Student Aid

To be eligible for student aid, you must be an Alberta resident. To determine your residency, you first need to know if you are considered a dependent or an independent student.

Independent Student (you must meet at least one of the following): 

• 23 years of age or older
• have been out of high school for at least 4 years
• have been available for full-time work for at least two years since leaving high school
• are married or common law
• are divorced, separated, or widowed
• have at least one dependent child of your own  

If you do not meet at least one of these points, you are considered a dependent student.

Residency for Independent Students

• Alberta is the province in which you have most recently lived for 12 consecutive months while not a full-time post-secondary student, or
• You have never lived in any other Canadian province for 12 consecutive months and are attending a post-secondary school in Alberta

Residency for Dependent Students

• At least one of your parents must live in Alberta.

Alberta Student Aid and the Canada Student Loans Program calculate your eligibility using a Financial Need formula comparing your costs with your resources. The formula is:

• Education and Living Costs  –  What You Contribute  =  Your Financial Need

Your assessed Financial Need is then compared with the student aid Loan Limits allowed for your study period. The lesser of these two amounts is what you are eligible to receive.

Student aid is meant to supplement, not replace, your own resources. Student loans may not cover all your costs and you could be responsible for making up the difference.

These tips may help to pay off your loan more quickly and will reduce the amount of interest you pay.

Tip #1 Pay the grace period interest on your Canada student loan before you enter repayment.

Tip #2 Make your payments on time.

Tip #3 Increase your monthly payment amount.

Tip #4 Make bi-weekly payments instead of monthly payments.

Tip #5 Make extra payments while in study, in the grace period or in repayment, there is no penalty.

At the end of your 6-month Grace Period, your Canadian Student loan enters repayment. A payment schedule is calculated for you, based on the amount of your Alberta student loan debt.

If your banking information is on file, your monthly payment will be withdrawn from that account automatically.

You can manage your Alberta student loan repayment online through National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC)

At the end of your 6-month Grace Period, your Alberta student loan enters repayment. A payment schedule is calculated for you, based on the amount of your Alberta student loan debt.

If your banking information is on file, your monthly payment will be withdrawn from that account automatically.

You can manage your Alberta student loan repayment online through the MyLoan website: https://myloan.studentaid.alberta.ca/

                To register for MyLoan, you will need to create an account using:

• First and last name
  •  Date of birth
  •  Social Insurance Number
  •  Alberta Student Loan Number

Monthly payments for your student loans are calculated using:

• your loan balance owing
• the interest rate at the time your loan enters repayment, and
• the repayment term for your loan.

A repayment term is the length of time (in months) it will take for you to fully repay your loans. The Alberta Student Aid Service Centre and National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) will select the repayment term of your loans based on the total amount of your loan balance owing.

Planning your repayment is important. You can estimate what your monthly payment will be: http://tools.canlearn.ca/cslgs-scpse/cln-cln/crp-lrc/af.nlindex-eng.do

• Loan Repayment Estimator 

Change Your Payment Terms

You can adjust the terms of your loans with the Alberta Student Aid Service Centre
and the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) to make your payments work for you.

• change the payment schedule to match when you get paid
• increase your loan payment to pay your student loans off faster
• lower your monthly payments if you are having trouble making your payments

Choose the frequency of your payments

Your payment frequency is set at monthly for your student loans. You may change your student loan payment schedule to coincide with when you get paid. Doing this may help you manage your budget as well. Making bi-weekly payments reduces how long you have to pay your loan and you pay less interest.

Choose your payment term

The payment term is the length of time (in months) you take to repay your loan. Your payment term is set by the Alberta Student Aid Service Centre for your Alberta student loans and by NSLSC for your Canada student loans.

Changing the term on your loan affects the amount of your payments.

• Decrease the term of your loan, and your payment amount increases
  You pay your loan off faster and you pay less interest.
• Increase the term of your loan, and your payment amount decreases.
  It takes longer to repay your loan and you pay more interest.

Make the changes

For your Alberta student loans

• Go to the MyLoan website. Log in and choose Customize Payments Terms from the My Account menu.
• Or, call the Alberta Student Aid Service Centre and speak with a customer service representative:
• 1 855 606-2096 | Option 3 (toll free in North America)
• 1 855 306-2240 TTY
• International access code + 800 2-529-9242 (toll free outside North America)
• Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. local time

For your Canada student loans

• Go to NSLSC Online Services. Sign on and use the Customize Your Repayment tool to make your changes.
• Or, call the National Student Loans Service Centre and speak with a customer service representative.
• 1-888-815-4514 (toll free within North America)

Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)

The Repayment Assistance Plan is available for both Alberta and Canada student loans. If you are eligible for the Repayment Assistance Plan, an affordable payment will be calculated based on your family size and income. Some borrowers will not need to make any monthly payments; others will make an affordable monthly payment. If you need to continue receiving repayment assistance, you have to re-apply for the Repayment Assistance Plan every 6 months.

You could be eligible for the Repayment Assistance Plan if:

• You are currently repaying an Alberta or Canada student loan
• Your student loans are in good standing
• You are having difficulty making your payments. Use the estimator tool on the Government of Canada website to see if you might be eligible: http://tools.canlearn.ca/cslgs-scpse/cln-cln/rae-ear/rae-ear-1-eng.do
• Repayment Assistance Plan Estimator

For Canada student loans, you must also be living in Canada.

If you are behind on your payments:

• Ask for a reduced payment to be back dated for up to 6 months
• Capitalize your interest charges by 3 months

If you miss a payment on your student loans, the Alberta Student Aid Service Centre and/or National Student Loans Service Centre will send you a series of letters and emails and will phone you to provide information and tools to help you get back on track.

There are serious consequences if you miss payments (default) on your loans including the following:

• Your credit rating will be negatively affected.
• Your loans will be sent to a collection agency.
• Any GST or income tax refunds you are eligible to receive will be automatically used to repay your defaulted loans.
• The provincial and/or federal governments may take legal action against you.
• You will lose your eligibility for further student loans until you bring your loans into good standing.

Credit Rating

A credit rating is an evaluation of the history of the repayment of your loan. Having a good credit rating will maximize your opportunities to qualify for future loans (perhaps for a new car or house), or even to be able to rent an apartment.

Your student loans are just like any other loan. They must be paid back. When you receive your first Alberta and Canada Student loan, it is reported to the credit bureau. You build a positive credit rating by making payments towards your student loans on time, each month. When you do not make your loan payments on time, you create a negative credit rating.

To find out what your current credit rating looks like, you can contact Trans Union or Equifax and request a report.

Bankruptcy

If you file for protection under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada) while in student loan repayment, be aware that:

Student loans are not dischargeable debts when you are discharged from bankruptcy until a minimum of:

• 7 years have passed since you left post-secondary studies, or
• 5 years have passed since you left post-secondary studies, in the case of exceptional financial hardship.

You will still be expected to make your student loan payments.

For more on bankruptcy, see Student Aid Policy: Alberta Student Aid Operational Policy and Procedure Manual.

Once your loans are repaid in full, you may be eligible for more student aid.