt it.. and i will take a least possible meal plan which will save me abt 400$...every dollar counts!!! and will also talk abt residence if its possible to change or they can do sumthing else in helping out in this matter.. i know its a big worry for me... lets see how its goes.. hope for best...

Thanks alottt!!!!!! for all ur advices...

Endearing I wish you all the best in your studies and in getting your funding sorted out; I do believe that if you follow the suggestions given here from the helpful people about visiting the financial aid office, etc, that things will look better for you. Debt is frightening, but in the end you will end up with a good education and you'll be able to pay it off -- it's a good investment.

Don't worry about comments about "not working hard enough" or planning -- people who don't know you, or who haven't lived through your life experience have absolutely no idea, and perhaps they have learned something about the immigrant experience of many by reading part of your more recent posts? I hope so. You know yourself what is important, and what is "right" for you and your family; don't let others' misinformed or yet-to-be-developed sense of the world and others affect that.

I was in the exact same position as you last year (Eng + Res)! I got $11500 & I still had to pay almost $3000 extra but the good thing is I got $1800 bursary (you apply to that in November I believe).
Advice: Pay everything in the beginning even if you have to take out a loan or something because you will be charged alot of interest (around $80 per month, for me anyways)

Anyways, GoodLuck with that!
&& Welcome to the best faculty on campus

Originally Posted by alyssabriere

... or go to your bank and see if you can get a loan. The banks are sometimes generous to students.

RBC has a line of credit for university students of only 3 or 4%. That's pretty good compared to the 11-19% you will pay elsewhere.

Originally Posted by HeatherH

RBC has a line of credit for university students of only 3 or 4%. That's pretty good compared to the 11-19% you will pay elsewhere.

11-19% ??? What kind of bank offers 11-19% for a line of credit? That's getting kind of scaringly close to credit card interest.

Originally Posted by myster

11-19% ??? What kind of bank offers 11-19% for a line of credit? That's getting kind of scaringly close to credit card interest.

Not only close to, but more. My -highest- credit card rate is 18%

CIBC also has a decent line of credit for students. The payments are interest-only, so if you use the full line of credit ($10,000 for the basic) for the year, it only costs you $40-45 per month, and of course much less if you barely/never use it.

Originally Posted by myster

11-19% ??? What kind of bank offers 11-19% for a line of credit? That's getting kind of scaringly close to credit card interest.

Sorry, I got line of credit mixed up with credit card interest.

Either way, RBC offers good deals for students.