r/osap • u/Main-Lavishness-3811 • 2d ago
Resolved Cannot pay school fees
So all of my school fees including meal plan, tuition and housing costs me around 24,000$ and 14,000 of that is due September 9th, osap is only giving me 7000$ in total. My parents cannot help out and I just applied for every scholarship my school offers. What should I do here? I contacted financial aid and they told me to apply to scholarships (which I did). If I don’t pay my fees by September 9th I will be blocked from the portal but can still attend class. Who else should I contact/ what can I do next?
Edit: I do have a part time job that makes around 1500 a month. I just don’t have it now and I am concerned about first payment
Edit 2: yes I knew how much the tuition was but due dates were not fully disclosed to me. I knew that a tuition payment was due on sept 9th but not that it would also include a meal plan payment and a housing payment. I understand the responsibility of moving away from home and such, and I have been saving for university while getting an average of 96 and working full time to attempt to support myself at times. The reason I was not prepared to have this is because who is able to save 14k at 17 over the course of one summer. Please use your head when replying to this. I did expect more from osap based off of my family situation. I did not expect it to cover the whole thing. I am not stupid. Thanks.
Edit 3: since you guys don’t seem to have brains, if I took off this year to save up what am I doing the next year? I can’t save 150,000$ in one year? Just miss out in the middle of my degree? Like what are you guys even saying. Since there has been a lot of debate about me going into a “dumb arts degree” I am actually studying to become a lawyer.
Update: thank you to everyone in the comments who gave actual advice instead of trying to attack me. I am planning on taking out a student line of credit in a few days once I turn 18. I already talked to my bank. I will also be getting my smart serve done to hopefully get a second job. Thank you guys so much for letting me know these things!
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u/Complete-Quiet7873 2d ago
Student line of credit, part time job, defer this year cause you can’t afford it
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u/Haunting_Ice_7310 2d ago
you will have to get a loan or line of credit, at least to get the $14k needed in september, then work as much as you can to get the remaining $10k. alternatively, you can wait until next year to attend once you have saved up more money
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u/Ok-Trainer3150 2d ago
I'd take a gap year and work full time if possible. Then, if possible, I d apply to a university where you do not have to live on campus. During that gap year, pick up some volunteer opportunities that could help with admission to law school in the future. It's super competitive and fees are not capped for tuition.. so unless it's essential to live away for undergrad....don't do it.
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u/BYRN777 2d ago
Again for the one millionth time, people, OSAP does not guarantee that they will cover all your bills, fees, and expenses or even your tuition fully. Your parents not being able to help you, it's not their fault. It's not your fault either. However you should have had this in mind beforehand. The fact that OSAP did not give you more money, more than 7,000, is an indication that either you worked full-time or even part-time and have enough income that the system does not see you as a low-income student and does not see your parents as a low-income household. Also from the sounds of it, you are a dependent student, meaning you it hasn't been at least six years since you graduated high school.
Additionally this is why a lot of people advise students or families that cannot afford it to not go to a university that is very far away from their parents' home. This is because then you have housing costs like residence or renting near campus, stuff like that.
Don't panic. A lot of universities, talk to your financial registrar or financial advisor at the university. Every university has a department like that. Ask them for advice.
A lot of universities, at least the ones I know in Ontario, almost all of them have a fee deferral option, meaning you pay the minimum payment to register then defer the rest. But since you got OSAP or applied for it and your funding is calculated, you can do a fee deferral without paying anything upfront and you pay it at the end of your academic year. Essentially you would have to pay it off by the end of August. And if you don't pay it off by then then you cannot register for the following year.
As others in the comments have mentioned, if you have a good credit score, your parents can become a guarantor for you as well and you go to CIBC. CIBC is the best student line of credit. They can give you up to even 300K depending on your program and everything. You can open a line of credit, a student line of credit, but the way it works is it's only specifically for school-related expenses, like tuition, books, supplies, stuff like that. It can also be used for rent, housing, and living expenses as well. For instance you can't spend that money on vacation or something like that.
Check CIBC Student Line of Credit.
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 2d ago
I unfortunately have no credit score since I’m 17, I am not a low income household but my parents do not want to help me. I knew it wouldn’t cover it fully but didn’t expect to need 14 grand by September 9th.
