If you are a full-time student, you may be entitled to financial assistance under the Loans and Bursaries Program. You may be deemed a full-time student if you are enrolled in at least 20 course hours per month and have reached the 20th week of your pregnancy.
The Loans and Bursaries Program provides financial support for those who wish to pursue vocational, college or university studies full time in Québec, or outside of the province under certain conditions.
The assistance is paid in the form of a loan, to which a bursary may be added in the following situations:
- the loan is not sufficient to meet the student’s needs
- the student has a recognized major functional disability (visual, auditory, motor or organic)
It is awarded for one or more study periods (e.g. sessions, terms) in a given award year, i.e. between September 1 of one year and August 31 of the year after.
Application for Student Financial Assistance
Applications for financial assistance are evaluated on the basis of several criteria, in particular your family situation and expected financial resources for the award year concerned.
The calculation of the amount for which you qualify takes into account expenses deemed necessary for the pursuit of your studies, as well as any financial contribution that could be made by:
- your parents;
- your spouse, if any, i.e. a person with whom you are married or in a civil union, or who lives with you in a conjugal relationship together with a dependent child (your own or that of your spouse);
- your sponsor, if any, i.e. a person who agreed to provide for your needs when you obtained the status of permanent resident or naturalized Canadian citizen.
Guarantee Certificate
The first time you are awarded financial assistance under the program, the Ministère issues a Guarantee Certificate to authorize your financial institution to pay the loan directly into your bank account. The certificate is valid for the entire duration of your studies, unless you abandon them or interrupt them for longer than 6 months (you would then have to obtain a new certificate).
Confirmation of Financial Resources
In September and January, the Ministère will ask you to confirm the financial resources you declared on your application, or to adjust them if your estimate was inaccurate. If you do not do this your payments could be suspended.
Change of Situation or Address
You are responsible for notifying Aide financière aux études of any change in your situation that occurs during the year, or in that of your parents, sponsor or spouse if their contribution is required. Any change could have an impact on the financial assistance awarded, for example if it concerns:
- financial resources (e.g. change or loss of a job, raise or reduction of salary)
- marital status
- reaching the 20th week of pregnancy
- the birth or adoption of a child
- the death of your parents, sponsor, spouse or a dependent child
- obtaining an undergraduate diploma or 90 units in a university program
You must also inform Aide financière aux études of any change of address within the period prescribed.
Failing to keep your file up to date, by not giving timely notice of a change in your situation or address, could have consequences such as:
- the suspension of scheduled payments
- the obligation to immediately repay excess assistance received
- ineligibility, for a period of 2 years, for the Loans and Bursaries Program and the Loans Program for Part-Time Studies
Update of Academic Information
You do not have to inform Aide financière aux études of changes with regard to your studies (e.g. withdrawal). Your educational institution will take care of confirming the dates and number of units (or credits) and course hours.
Withdrawal or Interruption of Studies
If you withdraw from your studies or interrupt them, you will be considered as enrolled until the end of the current month, unless that month marks the beginning of a study period (e.g. January, for a winter session). You could therefore be entitled to part of your financial assistance to cover certain expenses incurred during that month.
As for the following months, they could still be counted as study months (in the calculation of your financial assistance) if you resume full-time studies in the next study period.
If you interrupt your studies for longer than 6 months, you may have to begin repaying your loan at the end of that period, unless the interruption is due to a special situation for which a deferral is accepted.
Repaying Your Student Loan
When you finish your studies, you must repay your debt (both principal and interest) to your financial institution. The latter will send you a notice setting out the amount and frequency of payments to be made, and the number of years it will take to repay your loan.
Only loans have to be repaid, not bursaries.
Note
If you experience difficulties repaying your debt, you may be eligible for the Deferred Payment Plan or the Loan Remission Program.
Since the clientele and the conditions vary according to the service, the information is provided under each service.
