Loans

Students from the United States

As of the 2019 Fall Term, the university no longer participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Student Loan Program, also known as the Direct Loan Program. This means students with American citizenship will no longer be eligible to receive funding through the Direct Loan Program while attend the University of Saskatchewan.

If you had a direct loan prior to attending USask, we can work with you to defer the interest on your existing direct loan. Please contact student.loans@usask.ca for more information. 

If necessary, we encourage you to explore other funding options including Private Loans and USask bursaries and scholarships.  

If you are considering Private Loans, we encourage you to research the terms and conditions carefully. Private student loans are nonfederal loans, made by a lender such as a bank, credit union or state agency.

Saskatchewan Student Aid – 2024-2025 Student Aid Changes

The 2024-25 Saskatchewan Student Aid Handbook contains valuable information about the student aid program, including the following:

• Printable Applications and Forms
• changes for the new student aid year, beginning on August 1, 2024
• who is eligible;
• how much assistance you can receive;
• grants you may be eligible for;
• scholarships;
• maintaining your eligibility while in school; and
• repaying the student loan.

Please read the handbook carefully before applying for student aid.

You are eligible to apply for government student aid if you are:

• A Canadian citizen or permanent resident, or designated as a protected person
• Enrolled in or qualified to enrol as a full-time* student (unless you plan to apply for a loan as a part-time student)
• Approved for a reduced course load - you must be registered in a minimum of 6 credit units per term (40% of a full course load) in order to maintain full-time status
  * full time is defined as taking nine credit units per term (typically three classes for most undergraduates)
  * If you are enrolled at more than one institution, to be considered a full-time student your combined course load should be equivalent to nine credit units per term (typically three classes for most undergraduates)

While student aid can help with expenses, it is meant to supplement - not replace - other resources to pay for post-secondary education. Consider the following additional options: employment, internship or co-op programs offered for your program of study, bursaries, grants, and scholarships available through USask or external scholarship sites, savings and funding from parents and relatives.

Spring and Summer Student Aid

To be eligible for full-time student aid during the spring and/or summer terms:

• Your enrolment must be at least 6 consecutive weeks in length (except in the case where you have student aid extended)
• You must continue to be enrolled in 60 per cent of a full course load in each term, which will be defined based on the period of study you are enrolled full-time (see chart below).
• Students with permanent disabilities must be enrolled in 40 per cent of a full course load in each term, which will be defined based on the period of study you are enrolled full-time (see chart below).
• You are ineligible for student aid funding for any time period when you are registered in 0 credit units. You must have continuous registration.

Student Aid Extensions

You can get a Spring, quarter 1 student aid extension if:

• Your period of study is September 4, 2024, to May 30, 2025 (Fall/Winter and Spring, quarter 1), and you registered in at least 9 credit units or more in each of Fall and Winter Terms, and are registered in 2 credit units or more in Spring, quarter 1.
• Your period of study is January 6 to May 30, 2025 (Winter Term and Spring, quarter 1), and you registered in at least 9 credit units or more in Winter Term, and are registered in 2 credit units or more in Spring, quarter 1.
• Your period of study is August 22, 2024, to May 30, 2025 (Fall-EX PR, Winter, and Spring, quarter 1), and you registered in at least 9 credit units or more in each of Fall and Winter Terms, and are registered in 2 credit units or more in Spring, quarter 1.

Students applying for Saskatchewan Student Aid are not required to complete a new application for Q1 extensions, but will have to request that a Program Information Form (PIF) be completed by Student Central. Students in the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts and Science program, please select Arts/Biomedical Sciences/Science/Undeclared as your program of study in the program list when completing your student aid application. Do not search in the options available to try to find your major.

Students applying for OSAP: Ontario Student Assistance Program must be enrolled for at least 12 consecutive weeks over the spring-summer term, except where fewer weeks meet the requirements to be treated as a continuation of the fall/winter study period or a reinstatement. If your study period is less than 12 weeks in length, you will have to request that a Program Information Form (PIF) be completed by Student Central. Students in the spring-summer term are expected to carry no more than an equivalent course/credit load to standard fall and winter terms. This means that in the spring-summer term, the student must complete the equivalent of a 60% course load (minimum 4.5 credit units in Spring and 4.5 credit units in Summer) and 40% for a student with a Permanent Disability (minimum 3 credit units in Spring and 3 credit units in Summer) across the spring-summer term.           

Students from all other provinces will have to indicate on the student aid application that you are applying for a Quarter 1 extension.

Note to students who are enrolled at more than one institution: If the full course load consists of classes from more than one educational institution and the combination of course enrolments is the equivalent of a full-time registration, you must complete the dual registration form.