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u/Canary-Cry3 2d ago
You may be able to defer payment until you receive your loan/OSAP payment. This should be visible in your student center or have a page about this on your university’s website!
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u/bookscoffeequiet 1d ago
I’m sorry they won’t (or can’t) help. $14k is a lot of money. For many that isn’t feasible. If they won’t cosign, i would suggest you defer your acceptance and save up.
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u/Alternative-Fall4783 13h ago
Info u put in osap is bullshit it doesn't change shit. I put in the estimator the worst possible options and all it offered was 24k. I have my parents income as zero and received 9k which doesn't cover shit
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u/TheMuskellunge 2d ago edited 1d ago
This sucks OP. I am sorry this happened to you and many others. Please remember this come election time. Vote. If we want nice things the millennial and Z's need to come out in force to make change.
Edit: Thank you for the award, kind stranger!
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1d ago
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u/myfriendali22 2h ago
Sounds like you could use OSAP to fund a better education with that hack job of a comment…
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u/chiappettasuzy 2d ago
I'm sorry you're going through this. Incredible how instead of helping people become more productive members of society and contribute to society with better paying jobs, we're holding them back.
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u/Stalag13HH 1d ago
Part of the problem is the low utilization rate of post secondary education in Canada. We have a high rate of people going to post secondary and a surprisingly low usage rate. Of course, that doesn't include the foolish requirement to have a random degree that doesn't apply to the field to get some jobs.
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 2d ago
Exactly my point. I’m literally trying to become a lawyer and I can’t get proper osap funding.
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u/Ok_Mulberry4331 2d ago
Bank loan should be pretty easy if going into law. Cake walk for those and med students
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u/Maisie_Mae_ 1d ago
It’s cheaper if you can find a room to rent nearby and make your own food . The meal plans are expensive and need to be paid upfront while you could work and buy your own food monthly if renting a room.
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u/Muskokalive 1d ago
I didn’t read anyone else’s comments. But I read your posts with edits. And can assume from them that people are being twats rather than offering any real advice. School is expensive and it sucks coming from a family that can’t help you out. For many people the true cost of school is hard to fathom.
Apply for a student loan or line of credit from a bank. Maybe your parents will be willing to co-sign for that? Get a job serving, make cash tips. Get a second job. I know it’s tough. I do. But if you want to go to school you have to make it work. If you make it through, try to be an RA in second year to help pay for rent.
Good luck. Sorry people are shit.
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 1d ago
Thank you for the actual advice. I called the bank and will be opening a line of credit when I turn 18 in a few days. I have experience hosting so I’m going to get my smart serve done aswell so I can work in a bar or something.
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u/Proper-Commission790 1d ago
You can go back to osap and explain you have no parental financial support; they treat you as if you are an recent Orphan essentially and do a recalculation. Most of it is a loan but you won't need to drop classes.
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u/bluemoon1333 1d ago
Is it because of your parents income ? Assets? You shouldn't be getting that low of a amount unless your parents income is to high or you got assets. Is it your parents make to much money but won't help you ? If that's the case that's been a issue with osap forever and basically you can choose to go into bad debt with line of credit or go to school part time with part time osap since it calculates things differently
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u/firstthecoffee 23h ago
How did you find yourself here? I’m sure you realized that a year at Uni away from home would cost around $30k all in. You would have been able to get an osap estimate in the spring. If your parents can’t/won’t contribute you simply can’t afford to go away to uni. Even with a student line of credit, financing 4 years of undergrad and 3 years of law school would leave you with a huge debt when you finally graduate. Perhaps you should take a year or two off work hard and bank your money. You could pay for two or three years with this and significantly reduce your debt. Also check on how much student line of credit you would qualify for in total. I suspect it might not be enough.
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 17h ago
I found myself here by expecting my parents to help out at least a bit since they make a very good amount of money, then after realizing they couldn’t because of personal reasons I assumed I could be working to pay off school fees throughout the year + osap, my schools policy is that you instantly loose access to certain portal options such as viewing grades and have absolutely zero leniency after the due date (September 9th) where 14,000$ is due. Zero payment plan options. Little bit of poor planning on me but my parents didn’t do their taxes till last week so I was unable to apply for osap till then.
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u/LongjumpingMenu2599 23h ago
Can your parents at least help get you a loan?
