Full-Time Funding

Submit your Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) application no later than 60 days prior to the end of your application study period.  

Note: To ensure adequate processing time we recommend submitting your application with all required documentation at least three months before the start of term. Applications and documents submitted after the recommended date may not be processed before the start of term and could result in a delayed release of funding.

Please provide your Laurier student ID number on your application to help ensure we can process your application as quickly as possible!

Students are only required to submit one new OSAP application each academic year. Note:  Important Deadline Dates apply for all terms.

• Applications cannot be submitted for all three terms (Fall/Winter/Spring) at once.  
• Applications must be submitted for fall-winter study period combined when enrolled full-time for both fall and winter terms.  
• Spring applications are considered independent from fall-winter study period.  Review Spring Term Funding for details.  Students returning to study for a third term (including graduate students enrolled in full year programs) will be required to submit the appropriate extension forms to extend their applications for the spring term when applicable.  If no previous fall-winter applications were completed students must be enrolled in at least a 12 week study period for spring term to apply.  Once the deadline date for fall-winter has passed, a new application cannot be submitted to include completed terms.  
• Co-op students refer to Co-op Funding for specific details regarding their program and varied streams of study/work-term.

New Students

We recommend linking to your OSAP application from your application in the Ontario Universities Application Centre (OUAC).

Once you have accepted your program, required supporting documentation will be available for completion and can be submitted online through your OSAP application.

You must submit a new OSAP application before the start of each new academic year on the OSAP website.

OSAP has introduced a short required information module at the start of your application, which provides key details about OSAP and financial literacy.  This must be completed once by all students before starting their full-time OSAP application.  After completion, the OSAP application will continue.

When searching for your program if you are unable to find a match to your program name and/or the correct study period to match your registration, you can manually enter your program name and study period dates into the application. To do so, under the listing of potential program matches select "Can’t find my program" and submit. Following this, you will be provided with an opportunity to manually enter your program name and dates. This information will be verified/updated by the Financial Aid Office after your application has been submitted.

After you have submitted your application, carefully review the required document section of your OSAP application. All required documents, including the Master Student Financial Assistance Agreement (if required) must be submitted no later than 40 days prior to the end of your application study period.

Note: To ensure adequate processing time we recommend submitting your application with all required documentation at least two months before the start of term. Applications and documents submitted after the recommended date may not be processed before the start of term and could result in a delayed release of funding.

Required documents for your OSAP application must be submitted through upload directly to your OSAP application.  

To upload documents to the OSAP Portal:

1. Scan the required document corresponding to the upload link and create a PDF file.
2. Within your online OSAP application in the 'Required Documents' section, Click on the Upload button corresponding to that document.
3. Locate your pdf file using the “browse” button.
4. Select the file and click on “open”

You will get a message confirming if your document was accepted for upload purposes.

If you are experiencing difficulties with upload, please carefully review the troubleshooting tips below:

• You can only upload a file that is a PDF format - Ensure your scanned document is clear and easy to read before saving it as a PDF (.pdf ) file format. 
• You cannot upload a file that is password protected.
• PDF file should not be larger than 2MB. The exception is declaration and signature pages, which can be up to 5MB.
• If your file size is too large, you may need to upload partial documentation as two separate files. If doing this, we recommend putting a note on the top of your upload indicating multiple file submissions.
• If you have reached the maximum number of document submissions for a specific type of document, additional documents can still be submitted by selecting the link that indicates ‘Go to Optional Updates’ and documents can be uploaded as optional review documents.  Once submitted, they will be reviewed and updated to the correct document type. 
• Optional documents can be uploaded by selecting the link that indicates 'Click here if you have other (optional) documents to upload' and selecting 'Go to optional uploads'.

If unable to upload documents directly to your application, they can be mailed through Canada Post or sent by courier (Laurier Financial Aid Office, 75 University Ave W., Waterloo, ON  N2L 3C5) however receipt and processing of mailed documents will take longer than those submitted through direct upload. 

