Applying for OSAP

Carleton University Awards & Financial Aid Office

_______________________________________________________________________

What is OSAP?_______________________________________________________________________________

• Ontario Student Assistance Program• Run by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and

Universities (MTCU)• Funded by the provincial and federal

governments• Provides financial assistance to full time

students in the form of loans, grants, scholarships & bursaries

Terms_______________________________________________________________________________

Loan: Money that you borrow; a type of debt. Through OSAP, you are borrowing money from the governments of Canada and/or Ontario. You will need to repay the loan and any interest.

Grant (Bursary): A type of funding you don’t have to pay back. Grants are awarded based on financial need.

Scholarship: A type of funding you don’t have to pay back. Scholarships are awarded based on academic merit.

The Purpose of OSAP_______________________________________________________________________________

• Supplement the financial resources available to you, and your family to meet your educational costs

• Aims to provide equality of opportunity for all Ontario students pursuing postsecondary studies

How Your Financial Need is Determined__________________________________________________________________________________________

•Tuition and compulsory fees•Books & supplies•Equipment•Computer costs•Personal living expenses•Child care•Travel

•Student income•Student’s assets•Parental income OR Spousal income/assets

•Loans•Grants/bursaries•Scholarships

Eligibility Requirements_______________________________________________________________________________

1. Be a Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident, or Protected Person

2. Meet Ontario Residency requirements

3. Be enrolled in an approved postsecondary school

4. Be taking at least 60% of a full course load

Applying for OSAP _______________________________________________________________________________

1. Create an Account2. Start a New Application3. Fill in the Application4. Print your Signature Pages5. Check your Status

1. Creating an Account _______________________________________________________________________________

• You will need to create a new account to get your personal Ontario Access Number (OAN) and create a password

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

NOTE: Once you have been given an OAN, write it down! This number will not change.

2. Starting a New Application_______________________________________________________________________________

• Next, you will login with your OAN and password

• Click;

• Then click; Note: Carefully read through the Application Agreement, your responsibilities, and Applicant’s Declaration before selecting “Agree” and proceeding.

3. The Application_______________________________________________________________________________

a. School you plan to attendb. Program & study period

informationc. Determining eligibilityd. Your Personal Information

e. Your Financial Informationf. Your Parents’ Informationg. Other Aidh. Review & Submit

• There are 8 components to the OSAP application

a./b. School & Program Info._______________________________________________________________________________

a. Enter the name of the postsecondary school you plan to attend

b. Enter your program in “Option 1”Ex. Bachelor of Arts

•On the next page, you will need to select the year of program you are entering•Selecting your program and year will populate study period dates

•Next, fill in your course load (typically 100%) and answer the questions re; disability

c. Eligibility_______________________________________________________________________________

Citizenship Information =

Current Status =

Residency Information =

d. Personal Information_______________________________________________________________________________

• This section of the application will ask for a variety of information, including

o Basic Personal informationo Address and Correspondence

informationo Previous Education informationo Your Living Situationo Release of Personal information

d. Personal Info Cont.______________________________________________________________________

Basic Personal information = name, date of birth, gender and Social Insurance Number

Address & Correspondence = Permanent and Mailing address, preferred language of communication and e-mail address

d. Personal Info Cont._______________________________________________________________________________

Previous Education Information

High School Information

Previous Postsecondary Studies

•If you are graduating this year, the date you will input as the last time you attended high school should be June/11•It is important to put in the correct date, an error here could change your status and eligibility

d. Personal Info Cont._______________________________________________________________________________

Living Situation

Release of Information

•Asks about where you will be living during the summer before school and while you are in school•Your estimated travel expense should reflect the more inexpensive means of travel (Not a first class ticket)

•It is important to read this section carefully before making a decision

e. Your Financial Info_______________________________________________________________________________

• This section of your application is VERY important!

• Read carefully and be accurate. This section, in large part, will help determine your estimate.

• The more accurate you are in this section, the more accurate your estimate will be.

e. Your Financial Info Cont. _______________________________________________________________________________

TIP: Fill out total income for 2011 last. Fill out all other income sections first, it will be easier to calculate your total income for the year once you have calculated your income for the designated periods.