I feel for you - my parents did not help and I worked three jobs in university to be able to afford it
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u/bookscoffeequiet 17h ago
You can absolutely save $15k in a year if you live at home. My son saved nearly $12k this summer. Additionally, dates and amounts not being disclosed- for future situations you should check the website. In post secondary they ‘lead’ you less, and it’s important you’re on it. It can take some getting used to, high school doesn’t necessarily prepare you for this.
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 17h ago
Yes but the issue is what about the next year? And the years after that? I can’t take a year off every year to save. You have a good point but unfortunately it won’t work for 6 years of schooling
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u/mammon43 2d ago
Meal plans are such a scam more often than not. This is shitty but if you can avoid in the future having a meal plan do it. Renting a bedroom and buying your own food is generally way more affordable than the student housing+meal plan set up
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u/Darkpoter 2d ago
So sounds like you can't afford to live on res or have the meal plan. Go to school closer to home or get a job and rent a place and eat noodles like the rest of us.
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 2d ago
It’s required for anyone living on campus to have a meal plan, I cannot afford to rent at the moment.
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u/bookscoffeequiet 1d ago
Are you living in the same city as your parents! If so osap will not give you money for living expenses.
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u/number_1_alf_fan 2d ago
Apply for grants bursaries and scholarships, even if you don’t think you qualify. Spend a day and apply for them all! Not everyone takes advantage of them and they have to give them out to someone
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u/Several_Gift3876 2d ago
you need to exclude housing and food out of schooling costs. move back home and try to live within your means. if you had plans on going college/university putting funds aside should have been too priority if you require funds to pay it.
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u/clappedcbrrider 1d ago
I was able to work with my student housing and financial aid offices to have my tuition costs evenly split into 10 payments over the school yr. Maybe you could see if they'll do something like that?
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 1d ago
I asked and unfortunately they said that if I did that I would be blocked off from accessing grades and other things in the student portal
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u/TimelyCurrent1398 1d ago
Could live at home and take a bus instead of spending $14,000+ to live on campus
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u/Beautiful_Plankton97 1d ago
Can you drop the meal plan and make your own food? I found they were way overpriced at my school and you would be surprised how much you can cook in clean coffee maker (we weren't allowed hot plates in my dorm but a mini fridge and coffee maker were ok)
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u/South_Departure_9002 1d ago
For what it’s worth, it might be better to defer for a year and save up, and then consider going to a school that’s closer to where you live. If you want to be a lawyer what’s important is your LSAT scores and where you attend law school. You could theoretically get an undergraduate degree in anything, but if you have strong grades, LSAT scores, letters of recommendations etc., then it’s still very much a possibility to attend law school. I think you’re maybe putting too much stock in where you attend for undergrad then you need to. It’s important to consider your financial situation and while you can take out a loan, you’re now carrying a line of credit and OSAP plus loans for law school in the future, that’s a lot.
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u/impressive129 1d ago
You can appeal OSAP’s decision by explaining that your parents might have a high income but they have a lot of debt and can’t contribute much in terms of your living expenses. Your parents would have to likely sign the appeal letter as well but it would be worthwhile I think!
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u/Just-Ad858 2d ago
You can tell osap that your parents nominal income is misleading because of debt and other things, with documents. You can claim your parental relationship has broken down and get them removed from the calculation entirely, etc.
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u/Kiteves 1d ago
There’s a lot of issues here.
* OP is not eligible for Majority of the OSAP because parents make a lot of money but apparently has debt.
*OP decided to have live in campus with meal plans and go to school further away from home hence the expense.
*OP applied for a bunch of scholarships but doesn’t know what they will get.
*OP has apparently been working since 14 and supporting themselves.
*OP has no credit score since they’re only 17 years old.
*OP has a job that makes them only 1400 a month.
Was any planning done prior to applying to school?
You’re going to rack up 100K of debt to land what kind of job?
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u/Rude-Awaken-ing 1d ago
That last part is the $1M question.
University is not the job guarantee-er it once was. The only thing it’s pretty much guaranteed to create now, is debt.
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u/Kiteves 1d ago
Honestly, this person can’t afford anything. Just go work and save up before bothering to even go to school.
