Jump to content
Premed 101 Forums

Recommended Posts

Condo shouldn't be a problem. Principal residence isn't considered an asset.

 

Car will be a problem. Perhaps put it in your spouse's name alone, if possible?

 

Really? I figured that they do care since on the OSAP funding estimator they ask for the total value of any property you own. Do they mean total equity? If so, that is not very clear as it just states the 'value'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 83
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Really? I figured that they do care since on the OSAP funding estimator they ask for the total value of any property you own. Do they mean total equity? If so, that is not very clear as it just states the 'value'.

 

yeah you exclude your principal residence for sure

 

actually the max amount can even go up with a spouse/children. Basically don't count osap out yet :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope this doesn't sound silly, but how does parental help factor into OSAP calcuations? My parents have been gracious enough to offer to continue supporting me in med school, however they certainly cannot afford the total cost of attendance and thus I will have to take out OSAP. What I'm concerned about is that the money I get from my parents will count as income, and thus OSAP will give me less money (probably deducting money from my bursary/grant). I've never dealt with OSAP before so I honestly don't know how this all works.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope this doesn't sound silly, but how does parental help factor into OSAP calcuations? My parents have been gracious enough to offer to continue supporting me in med school, however they certainly cannot afford the total cost of attendance and thus I will have to take out OSAP. What I'm concerned about is that the money I get from my parents will count as income, and thus OSAP will give me less money (probably deducting money from my bursary/grant). I've never dealt with OSAP before so I honestly don't know how this all works.

 

no worries - it isn't income as recongized by the government for osap purposes. The look on your tax return to define what you income actually is and I doubt you parents are giving you a T4 slip :)

 

One thing though - don't let them give you a chunk of money to sit in your bank account. If they give anything have them pay for your tuition if possible (or obviously a part of it only) directly. You don't want assets lying around, and if it is in your account it is kind of confusing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

no worries - it isn't income as recongized by the government for osap purposes. The look on your tax return to define what you income actually is and I doubt you parents are giving you a T4 slip :)

 

One thing though - don't let them give you a chunk of money to sit in your bank account. If they give anything have them pay for your tuition if possible (or obviously a part of it only) directly. You don't want assets lying around, and if it is in your account it is kind of confusing.

 

Thanks for the quick response! Two more questions: what if the money is in a joint account? I thought I read somewhere that they can't prove that it's yours because there is another name on the account, but I'm not sure if this is true or not. Also what if the account never has a large amount in it (lets say, less than $2000) at any given time (mind you, over the course of the year around 10K-15K would pass through the account, but I wouldn't keep more than 2K in it at a time)? I was planning on using OSAP to pay tuition and the help from my parents to help with living expenses, but if having money in an account (even a joint account) will cause problems then I'll do the reverse.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the quick response! Two more questions: what if the money is in a joint account? I thought I read somewhere that they can't prove that it's yours because there is another name on the account, but I'm not sure if this is true or not. Also what if the account never has a large amount in it (lets say, less than $2000) at any given time (mind you, over the course of the year around 10K-15K would pass through the account, but I wouldn't keep more than 2K in it at a time)? I was planning on using OSAP to pay tuition and the help from my parents to help with living expenses, but if having money in an account (even a joint account) will cause problems then I'll do the reverse.

 

OSAP tracks income and assets - at any one time your assets in the account are very low compared to your projected needs, and the money being put there is not income. By my understanding there would be no issues.

 

Although I won't mess with joint accounts if you can avoid it - don't do things to confuse OSAP :) Money transfers are cleaner and accomplish the exact same thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OSAP tracks income and assets - at any one time your assets in the account are very low compared to your projected needs, and the money being put there is not income. By my understanding there would be no issues.

 

Although I won't mess with joint accounts if you can avoid it - don't do things to confuse OSAP :) Money transfers are cleaner and accomplish the exact same thing.

 

Thanks for helping me understand this!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...
no worries - it isn't income as recongized by the government for osap purposes. The look on your tax return to define what you income actually is and I doubt you parents are giving you a T4 slip :)

 

One thing though - don't let them give you a chunk of money to sit in your bank account. If they give anything have them pay for your tuition if possible (or obviously a part of it only) directly. You don't want assets lying around, and if it is in your account it is kind of confusing.

 

So when they say "monetary gifts" are considered income, they don't consider if people pay for things for you, only if you directly receive money? Just out of curiosity - thanks for the info.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When you apply for OSAP, it asks for all your assets (including money in your bank account).

 

Based on the OSAP calculator, if I decrease my asset by $1000, the aid I get increases by $1000.

 

Is it a legitimate strategy to get rid of as much money out of your bank account as possible to max out the OSAP you get?

E.g. you could pay your cell phone bill for the next few months, overpay your credit card, etc. How else could you do it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

novascotia2010 made a sweet spreadsheet comparing the LOC offers from various banks. Its in the Dal forums, but I thought it might be useful for everyone else to see too.

 

Thread:

http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61672

 

And spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiNty_uU8U2ndHQtVFJ2UDJpX09JQ0phbDVLUm9rOGc#gid=3

 

Shout out to novascotia2010!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

novascotia2010 made a sweet spreadsheet comparing the LOC offers from various banks. Its in the Dal forums, but I thought it might be useful for everyone else to see too.

 

Thread:

http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61672

 

And spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiNty_uU8U2ndHQtVFJ2UDJpX09JQ0phbDVLUm9rOGc#gid=3

 

Shout out to novascotia2010!

 

Thanks for posting! I wouldn't have found it otherwise. Everyone says RBC is great but looking at the spreadsheet... Scotia is looking way more attractive! Hmmmm....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

novascotia2010 made a sweet spreadsheet comparing the LOC offers from various banks. Its in the Dal forums, but I thought it might be useful for everyone else to see too.

 

Thread:

http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61672

 

And spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiNty_uU8U2ndHQtVFJ2UDJpX09JQ0phbDVLUm9rOGc#gid=3

 

Shout out to novascotia2010!

 

Thats awesome thanks! Yeah I dont qualify a cent for OSAP as I made too much last year and have RRSPs, pension, assets, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When you apply for OSAP, it asks for all your assets (including money in your bank account).

 

Based on the OSAP calculator, if I decrease my asset by $1000, the aid I get increases by $1000.

 

Is it a legitimate strategy to get rid of as much money out of your bank account as possible to max out the OSAP you get?

E.g. you could pay your cell phone bill for the next few months, overpay your credit card, etc. How else could you do it?

 

Transfer all cash to your parents, under the guise of debt owed for undergraduate education and living expenses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The new OSAP application is now available!

 

I'm at the section where it asks if you want OSAP to pay your fees to the school or not. aka. a 'Redirection of OSAP funding'.

 

I'm not sure what to say. Does everyone just put yes here? I would think that it would generally be better for OSAP to pay you directly so that you can make your own financial decisions. The only benefit might be that the school will defer your payment (until OSAP is released) if you allow OSAP to pay them directly.

 

Does anybody have experience dealing with this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...