Student Loans
When it comes to funding a college or university education, many people cannot afford to do so without using some kind of student loan. Students have a variety of loans to choose from, including Federal programs, private loans from Canadian lending institutions or a combination of the two. The Canada Student Loans Program has been set up to provide Canadians with the assistance they need. The money comes from a combination of the federal and provincial governments, with about 60 percent coming from the Canadian government and the remainder from the province.
There are both student loans and grants available, and it is important to make a distinction between the two—grants do not have to be repaid whereas loans do. The amount available for student loans varies depending on which province you are applying from. In all cases, if you live in a province, you will submit your application to that province.
Spotlight on Student Loans
About Student Loans
In most cases when you submit an application for a student loan to a province you will be assessed at the same time for federal and provincial loans. By submitting your application you will also be assessed for most types of student grant that you may be eligible for. You may wish to do additional research on student grants to ensure that you are getting every possible dollar of assistance that is available to you.
Private loans may also be available from a Canadian financial institution. This is something that you should consider carefully since the interest rates on these types of loans can often be higher than what you would get from your government.
When you get a student loan from the government, you generally do not have to start repaying it until six months after you have graduated. You may be able to apply for a grace period if you are unable to find a job after graduation. If you're having difficulty repaying your loans, it may be wise to look into consolidation. In essence, what you're doing is taking out a new loan to repay multiple loans. This can have the advantage of simplicity, and you may end up paying less interest than you were on the multiple loans.
You should be careful when you consider loan consolidation as in some cases you may end up paying more than you would. It might be easier in the short term to have a lower monthly payment, but it may take you longer to get rid of those student loans.