The most important form of financial aid for post-secondary education in Canada comes in the form of Canada student loans. Financial aid programs are available only for Canadian citizens and permanent residents, as well as for persons with a protected status. Interest-free loans for the studies period are thus available to students in this system. Canada student loans are also provided to students with permanent disabilities or to those that follow doctoral programs. In order to determine what kind of program you may have access to, it is important to determine the extent of the studies as well as the length of the education. Take the following example to understand how things stand.

For example, most Canada student loans cover a maximum of 400 weeks for graduate degree programs. Yet, if we think that some people will need a BA, an MA and a PhD, the number of the academic years will be around 11. This means that many graduate students will discover that they no longer meet the criteria of eligibility for student loans. When the graduate exceeds the 400 week timeframe, he/she is expected to repay the loan and the interest accumulated during the period of full-time studies.

With Canada student loans, repayment starts the moment they are no longer students. A solution may be the use of grants and scholarships as a supplementation for the loans, but you need to know where to look for such benefits. The assessment of needs is usually made before the approval of the loan. There are some maximum amounts of debt that can be accumulated by one student alone. Thus, normally, Student loans in canada can provide around $210 per week for full-time education. The sum does not exceed $4,000 for part time studies. Further financial aid is available in each province depending on what grants are available.

Canada student loans have fixed interest rates or floating interest rates. Many people face difficulties when it comes to repayment, but there are some solutions that could improve your situation. You can apply for an interest relief when you are currently unemployed or have a too low income. The interest relief is granted for a period ranging between 6 and 30 months. Debt reduction is also possible, meaning that the family’s monthly rate-plus-interest can be adjusted so as not to be higher than the debtor’s capacity to pay.