Maintaining Interest-Free Status and Repaying Your Loan

Interest Free Status

• If you are receiving a Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan for your current year of study, you will receive a Confirmation of Enrollment form with your loan agreements. Once this form has been processed by your post-secondary institution and by the Ministry, the Ministry will electronically inform the National Student Loan Service Centre (NSLSC) and/or your previous lender(s) that you are still in full-time studies.
• If you are returning to full-time status and not taking out another student loan, you must notify the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities that you are currently in full-time studies. The information will then be electronically forwarded to your lender(s) and/or the National Student Loan Service Centre.
• A Continuation of Interest Free Status/Continuation of Enrollment form must be signed by the Student Access Centre on the 1st floor of the Administration Building. For the form click here.
• This form can only be signed for students who are currently in full-time classes.
• The completed form needs to be mailed to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. The Ministry must receive this form within 6 months of the end of your last study period.
• Call the Ministry after two weeks to ensure that they received confirmation of your enrollment.
• Failure to notify your lender(s) of your full-time status can result in your loans entering repayment.

Repayment Obligations

• You are responsible for beginning loan repayment six months after you complete your studies or stop being a full-time post secondary student. However, the interest on your loan accrues from the time you stop being a full-time student. The actual rates and conditions for repayment are set at the time repayment begins.
• Interest Relief is available for students who are temporarily unable to repay their loans because of low income. The Interest Relief Program is designed to help students pay the interest on their loans. Students cannot apply for Interest Relief until they have received a letter from the lender stating that repayment will begin soon (usually 5 months after the end of full-time studies). Interest Relief applications are good for a period of 6 months each. At the end of 6 months students must reapply or begin repayment.

Ontario Student Opportunity Grant

• There is no separate application form for this grant, because the information that you supply on your OSAP application is used to determine your eligibility.
• Students are eligible for a grant if they meet all of the following requirements:
• They negotiated Canada and/or Ontario Student Loan(s) in the current academic year.
• They are entitled to a student loan(s) that exceeds $7,300 for a two-term academic year or $10,950 for a three-term academic year.
• They are enrolled in a full-time program for at least two or three terms, and have completed their academic year. This grant is a form of loan remission, so the grant is not paid directly to students - it is sent to the NSLSC to pay down student loans. OSAP will send students a letter indicating the amount of the grant.

Overpayment

• It is important to note that OSAP assesses students' need and then funds them to the yearly maximum or the assessed need, whichever is lower.
• If students receive on-campus bursary or scholarship assistance, it may affect their OSAP eligibility, especially if all their assessed need was funded.
• Students must report these amounts, since OSAP matches applicant information against tax returns. Students will receive T4s for these funds.
• If students have already received all their loan disbursements for the current year, they may find themselves in overpayment status.
• The first overpayment will be taken off subsequent loan application(s).
• A second overpayment may result in subsequent applications being denied, or the amount of overpayment may be deducted from the subsequent student loan disbursement.
• If students have received a bursary or a grant, they may be required to repay back all or a portion of it.
• Students should report any changes regarding their financial situations and/or course loads to the ministry.