To protect your personal information, we do not accept document submission over email or through in-person drop off.  Online submission through your OSAP application is required for security and fastest processing.  All documents must be received prior to the deadlines indicated on your OSAP application and are processed in the date order received. 

Please Note:  Important Application and Document Deadlines and affidavit document requirements. 

You can view a summary of your total OSAP assessment along with information regarding the amount available for release each term through your online OSAP application in the 'Funding Summary' section.  

For fall-winter applications, OSAP typically releases 60% of available loan funding in the fall term, leaving only 40% of the available funding for release in the winter term.  Additionally, your funding assessment can change through the year as you add or drop courses, or if there are other updates to your application such as changes to income.  

It is important you review your OSAP funding summary and compare the amount of funding available for release each term with your Laurier account balance on LORIS.  If your available OSAP funding is not enough to cover the full balance owing on your Laurier account it is your responsibility to pay the difference prior to the Laurier invoice due date.   More information on paying your Laurier fees with OSAP is available online:  Paying Laurier Fees 

Opting Out of Loan Funding

When you apply for OSAP, you are automatically considered for both grants and loans. You can decline the loan by selecting the 'No Loan Option' that appears on your online OSAP application funding summary after your assessment is complete.  The request to decline the loan funding must be indicated before your enrolment has been confirmed for funding release.  If received after funding has already been confirmed for release the loan funding cannot be stopped from release, but any additional funding approved for released after the date your request is received will be adjusted to include grant funding only.  

Once you have completed the online application and have submitted all required documentation, Laurier will confirm your enrolment for funding release. This process is completed automatically by the Laurier Financial Aid office at the beginning of each term for completed applications to ensure the applicant is enrolled full-time for the study period applied for and is registered in the same course load that is indicated on the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) application. Once enrolment is successfully confirmed, funding is typically received within 10 business days.   Review Paying Laurier Fees for additional information on how OSAP funding is directed to pay outstanding Laurier fees.

If your enrolment has not been confirmed after the first day of classes, please check the following items on your OSAP application and take the appropriate action: 

• Outstanding documents: Review the required documents section of your OSAP application to confirm if there are any outstanding documents to be submitted/processed.
• Course load error: Ensure you have the correct course load on your application and that your course registration for the term is complete.

If you are concerned that your funding release has been delayed, review your OSAP application status on LORIS for error messages or an updated status. If your application status on LORIS indicates that your enrolment has been successfully confirmed after the start of term, contact the National Student Loan Service Centre to confirm no further information is required by them to release funds. 

It is important that you regularly check your OSAP status online throughout the year.  Status information or requirements for release of your funding can change through the year, and this information is displayed in multiple places.  It is the student’s responsibility to ensure all required information has been submitted to complete the OSAP application process by the required deadlines.

1. LORIS:  Check here for your current application status with LORIS (Student Awards & Financial Aid menu - View my Aid/Funding), including important information regarding errors that may be preventing your application from completing and/or your funding releasing.   Also review your Laurier account balance to verify payment receipts.
2. Online OSAP Application:  Check here for a summary of the application information you submitted, information about any documents required to complete your application, and your detailed funding summary.
3. National Student Loan Service Centre (NSLSC):  Check here for issued loan balances, bank account information for OSAP funding deposits, and messages sent regarding repayment and interest status.

Funding cannot be released until the course load percentage on your OSAP application matches your course registration. It is your responsibility to ensure the course load stated on your OSAP application is correct each term. Review Course Load and Registration Updates for information on updating and calculating your course load, and the impact of changing your course load. 

OSAP requires you to report any income earned or received totalling more than $5,600 per term. The OSAP assessment will consider this income when calculating the funding you are eligible to receive.  Updates to the amount of income declared on your application can be made by completing the OSAP Income Update form.  Note: Laurier forms require your Laurier username and password. If you have issues accessing your account, please contact the ICT Service Desk.

