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Saving OSAP Grants For Med School?


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Hey guys,

I recently came across a thread about the new OSAP, in which one poster mentioned that medical students are only eligible for grants IF they didn't use them up during undergrad. From what I understand, it seems that OSAP only offers grants to students for a lifetime maximum of 8 semesters (or 4 years) in any post-secondary program. Because of this, I was wondering if it might be wise to avoid applying for OSAP as a second year student only in my undergrad, so that I can retain my eligibility for grants in med school when I need it most. (I know this is a huge assumption because of the uncertainty of getting in, but I'd rather take that risk if this is actually true)

Can anybody please clarify this or offer any insight?

 

Links to thread and OSAP info:

http://forums.premed101.com/topic/96366-osap-med-school/

http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/eopg/publications/osap-faq-adult-en.pdf

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The new OSAP will include two main components:

  1. A “base” component will be calculated similar to the current 30% Off Ontario Tuition grant and will cover a percentage of average tuition costs. This component is based on family income, not need.

  2. A “needs-based” component will look at the student’s financial need (costs minus resources) and calculate any remaining amount of Ontario aid.

There will be a maximum amount of time a student can receive the base grant component, which is for a total of eight academic terms. (However, students with disabilities may be considered for up to six years, or 12 terms.) This maximum will factor in any previous tuition support provided through the 30% Off Ontario Tuition grant. For example, if a student received two terms of the 30% Off Ontario Tuition grant in 2016–17, they would be eligible for six additional terms of the base component.

The needs-based component will continue to be available through additional years of study, up to the OSAP lifetime maximum and will ensure Ontario aid stays all-grant for low-income students. The lifetime maximums are 340 weeks for an individual who is enrolled in a program of study other than a doctoral program, or 400 weeks for an individual enrolled in a doctoral program — this is about 10 years of postsecondary school.

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23 minutes ago, la marzocco said:

The new OSAP will include two main components:

  1.  A “base” component will be calculated similar to the current 30% Off Ontario Tuition grant and will cover a percentage of average tuition costs. This component is based on family income, not need.

  2.  A “needs-based” component will look at the student’s financial need (costs minus resources) and calculate any remaining amount of Ontario aid.

 There will be a maximum amount of time a student can receive the base grant component, which is for a total of eight academic terms. (However, students with disabilities may be considered for up to six years, or 12 terms.) This maximum will factor in any previous tuition support provided through the 30% Off Ontario Tuition grant. For example, if a student received two terms of the 30% Off Ontario Tuition grant in 2016–17, they would be eligible for six additional terms of the base component.

 The needs-based component will continue to be available through additional years of study, up to the OSAP lifetime maximum and will ensure Ontario aid stays all-grant for low-income students. The lifetime maximums are 340 weeks for an individual who is enrolled in a program of study other than a doctoral program, or 400 weeks for an individual enrolled in a doctoral program — this is about 10 years of postsecondary school.

Thank you for the response, but I'm still a bit confused about how these two components actually work. Could you please confirm if my understanding is correct?

So each time I apply for OSAP, I would receive both the "base" and "needs-based" components as two separate grants (assuming I haven't exhausted them). Since the base component only depends on family income, it wouldn't matter whether I used it during undergrad, where my tuition is 8k, or in med school ,where my tuition would be 15k. 

On the other-hand, the needs-based component actually does depend on my tuition cost, but will still be available for a long time, so I shouldn't have to worry about using it. 

If this was true, was the other poster in that other thread mistaken about the idea of "using up" grants, or is there something I'm still missing?

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14 minutes ago, aeoaeoaeo said:

Thank you for the response, but I'm still a bit confused about how these two components actually work. Could you please confirm if my understanding is correct?

So each time I apply for OSAP, I would receive both the "base" and "needs-based" components as two separate grants (assuming I haven't exhausted them). Since the base component only depends on family income, it wouldn't matter whether I used it during undergrad, where my tuition is 8k, or in med school ,where my tuition would be 15k. 

