Canada Student Loan
The Student loans program helps students in financing their education. The Canada student loans program is available for both full time and part time. This program also incorporates the Canada study grants funding for students with disabilities, students with dependants, high-need part time students, and women in certain field of doctoral studies. Student loans in Canada are provided by a joint Federal and Provincial program. The amount of loan eligibility depends on the Provinces where the student resides.
The residence is decided by where the student has lived for the last 12 months consecutively. The student can attend any educational establishment in the country provided both the establishment and the program of students choice are listed by the assistance office in that province. The course the student wish to attend must be listed on the Master list of designated educational institutions. The student has to confirm with the establishment whether it is recognized by the provincial provider and the course choices meet the necessary requirements.
There are several different types of funding or loan for post secondary education. It includes the grants and the bursaries. The funding offered through bursaries is not required to pay back. There are two main types of student loan; they are the Federal and Provincial programs. For applying any of these loans the student has to apply for it starting with the Provincial/Territorial assistance office for the province where the student is a resident. There are several processes that one should consider before applying for a loan. The eligibility is the most important part, the loan applicant (i.e., student) and the course the student wish to attend must meet the criteria laid down.
The eligibility conditions for full-time Canada student loans are the student has to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada with a provincial residential attendance for the last 12 months. The student has to demonstrate to the provincial assistance office that he cannot monetarily cover the educational costs. The student has to be qualified to enroll in at least 60 percent of a full-time course load at a designated post-secondary educational institution. The loan amount however depends on the students financial need up to a maximum cut off cost. And still eligible for Provincial loan programs or scholarships and bursaries. Students with permanent disabilities are also eligible with 40 percent of a full-time course load. The student has to be qualified to attend a study program leading to a degree, diploma or certificate. The program duration must be at least 12 weeks in length within a period of 15 consecutive weeks.
Part time students loan are available to supplement the other financial resources such as the students own earning, spouses earnings, as well as the scholarships and the bursaries. The interest payments on these loans are to be made while the student is studying. Interest relief can also be availed in case if the student income is under certain level. The government will pay for the interest. The eligibility condition for part-time Canada student loans is same as like full-time student, with minor variations. The student has to be qualified in order to enroll in at least 20 to 59 percent of a full-time course load. Students with permanent disabilities are also eligible with 20 to 39 percent of a full-time course load. The low income part time students and students with dependants may also apply for a non-repayable study grants.
The loan offered is also a dependant factor on the personal financial status; the amount assistance needed covering up to 60 percent of the total by the Federal loan system. As on need the provincial system will contribute the remaining 40 percent. The students needs are assessed by the provincial office when he applies for the loan. The Provincial or territorial student assistance office will receive and process the application. This office will establish the amount of the loan that the student is entitled to apply and also will check for the credit history of the student. Once the loan amount is approved then it will be administered by the National student loan service centre through its termination.
To apply for the student loan, the student has to visit the educational institution or the provincial or territorial student assistance office. Depending up on the province where the student resides, the student has to submit the application directly to either the post secondary institution or to the student assistance office. The information materials and the application forms for the Canada student loan program are also available with the financial aid offices at most colleges, universities, admission offices at private and provincial schools. The Canada study grants are administered by the governments will provide assistance to students with permanent disabilities, high need part time students, and women in certain doctoral studies and also for full and part time student loan applicant with dependants finance the student education. This study grant is not required to repay and it is different from student loan.
The main attraction of the student loan is that they have to be repaid only after 6 months of the completion of the course. The interest accrued while the student is doing his course will be taken care by the government. Once the student graduates the education the repayment terms are set. The grace period of 6 months will be given and after that the student is required to pay the interest and the principal amount. The interest rates will be very low during the repayment term. Banks and other finance lending establishments are not involved in offering new loans because the entire funding will be provided by the Federal or Provincial governments. Incase if the student is having difficulty managing and repaying the loans after the course completion, he is eligible for interest relief and in some cases with the debt reduction.
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