OSAP – Ontario Student Assistance Program

• You must be a Canadian citizen, protected person or permanent resident of Canada.
• You must be an Ontario resident (living in Ontario for at least 12 months immediately prior to your study period).
• You must be registered in full-time studies taking at least 60 per cent course load, or 40 per cent for students with a permanent disability.
• You must maintain satisfactory academic progress.
• Your previous OSAP student loans must be in good standing.

You can see an estimate of the amount of funding you could receive using the OSAP aid estimator. The estimate might not reflect the actual amount that you are eligible for. Your actual amount will be based on your completed application.

OSAP aid estimator

Step 1- Start your online application

You'll need your social insurance number to register for your OSAP Access Number (OAN). You'll need an OAN to log in if you're a returning user.
Apply for OSAP as early as possible to allow enough time for processing of your application. You must submit an OSAP application for every school year that you want to receive funding.

• School year starting September 2019, January or May 2020 – OSAP applications are available now.
• School year starting September 2020 – OSAP applications expected to become available in Spring 2020.

Apply for OSAP

Forgot your OSAP password?

Returning users can obtain a new password by visiting the financial assistance office at any public college or university. You'll need to bring your government-issued photo ID and social insurance number (SIN) card.

If you don't have a SIN card, you can provide proof of your SIN in the following ways:

• Photocopy of your SIN card
• Federal government document with your name and SIN (T4, T1 and T5 forms are NOT accepted)

Step 2- Submit required documentation

Required documentation will be listed once you have completed your online OSAP application.

Submit the following required documentation (based on your application) to the Financial Assistance office at George Brown College (in-person, by mail or via document upload link provided on the OSAP application):

• Declaration and signature pages,
• Supporting documentation specific to your file

Master Student Financial Assistance Agreement (MSFAA)

Students who must provide a Master Student Financial Aid Agreement (MSFAA), the  "Required Documents" page will display the following information:

• Your 10-digit MSFAA number.
  • • Date when you can expect an email from the NSLSC with the URL address of the website (this email will be identified as: From: info@msfaa-emafe.cibletudes-canlearn.ca; Subject: Register now to set up your online account)
• where you'll complete the MSFAA online.
• Instructions on how to complete the online process.

Effective May 2018, there is a new 2 step process to complete your MSFAA.

• Step 1: Register online with the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) using your 10-digit MSFAA number
• Step 2: Complete the online MSFAA and accept the terms and conditions

The MSFAA must be completed and submitted electronically.

You can log on to the OSAP website to check the status of your application. Once all documentation has been processed your funding assessment will appear in your account.

Average timelines for document processing are typically 4-6 weeks, but this may vary during peak periods (August/September and December/January).

Please note: should changes in your status (personal, financial, academic) occur, this could impact the amount you are assessed for. Please contact the Financial Assistance Office at George Brown should your status change.

Step 4- Receiving your funding

If your OSAP application is complete and assessed to receive funding, OSAP will ask George Brown's Financial Assistance office to confirm your enrolment to release your funding.  You may notice this as a status on your OSAP application.

Your enrolment will be confirmed automatically after the start of the semester.  You must be registered in a full-time course load (60 per cent or more, or 40 per cent or more for students with an OSAP-verified permanent disability) for your funding to be released. 

On the OSAP application, you were given the option to have OSAP send your funding directly to the college to pay for your tuition.  If you selected this option, after your enrolment has been confirmed by the college a deposit from the National Student Loan Service Centre will be made into your student account at George Brown, available through Stu-View.

If you will be receiving your OSAP funding directly, it can take up to 10 business days, after your enrolment has been confirmed, to be deposited by the National Student Loan Service Centre in your bank account.  If your expected instalment has not been received by your bank in 10 business days after the date of your enrolment confirmation, please contact the National Student Loan Service Centre at 1-888-815-4514.

Funding instalments

• Students in a one-semester study period (September – December only, January – April, only or May – August, only)
  100 per cent of your funding will be released in one instalment.
   
• Students in a two-semester study period (September – April, or January – August)
  Your OSAP funding will be released in two instalments. You'll receive 60 per cent at the beginning of your study period, and 40 per cent in your final semester.
   
• Students in a three-semester study period (September – August)
  Your OSAP funding will be released in two instalments – 60 per cent at the beginning of your study period and the remaining 40 percent in the winter semester.

Please check your status to verify your three-semester study period by logging in to your OSAP account.

If you want to be considered for OSAP funding for the spring/summer semester, please submit a new OSAP 2019-2020 application for that semester by logging into your OSAP account at http://ontario.ca/osap

Step 5- Update your income

Before your second instalment is released you will receive an email prompting you to log in to the OSAP website and complete an income update.

It's your responsibility to report any changes to the information relating to your OSAP application to George Brown's Financial Assistance office.

Some examples include:

• Academic (course load, change in program, withdrawal from program, etc.)
• Financial (income earned, scholarships/bursaries received, etc.)
• Personal (address change, family status, etc.)

These changes could impact your eligibility and assessment amount. Failure to notify OSAP of these changes can affect your OSAP eligibility for the current and future term.

What is interest-free status?

Interest-free status is when you are not expected to make monthly payments on your outstanding loans from OSAP. Maintaining your "interest-free status" means that you do not have to repay your OSAP loan while you're in school, and that the Government of Canada and/or the Province of Ontario will continue to pay the interest on your loan.

Interest-free status is available for students currently enrolled in full-time post-secondary studies.

If you do not keep your loans in interest-free status, you'll be required to start repaying your loan(s) within six months of the end of your last study period.

NEW - Online Continuation of Interest-Free Status (CIFS) application

If you previously received full-time OSAP funding that you are in the process of repaying, you are now required to submit an online CIFS application by logging into your OSAP account.  The old CIFS form will no longer be accepted.

How do I apply for Continuation of Interest-Free Status (CIFS)?

The online CIFS application maintains interest-free status for full-time students who previously received OSAP.

You can submit your online application 15 days prior to the study period start date.

The deadline to submit is 21 days before the study period end date.

You must maintain a minimum full-time course load per term of 60 per cent of more, and 40 per cent for students with permanent disabilities

CIFS records are updated automatically for full-time students receiving OSAP once your school confirms enrolment.

If you're not currently receiving OSAP, but are repaying a previous OSAP loan, and continuing in full-time studies, you will need to complete an online CIFS application.

If you previously received student loans from a province outside of Ontario or previously had part-time student loans including OSAP, a Schedule 2 form will be required to maintain interest-free status.

The first six months after you graduate, finish your studies, or stop being a full-time student is called your six-month grace period.

During this period:

• You don’t need to make any loan payments
• You will be charged interest on the Canada portion of your student loan.
• You will be charged interest on the Ontario portion of your student loan as follows:
  • If you graduate or leave full-time studies before September 1, 2019: You will not be charged interest on the Ontario portion of your loans during your 6-month grace period.
  • If you graduate or leave full-time studies on or after September 1, 2019: You will be charged interest on the Ontario portion of your loan during your 6-month grace period. This interest will be added to your loan balance (“loan principal”).

You start to repay your loan at the end of the seventh month after you leave school.  If your family income is low, you can apply to make reduced monthly loan payments, or no monthly payments at all through the Repayment Assistance Plan.

To learn more about loan repayment visit the National Student Loan Service Centre for more information.

View an on-demand NSLSC orientation webinar

View an on-demand NSLSC repayment webinar