14 Helpful OSAP Tips

Your first OSAP? Read on! (Remember, this all applies to picking up your OSAP paperwork which will not start coming in until early September.)

The Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) consists of the Canada Student Loan (CSL-Schedule 1) and the Ontario Student Loan (OSL-Form A). To receive a CSL or OSL your course load must be at least 60% of a full course load. CSL arrives in September and OSL arrives in January. The CSL usually represents 60% of your OSAP entitlement and the OSL represents 40%.

14 Important Points
After you have picked up your first OSAP, here are 14 things you should know:

1) Your loan documents are not delivered at your registrar's office until you have fully finished the application, including handing in signature pages or any extra documentation OSAP may require from you. So expect delays if you did not provide these immediately after finishing the online portion of your application.

2) When you come to pick up your loan installments from the registrar's office, you must bring student ID, your Social Insurance Number Card and one other piece of government-issued photo ID, like a health card, driver's license, passport etc.

3) Have also with you a void cheque or a printout of your bank account information, as your next stage of processing the loans will involving setting up a direct deposit of loan (and/or grant) monies to your account. This is by far and away the best option: it gets the money the fastest to you, so you can deploy the loans for tuition/expenses as you see fit.

4) You have 30 days to process your loan documents at designated Postal Outlet and negotiate (cash) your OSAP loan after picking your loan documents from your College. The loan document(s) will not be accepted after 30 days from the date signed on the document(s). If you past the 30 days deadline, you are required to bring the loan documents back to the Registrar's Office for confirmation of registration again.

5) Keep safe your copy of documents. It will let you re-read the conditions and specifications of the Loan Certificate(s) and keep track of the money you have received, in case any mistakes are made.

6) Put some money towards your tuition fees -- but be careful not to automatically pay it all with your first installment. Since you receive only a portion of your OSAP in September, if you pay down all your tuition, you may run the risk of not having enough to carry you to January. As a starting point, see if you can pay 2/3 of your tuition fees, the equivalent of the minimum first payment. In the end, though, your goal is to pay before 15 November as much as you can afford, and do the rest in January. You may not eliminate the service charges that U of T levvies starting 15 November (1.5% then and on the 15th of every month thereafter) but you will minimize it.

7) It is your responsibility to inform the Ministry of Treaining, Colleges and Universities of any changes in your financial, academic, family and/or study period status. You may do this by notifying Admissions and Awards at 315 Bloor Street West in writing or filling out an OSAP Update of Student's Financial Information form available in the Registrar's Office. Please note that changes may affect the amount of funding you are entitled to receive.

8) Pick up your remaining 40% of your OSAP in January at the Innis College Office of the Coordinator of Student Services and Registrar. Again bring your three pieces of I.D. with you.

9) OSAP requires that students be making satisfactory academic progress in order to continue to be eligible for funding. Recipients must successfully complete 60% of a full course load (40% for students with a permanent disability). Failure to meet this criteria will lead to OSAP probation. Subsequent failure will lead to a loss of OSAP funding. For further information please check in with Admissions & Awards.

10) Apply for OSAP in March if you plan to attend the Summer Session. Summer OSAP Forms will be available in the Registrar's Office.

11) To maintain interest-free status you must be enrolled in a required minimum course load. The required minimum course load during the Fall/Winter academic year is 60% for CSL and 60% for OSL. If you are not receiving OSAP or if your OSAP is coming late in a session you can maintain interest-free status by completing a "Schedule 2" found at the Registrar's Office, and then take the competed form to Admissions & Awards.

12) Updated information about OSAP can be obtained at Admissions and Awards, located at 172 St. George St. You can also visit these Web pages at: http://canlearn.ca/ for CSL and http://osap.gov.on.ca for OSL.

13) The Innis College Registrar's Office does not share the same database with OSAP. If you change your address with one office, remember to change it with the Ministry as well. You may change your U of T address on the Web at www.rosi.utoronto.ca and your OSAP address at http://osap.gov.on.ca

14) Know your responsibilities. You can come to your Registrar's Office with questions for the Financial Aid Officer (registrar.innis@utoronto.ca, 416-978-2513) or to Admissions & Awards for OSAP-related questions (Ask us if you have any questions.