•The first part of this section asks about your total income for 2011, your income during your last semester of high school, and your income during the summer months

•Pay close attention to the dates listed for each question

Pre-Study Income

e. You Financial Info Cont._______________________________________________________________________________

•This section asks about your expected income while you are in school

•Under the “Government Income” section do not include GST, HST, income tax refund etc. Should only include things like;

Canada Pension Plan or Ontario Disability Support Program etc.

•When using these estimates to calculate your total expected income for 2011, keep in mind that the amounts asked for in this section include 4 months of 2012, so calculate the total carefully.

Study Period Income

Parent’s Information_______________________________________________________________________________

• For OSAP purposes, if you have not been out of high school for 4 years, or have dependent children of your own, you are required to include your parents information into your application

What Your Parents Will Need to Do:

1.Have filed their 2010 income tax with Revenue Canada2.Provide you, or help you fill out, personal information regarding their Social Insurance Numbers, family information and income3.Sign Signature and Declaration pages once you submit your application verifying the information provided, pertaining to them, is correct

Note: If your parents have not filed their taxes, or you do not fill in this section, you may not be considered for all grants available through OSAP.

f. Parent’s Info Cont._______________________________________________________________________________

Personal Information

•Depending on your parent’s marital status, one, or both of them will need to help you fill in the following sections.

f. Parent’s Info Cont._______________________________________________________________________________

Income Information•The easiest way to get this information is for your parents to refer to their 2010 Notice of Assessment •It is important for this information to be accurate, it will influence the estimate provided to you after submitting your application and your entitlement

Parental Consent

•Your parents should read this carefully, their income will be verified by Canada Revenue•They will also consent to this when they sign their Signature and Declaration Pages

g. Other Aid_______________________________________________________________________________

• In this section, you will be asked if you would like to be considered for a Queen Elizabeth II Aiming for the Top Scholarship (select YES!)

• You will also be asked if you are a crown ward(HINT: If you aren’t sure what a crown ward is, you probably aren’t one)

QEII/A4T_______________________________________________________________________________

• By checking one box on the OSAP application you apply for this scholarship

• This award is based on academic merit, and is not repayable

• The maximum amount a student can receive is $3500, the minimum is $100

• This scholarship is renewable for a maximum of 4 years

h. Review & Submit_______________________________________________________________________________

• Just like it sounds!• Review the information you have input into

your application• Hit “Submit”• Once you have submitted your application,

you will receive an estimate

Your Estimate_______________________________________________________________________________

• Once you have completed, and submitted your application online, you will receive an estimate; caution.

Estimate: The approximate amount of funding you may be eligible to receive based on the unverified information you have input into your application. This amount is subject to change once official processing, and verification of this information begins

Entitlement: The amount of OSAP you have been approved to receive for the academic year.

Progress Report_______________________________________________________________________________

1. Create an Account2. Start a New Application3. Fill in the Application4. Print your Signature Pages5. Check your Status

Signature Pages_______________________________________________________________________________

• At this point, you have finished filling out to OSAP Application, but it has not been fully submitted until you print your Signature and Declaration Pages and submit them to your postsecondary school

• Listed here will also be Signature and Declaration pages for your parents, and any other supporting documentation you may need to provide

• If anything is listed here, make a note of it, and attach it to your Signature and Declaration pages before mailing, or dropping them off to your postsecondary school

Signature Pages Cont._______________________________________________________________________________

Check Your Status_______________________________________________________________________________

• Keeping updated on the status of your application is important!

• Check the OSAP website, or new OSAP mobile app., and your e-mail.

• Throughout the summer, it is likely that you will be receiving emails about the next step of picking up and processing your loan!

Your Responsibilities _______________________________________________________________________________

Important Notes_______________________________________________________________________________

• There are 5 things you should remember

1. Apply early! Your application can take 8-10 weeks to process

2. When filling out the application, be as accurate as possible and don’t rush

3. Submit your Signature and Declaration pages!4. Check your status5. You have responsibilities! Know them and fulfill them

More information and application available @

osap.gov.on.ca

Presented by Carleton University’s Awards & Financial Aid Office