StudentAid BC & Spouses

[runmed]

Hi everyone! I'll be starting 1st year med at UBC in August. I'm hoping to get some insight into StudentAid BC since I have never had student loans before.

My partner and I moved in together in November 2017 & become "common-law" according to the CRA one year later in November 2018. I have to declare being common-law on my application, which means I must include my partner's financial information on my StudentAid BC application because they consider us "married". According to StudentAid BC, my spouse must make a "contribution" to my education based on their finances. I find this silly given our situation and I don't expect my partner to give me money for my education. We already declared common-law to the CRA for our 2018 taxes and it would be fraud to claim that I'm single. I am 25 years old, independent from my parents, and have no previous student loans of any sort. 

I'm wondering...

1) Has anyone been denied SudentAid BC because their spouse's financial situation? My income in 2018 was $0 because I have been a student for undergraduate and graduate studies (however, I had $12,500 in scholarships in 2018). My common-law partner's income in 2018 was $75,000. In applying for StudentAid BC, we also have to include information like the vehicles we own: I own a beater but my partner owns a "nice car" if you know what I mean. 

2) Do we need to have StudendAid BC loans to be eligible for UBC bursaries? If I'm denied StudentAid BC and only receive an LOC, can I still apply for a bursary?

3) Do we have to provide proof of a rental agreement? We have a more casual living situation because we are so fortunate to live in a family member's apartment. Would StudentAid BC be able to find out if we don't pay rent?

4) Does StudentAid BC and UBC bursaries know how much money we have in our savings account? I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to buy a bunch of my school supplies etc. now to reduce the savings I have before applying for student loans and bursaries. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I realize it's icky to discuss such personal financial information, but I'm sure there are other medical students out there who have similar experiences. 

 

[DoctorArts]

4 hours ago, runmed said:

Hi everyone! I'll be starting 1st year med at UBC in August. I'm hoping to get some insight into StudentAid BC since I have never had student loans before.

My partner and I moved in together in November 2017 & become "common-law" according to the CRA one year later in November 2018. I have to declare being common-law on my application, which means I must include my partner's financial information on my StudentAid BC application because they consider us "married". According to StudentAid BC, my spouse must make a "contribution" to my education based on their finances. I find this silly given our situation and I don't expect my partner to give me money for my education. We already declared common-law to the CRA for our 2018 taxes and it would be fraud to claim that I'm single. I am 25 years old, independent from my parents, and have no previous student loans of any sort. 

I'm wondering...

1) Has anyone been denied SudentAid BC because their spouse's financial situation? My income in 2018 was $0 because I have been a student for undergraduate and graduate studies (however, I had $12,500 in scholarships in 2018). My common-law partner's income in 2018 was $75,000. In applying for StudentAid BC, we also have to include information like the vehicles we own: I own a beater but my partner owns a "nice car" if you know what I mean. 

2) Do we need to have StudendAid BC loans to be eligible for UBC bursaries? If I'm denied StudentAid BC and only receive an LOC, can I still apply for a bursary?

3) Do we have to provide proof of a rental agreement? We have a more casual living situation because we are so fortunate to live in a family member's apartment. Would StudentAid BC be able to find out if we don't pay rent?

4) Does StudentAid BC and UBC bursaries know how much money we have in our savings account? I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to buy a bunch of my school supplies etc. now to reduce the savings I have before applying for student loans and bursaries. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I realize it's icky to discuss such personal financial information, but I'm sure there are other medical students out there who have similar experiences. 

 

1) The amount will go down because you have a spouse. But I did a deep dive into their long description and at that income level, it's not going to be substantial. Also, you're evaluated at a higher need level regarding like how much you need for rent and food. You're going to be okay, I would be very surprised if you don't get anything. If your partner has government student debt, they will take that into account as well. At the level of finances we need, your partner couldn't afford to support you at that income. You can find the percentages of what the expected contribution should be roughly if you deep dive into their documents on their site. I don't remember what it was, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

2) I would contact the financial aid office regarding this one. I think you can still apply though. 

3) No rental agreement is needed. You are also independent, so that's not relevant really. They're not really working with your financial situation as much as they are working with the profile of what someone in your situation would generally need. 

4) No, but they can audit. I'm paranoid, so I'm definitely purchasing and getting rid of other debt stuff. Remember you won't need the same level of cushion bc LOC. 

You can send me a PM if you have more questions

[chiynadoll]

5 hours ago, runmed said:

Hi everyone! I'll be starting 1st year med at UBC in August. I'm hoping to get some insight into StudentAid BC since I have never had student loans before.

My partner and I moved in together in November 2017 & become "common-law" according to the CRA one year later in November 2018. I have to declare being common-law on my application, which means I must include my partner's financial information on my StudentAid BC application because they consider us "married". According to StudentAid BC, my spouse must make a "contribution" to my education based on their finances. I find this silly given our situation and I don't expect my partner to give me money for my education. We already declared common-law to the CRA for our 2018 taxes and it would be fraud to claim that I'm single. I am 25 years old, independent from my parents, and have no previous student loans of any sort. 

I'm wondering...

