Before You Apply

Eligibility

In Canada, government student loans and grants are only available to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and protected persons (refugees). If you are a resident of America, please visit our Government Student Loans for United States (US) Citizens webpage.

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Provincial Residency

You must apply for government loans through the province or territory in which you hold provincial residency. Provincial/territorial residency for student loans is determined differently than the residency requirements used on provincial driver's licenses or health care cards. It is not necessarily determined by your current address or even how long you have lived in a province. Generally, you are considered an Alberta resident if you have lived in Alberta for 12 consecutive months without being a full-time post secondary student. Your provincial residency may also depend on other factors such as your dependent versus independent status.

You are considered a dependent student if you are: under the age of 23, are single, with no dependents, did not take a two year break after high school when you did not attend full-time post secondary, or have been out of highschool for more than four years.

Determining residency can be complicated and we recommend that you visit the Alberta Student Aid Eligibility webpage or contact the Student Service Centre for information on how to determine residency and whether you are a dependent or independent student.

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Family Income & Loan Eligibility

Visit the website of your province/territory student loan for more information on how family income will impact your eligibility to receive funding. 

For dependent Alberta student loan borrowers, parental income alone will not impact your ability to receive Alberta loan funding. This means that you may still receive a student loan if your parents have a high income. A few notes on this:

• Parental income is determined using Line 15000 from the previous year’s tax return. The Line 15000 is gross income (see below). 
• Parental income will be used to determine eligibility for grant funding. 
• Voluntary contributions from parents or RESPs will be considered in the assessment of the student loan (ie: parents are paying for tuition/residence, or sending their student money monthly). 

All students who apply for government student loans will need to provide their Line 15000 from the previous tax year on the student loan application. This means that you will need to have submitted your taxes in order to apply for the student loan, even if you are under 18 or have not worked. That being said, if you have not filed taxes for the previous year, an estimate of total income for that year may be accepted. Visit the Alberta Student Aid Alberta Grants web page (under Determining Family Income) or contact the Student Service Centre for more information.

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Value of Your Funding

The total amount of loan funding you receive will depend on several factors, including the cost of your program, loan limits (the maximum amount you can receive), and other eligibility factors. Many provincial loan/grant programs will provide information or calculators on their website to help you determine your eligibility.

For Alberta student loan borrowers, the maximum amount of funding you can receive depends on the program you are registered in. Visit the Alberta Student Aid Loan Limits webpage for more information on the maximum limit available for your program.

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Grant Funding

When you apply for a student loan, you are also automatically applying for grant funding; there is no separate application to apply for grant funding. Grant funding does not need to be paid back as long as you remain a full-time student. The amount of grant funding you receive will be based on your income (if you are an independent student), or the income of your parents (if you are a dependent student) or you and your spouse’s income (if you are married or common law).  The maximum amount of grant funding available through government student loans is usually not enough to fully cover all of your educational expenses and as such many students will have a mix of student loan and grant funding.

The most common full-time grant that students are eligible for is called the Canada Student Grant for Full-Time Students. Please note that this grant is not available for students in graduate, PhD or Open Studies programs. 

You can find more information about these grants on the Alberta Student Aid Canada Grants webpage. If you think you may qualify for a grant for students with permanent disabilities, please visit the University of Alberta Academic Accommodations webpage.

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Applying for Grant Funding Only

Some provinces/territories may allow you to apply for grant funding without taking out a student loan. If you would like to apply for grant funding only, please watch our instructional video below or visit us at the Student Service Centre for more information. If your student loan is from a province/territory other than Alberta, please check their website directly.

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Create Your Student Loan Accounts

The best way to stay on top of your student loan(s) is to create accounts on your student loan portals. It is important to turn on your notifications so you are alerted when there is information in your inbox. Please be sure to register for the portal specific to your province / territory of residence. Do not ignore notifications that you receive from these portals! You will only receive communications in your inboxes when there is important information or information that needs your attention. Feel free to contact the Student Service Centre if you have questions about any communications you receive.

If you are an Alberta resident and receive student loan funding from Canada and Alberta, you will need to create and check in regularly on the following three portals:

If you are an Alberta resident and receive student loan funding from Canada and Alberta, you will need to create and check in regularly on the following three portals: