Loans
The loan is interest-free to pay for post secondary education as long as the student remains a full-time student (at a recognized institution) - the interest is paid by the government.
Loan repayment usually begins 6 months after the student ceases to be a (full-time) student. Loans are consolidated through the National Student Loan Centre. Interest paid on the loan(s) is prime rate + 2.5%, provided the payments are made on time.
To be eligible, the student must be either a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person and have resided in the province of Ontario for at least 12 consecutive months for when that person was not a postsecondary student. There is an ongoing debate in Canada in regards to how student loans adversely affect young people's financial situation upon graduation and reforming student loans.
High School students who apply for the Ontario Student Assistance Program have the option of being considered for the Queen Elizabeth II Aiming for the Top scholarship. The scholarship is granted to students who demonstrate excellent academic standing at the high school level. The scholarship is provided yearly to those students who received it as long as they maintain the criteria for the academic standing required. This scholarship has been discontinued from the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year. All high school students who entered a post-secondary program in 2012 or later cannot receive this scholarship.
Read more about this topic: Ontario Student Assistance Program
Famous quotes containing the word loans:
“The contented and economically comfortable have a very discriminating view of government. Nobody is ever indignant about bailing out failed banks and failed savings and loans associations.... But when taxes must be paid for the lower middle class and poor, the government assumes an aspect of wickedness.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908)