Government Student Loans
Full-Time Government Student Loan
Application Process for Full-time Government Student Loan
Tuition & Book Costs
Receiving Your Funding
How will I receive my funds?
How long will it take before I receive my money?
Full-time status for Alberta & Canada Government Student Loans is defined as studying at a minimum of 60% of a full course load. At RDC this normally translates to enrollment in a minimum of 3 post-secondary courses and 9 academic credits for terms of 4 months in length.
Note: Some provinces require a minimum of 80% of a full-course load. If you are unsure of your required course load contact the Student Funding & Awards Office.
If you (and/or your parents or spouse) do not have enough money to cover your living and education expenses, it may be necessary to borrow money. The federal and provincial governments provide financial aid in the form of loans and grants on the basis of demonstrated financial need. Financial need is calculated by looking at a student's Allowable Expenses (ie. rent, utilities, food, tuition etc.) and minusing their Assessed Resources (ie. savings, parental/spousal contribution, RRSP's, part-time earnings etc.).
Goverment loans have several unique features because they are designed specifically for students:
- Loans are interest free (i.e. you won't have to make payments) as long as you remain a full-time student.
- At the end of your program you may also qualify to have the Alberta government repay a portion of your Alberta Loan for you if your total debt load exceeds pre-set maximum debt levels. For more information, visit the Government of Alberta website.
- You may qualify for provincial and/or federal grants. Grants do not need to be repaid if you remain in full-time studies for the period for which you are funded.
Because of these features, government student loans are considered a social program and not all students are eligible. Students are expected to contribute to their own education and utilize other resources available to them.
You will apply for your student loan through your province of residency. Normally residency is defined as the last province where you spent 12 consecutive months and were not a full-time student. Other issues such as how long you have been out of high school, the residency of your parents or spouse etc. can also impact which province is considered your province of residence for student loan purposes. Be sure to read the residency criteria on the loan application carefully.
Application forms for most provinces are available from the Student Funding & Awards Office. Choose your province of residency for more information on application procedures and eligibility criteria.
Alberta
Student Loan Applications for the 2010/2011 academic year are available from the Student Funding & Awards Office or your local Career Development Centre. The online application is available at www.alis.alberta.ca/apply.
The on-line application form should only be used by students who are not required to submit additional information such as extra rent costs or childcare etc. with their application.
Helpful Hints for Completing your Application and Maximizing your Funding
Living Costs: Compare your costs with the government budgets (listed below)
If your actual costs are higher than the government figures and you wish to request funding for your extra costs:
- DO NOT apply on line. You must submit a paper application.
- You must attach supporting documentation (i.e. receipts) to your application form.
Note: Submission of documentation regarding your exceptional expenses does not guarantee that these additional costs will be included in your assessment.
- If your actual costs are higher but you do not wish to request funding for your extra costs:
a) You may apply either on-line or on a paper application.
b) You are not required to submit any additional documentation with your application.
SINGLE STUDENT
| Expenses |
Single at home |
Single not at home |
One child |
Two children |
Three children |
| Rent & utilities |
$0 |
$429.00 |
$840.00 |
$1035.00 |
$1230.00 |
|
Food, clothing, personal care & local transportation
|
$432.00 |
$512.00 |
$870.00 |
$1124.00 |
$1378.00 |
| Total |
$432.00 |
$941.00 |
$1710.00 |
$2159.00 |
$2608.00 |
MARRIED/COMMON-LAW STUDENT
| Expenses |
No children |
One child |
Two children |
Three children |
Four children |
| Rent & utilities |
$812.00 |
$1007.00 |
$1202.00 |
$1397.00 |
$1592.00 |
| Food, clothing, personal care & local transportation |
$1192.00 |
$1446.00 |
$1700.00 |
$1954.00 |
$2208.00 |
| Total |
$2004.00 |
$2453.00 |
$2902.00 |
$3351.00 |
$3800.00 |
Note: Government budgets allow $75/month/child or actual child care costs if receipts are submitted.
If you are registered in your courses:
- Use your actual Tuition & Fee costs. These are available on your RDC Student Account.
- Use the Program Cost Estimates for your Book costs if you are taking the maximum recommended course load for your program. Or calculate $160.00/course if you are taking less than 100% of a full-course load.
If you are not registered in your courses yet:
- Use the Program Cost Estimates for your tuition, fees, books & supplies if you plan to take the maximum recommended course load for your program.
- If you are not planning on taking a full-course load you can estimate your tuition by calculating the number of billing credits for each of your planned courses and multiplying the billing credits by $108 to determing your tuition, and by $4.25 to calculate your Student Association Fees.
- You'll also need to add $22/term for Activity and Wellness fees, and include $256 for Students' Association Health and Dental fees if you don't have other coverage.
Checking the Status of Your Funding Application
Most provinces offer on-line access to check the status of your funding application. You will require your SIN, Date of Birth, Student Identification number and in some cases application number (British Columbia). Choose your province:
Checking the Status of Your Funding Application
Most provinces offer on-line access to check the status of your funding application. You will require your SIN, Date of Birth, Student Identification number and in some cases application number (British Columbia). Choose your province:
Notice of Assessment (NOA)
Once your application is processed you will receive a Notice of Assessment in the mail. Your Notice of Assessment is important. It will state the amount and type of funding you have been approved to receive. It will also provide the disbursement date for any loans and/or grant cheques-this is the date you can expect to receive these.
When you receive your NOA, it's a good time to check your finances to make sure that your funding is sufficient to cover your costs for the whole time you're in school.