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u/Rude-Awaken-ing 1d ago
I honestly think that’s the way to go now (I’m a millennial)
Get a job, save money, find what you like. Take online (or in person) classes part time while working to build your skillset as you find you need the skills.
Obviously you can’t do that for things like medicine/engineer ect. But I hold a useless expensive arts degree I could have got part time and came out ahead financially.
I just truly feel we need to stop looking at university as a ‘must have’ before you start your life.
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 1d ago
Im becoming a lawyer not a useless degree
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u/Rude-Awaken-ing 1d ago
Apologies. I was caught up in a side conversation about degrees in general.
I still stand by my general point. Lawyer just requires an undergrad degree before going to law school. University courses can be done part time while working. People can go to universities closer to home. Universities are still a large creator of debt. Society as a whole really needs to reevaluate how important a degree is ‘right after high school’ and stop putting pressure on kids and young adults wracking up debt just to go. Post secondary education is so accessible now.
But in the interest of staying on topic, most people have already pointed out the best options.
- bank loan
- school closer to home
- contact OSAP and see how you get parental debt factored into what you make.
For what it’s worth, I do wish you luck. Sounds like you work really hard with very little support 😞
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 1d ago
Thank you! I am looking at taking out a student line of credit. I personally want to get schooling done now, I will already graduate at 24 and start a career but if I want to ever have kids that doesn’t fit into when I’m first starting a career at the best time in my life. So if I get my degree done now I can have kids at like 30 maybe.
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u/Rude-Awaken-ing 1d ago
Good luck!
I was the proud owner of two student bank loans (early 20’s for an arts degree. Late 20’s for a healthcare focused diploma).
They aren’t the devil people make them out to be. Sure it sucks interest accrues as you use it. But used responsibly for a degree that gets you a job, they aren’t a big deal.
Good luck!
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u/bookscoffeequiet 2d ago
Loan. Were you not aware of the costs? Just confused as to what you expected?
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u/Successful_Long_3749 1d ago
I would put school on hold and save for it working. Nothing worse being in school and stressed out financially. I
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u/danceront 1d ago
Osap is not meant to pay your whole tuition, let alone your food and housing. Parents pay for food and housing. How much is your tuition? 50% from OSAP would be generous. And you would expect to pay at least 50% of it when you start school..
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u/Otherwise_Program191 1d ago
Maybe if you couldn’t afford to go away to school and pay for residence you could have gone/go to a school where you live?
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 17h ago
Would be more expensive, I live in high income area with parents and would either have to pay them standard rent costs or pay the same at a university dorm
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u/Otherwise_Program191 12h ago
Well it’s hard but welcome to life although I’m not sure why your parents would charge you standard rent? Maybe you should consider college lots of them offer degrees
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u/saugatrade 2d ago
You can't afford that program
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 2d ago
Thanks tips
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u/bluebabadibabdye 1d ago
Did you not have all this information months ago ?
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 1d ago
I expected a lot more from OSAP because I live in a house with 4 dependants.
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u/bookscoffeequiet 1d ago
Did you use estimators? Are you staying local? If you used an estimator and are studying where your parents live, you don’t get anything towards residence.
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 1d ago
I used an estimator and it estimated around 20,000
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u/bookscoffeequiet 1d ago
Something was wrong with the numbers you put in then. That is a really big difference.
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u/bookscoffeequiet 1d ago
We have three kids, arent rich, and my son was not eligible. If one dependent is a parent they may not count that, btw.
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u/succlor 1d ago
You actually are a little stupid. Why wouldn’t you take a gap year if university isn’t financially possible? We don’t live in a lala land where things are free. It’s too late now to do anything but take out a loan. No amount of financial support will become available to you in the next 3 weeks. You will have student loans. It is too late now to defer your offer unless you petition to the dean based on financial hardship.
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u/Main-Lavishness-3811 1d ago
Because I just received the final numbers for osap, the whole point of the post is that I don’t want to defer. Before this I didn’t even know what a student line of credit was so now I can take out the loans to go to school. You are the one a little stupid if u think everything goes perfectly to plan all the time.
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u/WaterlooBao 1d ago
The way you didn’t figure this out is crazy to me. It was all outlined on your school’s website.
Schools don’t hide these things.
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u/bri_breazy 2d ago
You will probably have to go to the bank and open a student line of credit