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Financial aid for Canadian students is available through the Canada Student Loan Program and the student loan program of each provincial government. A student receives both loans per semester of university or college. The student aid office of each province has the application that you need to fill out and they are also available at each provincial government’s website. You only need to fill out one application to apply for both student loans.

Students under the age of 21 are considered to be dependent students and therefore have to include the parents’ income on the application form. You do not have to remit the parent’s income tax return for the previous year, but your parents have to sign the form giving the student aid office permission to request information from Revenue Canada. You have to fill out your work history for the past four years and report any monies you expect to receive while you are attending school.

The applications for student loans for an academic year starting in September are available in June and you apply for the two semesters at a time. When your course extends into the spring semester, you have to submit another application in February to make sure you have funding in place for the start of the semester. You can submit your application electronically or send it in the mail and you will receive a post card telling you the date it was received at the office. Within four to six weeks, you will receive a letter informing you of the amount of loan that you qualify for.

If you apply for a loan to attend a technical or private college, you have to submit a form from the college detailing the costs of tuition and books. For universities, you do not have to submit this form. If you work in the summer months, you have to submit a confirmation of income in October to tell whether the amount you estimated on the application was correct. If you reported less on your application, it could result in having a corrected assessment for the winter semester.

All disbursements are handled by the National Student Loan Center. The amount of tuition is deducted from your loan when you receive it at the beginning of each semester. Then you deposit the rest of the loan into your bank account to be used for educational expenses.