Note to student who are enrolled in Open Learning class(es): if you are registered in open learning classes, you must have continuous registration for the study period you apply for and meet the eligibility criteria above. For Saskatchewan Student Aid, there cannot be a break in study of more than three consecutive weeks (21 calendar days) during the study period. Breaks in study vary by province, so please check with Student Central if you are unsure.

Practicum/Internship Information

If your program involves one or more practicum/internship placements, these placements may be eligible for additional financial assistance. Please contact your provincial/territorial government to see if you are eligible for additional funding.

Ensure full-time registration

Ensure you are registered full-time for the period of study on your assessment letter. The university will not be able to confirm that you are enrolled at the U of S if you have not registered for classes.

• To be considered a full-time student you must maintain an enrolment of 60% -100% of a full course load (40% for students with a permanent disability). At the University of Saskatchewan, full-time undergraduate students are those who are registered in 9 or more credit units per term (6 credit units for students with a permanent disability) during the Fall and Winter terms.

Paying tuition with an alternative method of payment

If you plan to use an alternate method of payment for your tuition (i.e., MasterCard), you must make payments before your loan documents are confirmed (i.e., 21 days prior to the period of study start date) to avoid having tuition remitted off your loan.

Check for oustanding balance

It is university policy that total assessed tuition and fees, for the student aid period, be deducted from your student aid if available. This amount includes both the Federal Loan amount and the Grant amount. It is your responsibility to check your account balance in PAWS to ensure that there is no outstanding balance. View your account summary in the Tuition and Fees channel in PAWS.

Register with the National Student Loans Service Centre

We encourage you to register with the National Student Loans Service Centre. Through this service you can:

• Manage your loan online
  • Make your payments online
  • View your loan information
  • Track the status of your loan funding in real time (full-time students only)
  • Update your banking information to ensure you never miss a payment
• Submit a confirmation of enrolment request if you are still in school and not receiving new funding
• Customize the payment terms of your full-time student loan(s) online, even if you are behind on payments.
• Apply for repayment assistance
• Receive helpful updates in your Personal Message Centre

While you are in school full time, your student loan(s) remain interest-free. Although you are not required to make loan payments during the first six months after you leave school, interest will begin to accumulate during this non-repayment (grace) period.

Going back to school? Reinstate your interest-free status.
Whether you take out a new student loan for upcoming studies or not, your existing loan holder(s) need to know that you are still in school. If not, you will lose the interest-free status on your existing loans and will have to start repaying loans earlier than expected.

If you are taking out a new loan and are registered as a full-time student: We will automatically confirm your enrolment to your government student loan providers. Please ensure you are registered full-time for the period of study your loan is for. We will not be able to confirm that you are enrolled at the U of S if you have not registered for classes.

If you are not taking out a new loan: You must provide Confirmation of Enrolment (Schedule 2) to your loan provider(s). As long as the completed documentation is provided to the loan provider(s) within six months of your previous period of study end date, no interest will be charged.

For Integrated Student Loans (Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, British Columbia or Newfoundland and Labrador) or Canada Student Loans log in to the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) On-Line Services and submit a Confirmation of Enrolment request online.

For full-time provincial or territorial stand-alone loans
Stay in touch with your financial institution or your provincial or territorial student assistance office directly. If you have a Canada Student Loan, you may also need to keep in touch with the NSLSC and your provincial or territorial student assistance office.

If you had a William D. Ford Federal Direct Student Loan: also known as a direct loan, prior to attending USask, we can work with you to defer the interest on your existing direct loan. Please contact student.loans@usask.ca for more information. 

Six months after you have completed full-time study, whether you have graduated, transferred to part-time studies, withdrawn, or you are taking time off from your studies, you will need to begin repaying your student loan. This is called student loan consolidation.

Prior to your loan(s) entering the repayment phase, the National Student Loans Service Centre will send you a Consolidation Letter. It outlines your repayment terms and your minimum monthly payment. Through your online NSLSC account, you can revise your monthly payment amounts, and you can make a one-time payment at any time without penalty, including both before and after you have concluded your studies (see Revision of Terms section). Contact the National Student Loans Service Centre if you have not received your repayment information one month before your loans consolidate.

We encourage you to register with the National Student Loans Service Centre Online Services. Through this service, you can customize your repayment and get repayment assistance.

Register for National Student Loan Service Centre Online Services

Maintaining Your Loan While in Repayment

As a borrower, you are required to fulfill your obligations and responsibilities of the repayment terms and conditions of your loan. Missing payments could damage your credit rating and your student loan could go into default. Defaulting on your loan will affect your credit score and in turn your ability to purchase something as simple as a new cell phone.

Repayment assistance

Contact the National Student Loans Service Centre before you miss a payment. There are repayment options available to help you manage your payments and avoid defaulting on your loan. If you have difficulty paying back your student loan, you can apply for the Repayment Assistance Plan.