Financial Aid at Fanshawe

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OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program)

Many students by now will have already received their Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) money and have started putting it towards their tuition, rent, and other expenses. It is important that students fully understand how OSAP works to avoid issues in the future. This is a guide to what you should know about OSAP and important things to keep in mind. First off, there is still a chance to apply to the full-year (fall and winter terms) or just the winter term. The deadline for these two applications is Feb. 26, 2019. OSAP will start confirming winter term enrolment in mid December and students should expect their funds at the beginning of January. For those who have already received 60 per cent of their OSAP funding, you will get the remaining 40 per cent of the funds at the beginning of the winter term. OSAP funding is divided into two portions - grants and loans. A grant is money that you do not need to pay back and a loan is money that you will need to pay back once you finish school. Keep in mind that grants could become a loan for reasons such as withdrawing from the program, if you stop taking the minimum course load, drop courses or have an unreported income. It is important that you communicate with OSAP when there are changes to your finances or education. You must report a reduced course load, change of program or institution, change in financial information, change in marital status or if you no longer want the funding. There is the option of opting out of the loan and only receiving the grant and you can decide later on if you would like to opt back in for the loan. Once you are out of school your OSAP loan starts to gain interest. Full time students automatically get interest free status on their loan for the duration of their studies. If you did not apply for OSAP this year but you have in the past make sure you apply for interest free status while you are still in school. This can be done on the OSAP website by filling out the Continuation of Interest Free Status form. Part time students can receive interest free status by filling out the Canada Student Loan Program Confirmation of Enrolment Schedule Two form located on the OSAP website. Students must start paying back their OSAP six months after graduation or leave school. During the six month grace period you will not be charged interest on the Ontario portion of the loan but you will be charged interest on the Canadian portion. You pay back your loan to the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC), not OSAP. When the six months is over an interest rate of one per cent begins on the Ontario portion and 2.5 per cent on the Canadian portion. You will receive a repayment package upon leaving school that will outline your number of payments, date of first payment and the interest rates used to calculate your payment. Your payments are based on a nine and a half year schedule but you can make payments at any time to repay your loan faster. If you own or co-own a new business in Ontario or work for or volunteer with a not-for-profit organization you can extend your grace period by an additional six months. You can also apply for repayment assistance or extend your monthly payments to 14.5 years if you are having difficulties repaying your loan. To learn more about OSAP visit osap.gov.on.ca.

Scholarships

Scholarships are usually cash prizes that are awarded to students based on academic achievement, community or college involvement, leadership skills, communication skills or awarded based on a student's involvement in a specific association, club, city of residence or program. Fanshawe offers a number of scholarships each semester. Students fill out a general application that will be used for all of the scholarships you apply to and each scholarship may require you to answer additional questions. To search and apply for scholarships visit fanshawec. academicworks.com.

Bursaries

Students who demonstrate financial need can apply for a number of bursaries offered by Fanshawe. In addition to financial need, some bursaries take into account a student's extra-curricular involvement, grade point average (GPA) and citizenship. One of the bursaries available to students demonstrating financial need is the work-study program. Students who qualify for the work-study program can apply to specific on campus jobs and will be approved for eight to 10 hours during full time studies and 35 hours during the summer semester. To search and apply for bursaries visit www.fanshawec.ca/bursaries.

To learn more you can visit the financial aid and awards office located in E2020 or call 519-452-4280.