On the other-hand, the needs-based component actually does depend on my tuition cost, but will still be available for a long time, so I shouldn't have to worry about using it. 

If this was true, was the other poster in that other thread mistaken about the idea of "using up" grants, or is there something I'm still missing?

Maybe you can show me what the other poster had said? Even if you don't qualify for the base component (say if you did all 4 years of undergrad before going into med), you are still given the needs-based component to the extent that your needs exceed your resources. I see the two components as elastic - when your base is 0, your needs-based component will compensate. The reason why they have done the formula this way with two components is because only if you're graduated > 4 years out of high school are you considered an independent economic entity per OSAP. This is why your family's income will keep modulating what you get in terms of the base grant for the first four years you'r out of high school. After that point, your family's income will no longer impact your OSAP.

Don't sweat it - I have done amples amounts of schooling and I am still getting a good mix of loans and grants to cover my tuition + living costs. :) 

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11 hours ago, la marzocco said:

Maybe you can show me what the other poster had said? Even if you don't qualify for the base component (say if you did all 4 years of undergrad before going into med), you are still given the needs-based component to the extent that your needs exceed your resources. I see the two components as elastic - when your base is 0, your needs-based component will compensate. The reason why they have done the formula this way with two components is because only if you're graduated > 4 years out of high school are you considered an independent economic entity per OSAP. This is why your family's income will keep modulating what you get in terms of the base grant for the first four years you'r out of high school. After that point, your family's income will no longer impact your OSAP.

Don't sweat it - I have done amples amounts of schooling and I am still getting a good mix of loans and grants to cover my tuition + living costs. :) 

Thank you for sharing your experience! Here is the post I was referring to, and I just realized that you were the one who started the thread! Haha

On 8/4/2017 at 2:29 PM, Meridian said:

Correct -  saw example of $7.5K grant on $15.5K total

Correct --  grant portion has 4 years of eligibility only.  If you received OSAP grant/loan in undergrad years it reduces grant eligibility in med school years.  Really burns if you took multiple small $1K loans.

 

 

This poster is saying that the "base" grant covers a substantial amount (7.5k out of a 15k tuition), and that receiving grants during undergrad "burns" this off. Since it doesn't depend on family income, do you know how much the "needs-based" component might offer to medical students without a job?

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2 minutes ago, aeoaeoaeo said:

This poster is saying that the "base" grant covers a substantial amount (7.5k out of a 15k tuition), and that receiving grants during undergrad "burns" this off. Since it doesn't depend on family income, do you know how much the "needs-based" component might offer to medical students without a job?

Here's a mock that I posted in another thread - for example, as an Ontario resident going to McGill, this is what one would receive: 

On 6/6/2018 at 1:21 PM, la marzocco said:

What I found odd is they give more funding for OOP medical schools. I think they factor in living away from home - not too sure.

Grants:$11,400
+
Loans:$8,800
=
Total: $20,200


These are the estimated costs and information you provided, which were used to calculate your estimate.

Tuition and education costs (estimated)
Tuition:$15,546
Compulsory fees:$2,208
Books, supplies and other costs:$3,000
Travel and living allowances:$10,363
Total estimated costs:$31,117
School, personal and financial information
MCGILL UNIVERSITY - MDCM - Medicine
Aug 27/18 - Jun 19/19 
3 term program 
Entering year 1 of 4 Bachelor
42 weeks long    

Current status: I have been out of high school for at least 4 years as of the start of my study period 
Permanent disability: No    
Do you want to self-identify as an Indigenous person: No 
Total gross yearly income from all sources: $0 
Value of scholarships, bursaries and/or awards during your study period: $0 
Have Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP): No 
RRSP value: $0 
Other assets value: $0 

You can still see you get a lot of grants. 

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4 hours ago, la marzocco said:

Here's a mock that I posted in another thread - for example, as an Ontario resident going to McGill, this is what one would receive: 

You can still see you get a lot of grants. 

Very interesting. I guess I'll just keep applying for OSAP after all then, thank you for all this info!!

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