1) Has anyone been denied SudentAid BC because their spouse's financial situation? My income in 2018 was $0 because I have been a student for undergraduate and graduate studies (however, I had $12,500 in scholarships in 2018). My common-law partner's income in 2018 was $75,000. In applying for StudentAid BC, we also have to include information like the vehicles we own: I own a beater but my partner owns a "nice car" if you know what I mean. 

2) Do we need to have StudendAid BC loans to be eligible for UBC bursaries? If I'm denied StudentAid BC and only receive an LOC, can I still apply for a bursary?

3) Do we have to provide proof of a rental agreement? We have a more casual living situation because we are so fortunate to live in a family member's apartment. Would StudentAid BC be able to find out if we don't pay rent?

4) Does StudentAid BC and UBC bursaries know how much money we have in our savings account? I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to buy a bunch of my school supplies etc. now to reduce the savings I have before applying for student loans and bursaries. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I realize it's icky to discuss such personal financial information, but I'm sure there are other medical students out there who have similar experiences. 

 

1) Considering how much tuition and living expenses will be, you may receive less, but I don't think you'll be denied a loan. It doesn't hurt to apply, so just give it a try. You do need to declare your partner though, and their finances because you've already declared common-law.

2) Yes, you do. They look at how much "un-met need" StudentAid BC has quoted you, to decide how much to give you in bursaries. If you have no "un-met need" you don't qualify for bursaries. 

3) No, you don't need to provide any proof, you can just quote how much you are/are not paying for rent, but you could always get audited - in which case, you could also just write a letter detailing the situation. sometimes you pay rent without a formal contract/agreement, or vice versa.

4) No, they don't need proof, but you can always get audited. You *are* expected to spend whatever money you have available before reaching for loans, so it would be wise to use up/take out of the bank, what you can before summer ends.  

[frenchpress]

Are you sure they ask about a car? I completed a loan application a few weeks ago (and several times in the last couple years) and I don’t remember ever having never to include it. Asset information like cars for you and your spouse was required in the past, but since 2017 I think it’s mostly just voluntary contributions from family (which is $0 if they aren’t actually giving you any money for school) and your spouse’s income and your income from the previous year. Similarly, rent won’t factor in. There’s just a defined living allowance that’s the calculated same for everyone based on the number of weeks you are in school.

Edit: in 2017 they also asked about voluntary contributions from other people like yourself and your spouse, but this past year that was removed completely. 

The mandatory contribution my spouse has to make is minimal (< $5000). The fact that there’s two of you can actually be an advantage for bursaries, because the cost of living allowance is much larger - so you often end up with more financial  ‘need’ than an individual. At least this has been my experience - last year my ‘need’ was assessed at over $40,000, and I got the max loan no problem, because even after mandatory contributions were factored in I still had like $30,000 in need remaining.

Edited May 17, 2019 by frenchpress

[runmed]

13 minutes ago, frenchpress said:

Are you sure they ask about a car? I completed a loan application a few weeks ago (and several times in the last couple years) and I don’t remember ever having never to include it. Asset information like cars for you and your spouse was required in the past, but since 2017 I think it’s mostly just voluntary contributions from spouse and family and yourself (and I was told by studentAid when I called that you can put $0 for these, even if you have savings) and your spouse’s income and your income from the previous year. Similarly, rent won’t factor in. There’s just a defined living allowance that’s the calculated same for everyone based on the number of weeks you are in school.

The contribution my spouse has to make is minimal (< $5000). The fact that there’s two of you can actually be an advantage for bursaries, because the cost of living allowance is much larger - so you often end up with more financial  ‘need’ than an individual. At least this has been my experience - last year my ‘need’ was assessed at over $40,000, and I got the max loan no problem, because even after mandatory contributions were factored in I still had like $30,000 in need remaining.

I was looking at appendix 2 for the spouse to fill in. It requires my partner to declare income / RRSPs / the value of the owned car. However, it may have been a dated form since the 2019 / 2020 application documents aren't out yet. It would be GREAT if I could exclude that information because I would never expect my partner to cash in on investments or sell the car to help with my tuition LOL. I guess I'll find out in June when I apply!

[frenchpress]

3 minutes ago, runmed said:

I was looking at appendix 2 for the spouse to fill in. It requires my partner to declare income / RRSPs / the value of the owned car. However, it may have been a dated form since the 2019 / 2020 application documents aren't out yet. It would be GREAT if I could exclude that information because I would never expect my partner to cash in on investments or sell the car to help with my tuition LOL. I guess I'll find out in June when I apply!

The appendix 2 for this past cycle for the summer had no asset questions at all. Basically just income.

[runmed]

1 minute ago, frenchpress said:

The appendix for this past cycle for the summer had no asset questions at all. Basically just income.

YES! Thank you for alleviating my worries!

[frenchpress]

10 minutes ago, runmed said:

YES! Thank you for alleviating my worries!

Things may change in the future now that BC is eliminating interest on student loans, but for the last few years the government had been seeming to have been moving towards a policy of “you want to borrow money? Here, take it!”

[casajayo]

There's also benefits to not forget when it comes time to do taxes - I believe your partner can claim a "spousal amount" because you won't be making anything, and you'll also be able to transfer tuition credit to offset their taxes if you'd like. The med finance department hosts tax clinics in second term that can help you sort out everything when it comes time as well so that you don't miss anything