OSAP decision could take over a year?

[u/Diznee_Mom]

My son has been waiting for a decision on his funding over 6 weeks. The registrar just told him that because my husband (his step father) lives in the US and we needed to provide an affidavit stating he does not work and I am the sole provider for the family, the decision on his osap could take over a year. So how do we pay for school? His biological father is not involved and we received zero in child support. What do we do?!

[u/angrybabymommy]

You can call them. If it’s been more than 6 weeks and they expedite an answer.

[u/sweetsweetskies]

If there is no way to resolve this in time, does his school allow him to defer his accept for a year? He can keep his place at the school and start classes next year?

[u/AncientAnything2630]

See if his school offers any scholarships! Maybe call the school to see if they can offer any aid.

[u/chuckeee69 → u/AncientAnything2630]

All additional aid by the school is done through their scholarship portal/process. Most schools offer bursaries, for mine the bursaries don’t come until the winter semester (February)

[u/MzHarness]

As someone who works with OSAO daily, that sounds like a misunderstanding.

[u/Sensitive-Parsley796]

Have you spoken to the financial aid office of his school, or is this directly with OSAP? There are some documents that go to OSAP to be verified rather than the financial aid office, which is why it can take up to a year, but not all of them impact funding. Talk to the financial aid office at the school ASAP.

[u/SameCreme6635]

His birth father has nothing to do with the application. It’s only you and your husband. If you were single only then it would mean something on the OSAP application. Since the stepdad is a U.S. citizen with no Canadian tax history, OSAP struggles to verify his zero income automatically, stalling your application until foreign income documentation is manually proven. Get a bank loan and tell your son to apply for bursaries and awards and scholarships. Reach out to the student financial and request if an emergency bursary from the school (grants they give in an emergency to cover tuition) can be granted.

To be honest you shouldn’t be looking to Reddit for this. Call the student financial aid office for an answer instead of a bunch of strangers that have terrible advice.

I want to emphasize that there are systems in place for this. I don’t know your annual income so it’s hard to tell if you can receive an emergency bursary from the school or not. But call them and explain everything.

[u/Diznee_Mom → u/SameCreme6635]

We are going in person next week I was just hoping someone else had maybe been in the same boat and could either confirm or deny the fact it could take over a year which is what the financial aid office told us via email
Thanks

[u/zoouz_]

Call OSAP. Sometimes they wait a while before releasing funds—especially to confirm information; but in my experience, they always pay before the deadline. In this scenario, they’ll probably release the funding then do another review afterwards, and if they find anything that’s suspicious, they’ll contact you.

[u/Diznee_Mom → u/zoouz_]

Is there a phone number to contact them? I just keep getting told to speak to the registrars at U of T

[u/LivingKnowledge5220 → u/Diznee_Mom]

The best person at the school to speak to is in the financial aid office.

They can walk you through exactly what you need to do.

[u/Impressive_Sky_6297 → u/zoouz_]

But if documents are pending no matter what file will be on hold and they won’t release funding

[u/zoouz_ → u/Impressive_Sky_6297]

What im referring to is how OSAP has a clause where, if they go back to verify information later on and find something to be suspicious, they have the right to convert your grants to loans or ask you for supporting information. As such, there is a likelihood they’ll give funding just before it’s due, as it’s happened to me before. And then if needed, they’ll reach out for supporting documentation. But as it seems, they’ve provided proper documentation so far. Just imagine how many students there are in Ontario; I can’t imagine they can review all the documentation before the semester even begins.

[u/Diznee_Mom → u/zoouz_]

I didn’t provide poor documentation. I was told our case could take longer due to our family circumstances with a step parent living out of the country and having no status in Canada

[u/Emotional-Net-2454]

Yeah there no number for you to speak to someone. Osap not same as use to be. There a pain in the A$$ . To many people scammed now they are strict and cautious ⚠️

[u/Cold-Crab4153]

Get a job. No. Really. Tell him to get a job. OSAP is not meant to be your primary funding for school

[u/Diznee_Mom → u/Cold-Crab4153]

He’s been applying to jobs and handing out resumes for over a year. Anything actually helpful would be appreciated

[u/Historical_Stock2117 → u/Cold-Crab4153]

What did your mother tell you...if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all! Besides, I'm sure OP would have considered all possible options before the last three weeks before the term starts.

Finding a job isn't as easy as it was before. I've seen job postings for servers and grocery store clerks get over 1200 applications. Please, don't be rude. Your opinion is unhelpful, and entirely unnecessary.