OSAP will verify your income with the Canada Revenue Agency and large discrepancies in reported income on your OSAP application could restrict your eligibility for future OSAP funding. It is your responsibility to ensure your income is reported correctly on your OSAP application.

Income Verification

Income must be verified within 12 months from the start of the study period on your full-time OSAP application to ensure your grant funding is not reverted to loans. If you receive messaging that this income information could not be verified, check the following information:

• Ensure previous years’ taxes are filed and been accepted by the Canada Revenue Agency.
• If foreign and/or non-taxable income was declared on your application, ensure you have submitted Income Verification documentation for ministry review (if indicated as required on your OSAP application).
• If your parent(s)’ taxes were filed by the Canada Revenue Centre’s deadline and income verification status is unsuccessful, review your application data on your OSAP online account and verify that your parent(s)’ names, birthdates and SIN numbers are all correct. If any information is incorrect, contact the Laurier Financial Aid Office for information on what will be required to correct your application.

For more information on the grant to loan conversion process, visit the OSAP website.

The Student Awards & Financial Aid office will declare all scholarships and awards from Laurier to your OSAP application on your behalf. This means if you are receiving an Entrance Scholarship, In-Course Scholarship, President’s Gold, or any other scholarship or award from Laurier, we will add it to your OSAP application.   When you complete your OSAP application, do NOT declare this scholarship and award funding from Laurier.   Bursary funding from Laurier continues to be reported on your behalf and does not impact your OSAP assessment.

If you are receiving external scholarships (i.e. scholarship from your high school, parents’ workplace, etc.), you are required to declare those awards on your OSAP application. 

If you need to update the scholarship, award and bursary income information on your OSAP application, complete the Scholarship/Award Income Update Form.  
 

Students are only required to submit one new OSAP application each academic year.  Students returning to study after the study period end date on their original confirmed full-time application (i.e. due to withdrawal, drop to part-time studies, or change of program) can extend the application through the completion of the appropriate OSAP Extension Form.    Note:  You must log in with your MyLaurier username and password to access the extension forms.

To request reinstatement of your current confirmed 2022-23 full-time OSAP application after the fall term (i.e. students who withdrew or dropped to part-time studies in the fall term after receiving full-time OSAP funding) complete the OSAP Winter Extension Form.

To request an reinstatement of your current confirmed 2022-23 OSAP application for  full-time registration in the spring term (including intersession and summer session courses) complete the OSAP Spring Extension Form.  

Extension forms can only be completed if a confirmation of enrolment was previously completed on a 2022-23 full-time OSAP application.  Extension forms must be submitted no later than 40 days before the end of the extended study period.  

Dependent students who have indicated they are not living with their parents, and whose parents are living outside of a 30km radius of Laurier’s Waterloo campus are automatically assessed with a full living allowance and no further living allowance is available.

You can apply for a review of your living allowance for your study period only if one or more of the following situations apply to you for Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) purposes:

• Single dependent student: Your parents live within a 30 km radius of Laurier and you don’t live in their home during your study period.
• Single independent student: You live with your parent(s) during your study period, and you pay them room and board or rent.
• Married students: You and your spouse do not live together during your study period due to the location of your school or your spouse’s employment. Documentation to support your living circumstances will be required with the submission of the form.

OSAP review forms are typically available on the OSAP website in late summer each year. Please ensure you submit the correct form for the correct application year.

If your parent's estimated current year income is a better reflection of their current financial situation than their actual previous year’s income as requested on the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) application, the Parental Estimated Income Review Form can be used to request an update to your application (i.e. due to job loss). Documentation to support the estimated income calculation is required with the submission of the form. 

OSAP review forms are typically available on the OSAP website in late summer each year. Please ensure you submit the correct form for the correct application year.

A family breakdown is when you are estranged from your parent(s) due to documented mental, physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse or drug or alcohol addiction in your family.  If this has been indicated on your application submission please review and submit all required documentation as outlined on your application (including all supplementary documents indicated).