College Prep 101 Financial Aid & Awards

Basics Careful planning – saving money Applying Early – admission, awards, etc. Good budgeting – finite resources for tuition & living expenses Frugal spending – needs vs. wants

Scholarships, Bursaries and Awards Scholarship: based primarily on scholastic achievement Bursary: based primarily on financial need Awards and Prizes: any combination of eligibility criteria, i.e. best grades in a graduating class

Sources of scholarships and bursaries: High school or school district Post-secondary institution the student will be attending Province of British Columbia Federal government Service and athletic clubs, unions, churches, that mom, dad, grandma, grandpa or the student may belong to

Entrance Awards at Okanagan College President’s Entrance Scholarships – must apply – check our website in January Okanagan College Community Spirit Awards – must apply – check our website in January Adult Academic & Career Prep/ESL Okanagan College Entrance Scholarships – must apply Mature Student Okanagan College Entrance Scholarships – must apply SIDIT – Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust Entrance Awards for Trades and Technology students – must apply

Awards for Continuing Students Okanagan College Tuition Bursaries – must apply Okanagan College Academic Achievement Scholarships – no need to apply Donor scholarships and bursaries – must apply Aboriginal Student Bursaries/Okanagan Nation Student Bursaries/Shuswap Nation Student Bursaries - must apply Emergency Bursaries – must apply

Miscellaneous awards Visit the Links page from Okanagan College Financial Aid & Awards website: Visit for information on additional government scholarships, bursaries and programs, i.e. BC Nurses Education Bursaries, Pacific Leaders BC Loan Forgiveness Program, Youth Education Assistance Fund, etc.

StudentAid BC – government student loans and grants One online application at to be considered for all: Canada Student Loans – repayable to the Federal government BC Student Loans – repayable to the Province of British Columbia Canada Student Grant for Students from Low Income or Middle Income Families Canada Student Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities Canada Student Grant for Low Income Students with Children Under the Age of Twelve BC Access Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities BC Supplemental Bursary for Students with Permanent Disabilities

StudentAid BC – quick tips Apply early, 2010/2011 online application will be available early May Complete one online application for each semester of study unless you are in a vocational program. Government pays interest on student loans while enrolled in full-time study; no payments are required until 6 months after completing or leaving full-time study, however interest begins to accumulate immediately after completing or leaving full-time study. Students don’t have to be formally admitted to their program or school before applying for government student loans and grants. Parental income may be taken into consideration. Parent’s must be designated in the Information Release section of student’s StudentAid BC application to allow Financial Aid staff to talk to them.

StudentAid BC – quick tips Motor-vehicles - $15,000 exemption applied to resale value of motor-vehicles owned by applicant. Application information is subject to audit by the Ministry. Must be registered in at least 60% of a full course load (40% for students with permanent disability designation) – check with Financial Aid office at your school. Audited and previously passed courses are not counted toward 60% course load.

Can I borrow as much as I want? No! 2009/2010 Loan Limits:

What if I don’t get enough money from StudentAid BC? Call the Financial Awards staff at your school to discuss options. Okanagan College toll-free or in Kelowna. Award will be analyzed and help provided to reassess or appeal to increase award, or discuss alternate forms of funding, i.e. bank student line of credit with parent co-signing.

How do I get my money? After your registration in 60% of a full course load is confirmed by the school to the Ministry, student loan documents are: printed by the Ministry, as early as 3 weeks before classes start, and sent to the student’s mailing address on StudentAid BC application form. Students must take them to a designated postal outlet right away – do not wait until classes start.

Who do I owe? Students will have 2 lenders to repay through the service providers hired by the respective governments: Canada Student Loan (Federal government) National Student Loan Service Center BC Student Loan (Provincial government) BC Student Loan Service Bureau Students must always inform both lenders, through their service providers, when they have a change of address to avoid being sent to a collection agency.

How much will monthly payments be over 9.5 yrs. if prime rate is 2.25%? Debt 1Debt 2Debt 3 Debt Level $10,000$30,000$50,000 Fixed rate: Prime % $121.62$364.87$ Floating rate: Prime % $109.17$327.50$ See the Debt Repayment Calculator at:

Canada Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program For students whose 6 month payment-free after study period has ended, who are unemployed or have low income. Phone the student loan service provider and request Repayment Assistance to keep the student loans in good standing. If eligible, payments will be reconfigured to income-based payments rather than debt level payments.

CSL Repayment Assistance Program Students in the RAP will have a maximum repayment period of 15 years, with the government helping to make some of the payments so that after 15 years there is no debt remaining. Students with permanent disabilities must request Accelerated Repayment Assistance (ARAP) and will have a maximum 10 year repayment period before remaining debt is paid by the government.

BC Student Loan Debt Management Measures Interest Relief – extension of interest and payment free period Other possibilities to keep BC Student Loans in good standing Must call BC Student Loan Service Bureau to arrange debt management measures.

Contact Information Financial Aid & Awards Okanagan College 1000 K.L.O. Road Kelowna, BC V1Y 4X8 Kelowna call: Toll-free: Revised: Feb. 1, 2010