Im not sure if this is true for Mac but i know that when my Brother was at U of T and was paying in installments in January he got a random 4000 dollars grant and a lot of other U of T students that were paying in instalments...or better yet looked as if they had no money cause they hadnt payed yet, got a lot of money from the University. however those that had payed in full or didnt seem like they needed the money only got 500 dollars. So my question is, does McMaster have a similar system where does that SEEM they are in dire need (as in have little money to pay installment plans) do they get the same treatment as my brother did at U of T?

If any upper year students know anything about a possibility or impossibility of this thatd be great.

Originally Posted by Tleilaxu

Im not sure if this is true for Mac but i know that when my Brother was at U of T and was paying in installments in January he got a random 4000 dollars grant and a lot of other U of T students that were paying in instalments...or better yet looked as if they had no money cause they hadnt payed yet, got a lot of money from the University. however those that had payed in full or didnt seem like they needed the money only got 500 dollars. So my question is, does McMaster have a similar system where does that SEEM they are in dire need (as in have little money to pay installment plans) do they get the same treatment as my brother did at U of T?

If any upper year students know anything about a possibility or impossibility of this thatd be great.

I'm going into fourth year and I have yet to get random grants.

Any grants you get from OSAP should be written in the letters you get... busaries are possible, but you need to apply... and as for scholarships (though you don't need to apply to some), you'll likely know if you got them by this time now and not in January...

So the chances of getting anything say at the beginning of Term 2 from the university as just a helping loan to those who are paying in installments is not something that happens out of the blue?

I'm going into third year, and I don't believe that happens at Mac either...But it is definitely worth applying for bursaries. There is an application on MUGSI (opening later) that takes about 30 seconds or less to complete, and you could get some money.

I got a random $400 scholarship last year in November (that I didn't apply for). I had already paid my tuition so I just put all my second semester books on my mac id.

edit: I re-read your post, my scholarship was merit-based not need-based if that makes any difference.