A quick way to figure out your monthly "salary" is to use this formula:
Total Funding - Tuition and Books/Number of Months in School
- Step 1: Total amount of funding minus what it will cost you for Tuition and Books
- Step 2: Now divide the amount that you got from Step one by the number of months you'll be in school this year. ie Sept - April = 8 months.
This is the amount you will have to live off of each month. For information on developing a spending plan and reducing your expenses click here.
If you are worried you won't have enough money contact the Student Funding & Awards Office to discuss your options. You may be eligible to receive additional government funding.
Confirmation of Enrollment: Student Loan Signing
Before you can receive your money, your school must Confirm your Enrollment.
During this part of the process the Student Funding & Awards Office confirms the information that you put on your loan application. We do this by signing and dating your loan documents.
We check:
- That you are registered full-time for the entire period that you indicated on your loan application and
- That you are taking the same program that you put on your loan application
We will also pay tuition directly from your loan during this process. For more information on paying tuition from your loan visit How to Pay.
NEW: There are two ways your loan can be signed:
- Electronic Confirmation (some Alberta Residents)Alberta students with electronically signed loans, called “confirmed loan agreements”, will not be required to come to RDC to have their forms signed.
Note: To be one of these lucky students make sure that you are registered full-time for each term that you applied for funding. Ie. September – April means you need to be full-time for Fall and Winter.
- In person Loan Signing (all out of province students and some Alberta residents). Alberta and out of province students who are not eligible to be processed through our new electronic service will receive "unconfirmed loan agreements" in the mail.
If you fall into this category you will need to bring your documents to the Student Funding & Awards Office in person to have your loan signed. See unconfirmed certificates below for details.
If I am an Alberta Resident how do I know if I need to bring my loan to the College or not?
- Step 1: Your loan certificates will be mailed to your home address.
- Step 2: Check your loan certificate to determine if it has been electronically confirmed.
Electronically Confirmed (Signed) Certificates
- If the Authorized Signature and Date Signed are pre-printed on your document it means your loan has been electronically signed.
- A tuition amount may also be pre-printed on your loan. This portion of your loan will be paid to RDC for your tuition.
IMPORTANT: a pre-printed amount does not guarantee that your tuition is paid in full, check your RDC Student Account to determine if you have any additional charges to take care of.
- If you wish to make changes to the pre-printed tuition amount you will be required to bring your documents to the Student Funding & Awards Office to be re-signed by an Authorized Official.
- If you do not wish to make changes to the requested tuition amount, follow the instructions in your package to cash your loan through a designated postal outlet or kiosk at RDC. You will require photo id, SIN card and bank information.
Unconfirmed (unsigned) Certificates
- a) If the Authorized Signature and Date signed are not pre-printed on your loan certificate, you must have your loan documents signed by an Authorized Official in the Student Funding & Awards Office at RDC.
You will require:
- Photo id
- SIN card or government documentation that shows your name and SIN number (ie. your Income Tax Assessment, GST assessment). You can’t use your student loan document or notice of assessment to fulfill this requirement
- Bank information (i.e. a void cheque)
Tip: If you don’t have cheques you can go to your bank and tell them you need to have something direct deposited and they will give you all the information you need.
Out of town students may also mail certificates. Express Post is recommended.
Student Funding & Awards Office
Red Deer College | 100 College Blvd.
Red Deer | AB
T4N 5H5
Remember! We’ll need to receive them before the tuition deadline (August 13th) if you want to use them to pay tuition.
- b) Tuition can be paid directly from your student loan at the time of signing. If you choose this option, RDC will consider your tuition paid as of the date that your loan is signed.
- c) Cash your loan at a designated postal outlet or an on-site kiosk (peak periods). You will require photo id, SIN card and bank information
Cashing your Loan: designated postal outlet or on-site kiosk (peak periods only).
Once your student loan has been electronically confirmed or signed in person your next step is to take it to a designated postal outlet or bring it to our on-site kiosk at RDC.
Note: On site kiosk is available during peak periods only. Students having loans signed outside of these times will be required to complete the process at an off campus postal outlet (see below).
You will require:
- Photo id
- SIN card or government documentation that shows your name and SIN number (ie. your Income Tax Assessment, GST assessment). You can’t use your student loan document or notice of assessment to fulfill this requirement.
- Bank information (ie. a void cheque).
Tip: If you don’t have cheques you can go to your bank and tell them you need to have something direct deposited and they will give you all the information you need.
There are two designated postal outlet locations in Red Deer:
West Park IDA
3722 - 57 Ave
Red Deer
Hours:
9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday to Friday
9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday
North Red Deer
5020 - 68 Street
Red Deer
Hours:
8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday to Friday
There are also various out-of-town designated postal outlets. Visit Canada Post for more information.
Note: There is a time limit for cashing in your loan certificate. Once your student loan has been signed or electronically confirmed you have 30 days in which to negotiate your loan. After this, your loan certificate is no longer valid. In order to re-validate your loan, you will need to have your loan certificate re-signed and dated by the Student Funding and Awards Office.
Any monies coming to you will be deposited into your bank account or a cheque will be mailed to you, depending on your preference.
Typically, an Alberta Student Loan takes approximately 5 - 7 banking days to process; a Canada Student Loan takes approximately 10 - 14 days to process. If you request a cheque be mailed to you (instead of direct deposit), expect the process to take twice as long.
Note: These processing times are in effect AFTER the disbursement date on your loan certificate, NOT the date the loan certificates are signed or confirmed by the Student Funding & Awards office.