How to Get Your Student Loan Money
Once your province or territory assesses your loan application, the following steps will occur. (Processes can vary across jurisdictions, so contact your Provincial or Territorial Student Assistance Office if you have any questions.)
Step 1:
You will receive a letter of assessment telling you how much money you'll receive.
Step 2:
Once you receive your loan document (either through the mail or from the financial aid office of the school you'll be attending), 2 things need to happen.
(a) Your school must confirm that you are enrolled.
This can either be done in person or it may already have been completed for you electronically. If the section of the document in which your school would confirm enrolment has been completed, you don't need to meet with your financial aid officer in person. If you disagree with the amount of money that is being sent to your school to cover tuition, you can meet with your financial aid officer and, together, revise the information.
(b) You must read and sign your loan documents.
Your loan agreement is a legal document that governs the management of your student loans. When you sign your loan document, you agree to be bound by those terms and conditions. They include important commitments, such as:
- you agree to repay your loan (plus interest) beginning 6 months after your studies have ended or after you have left school
- you agree to advise the NSLSC (for federal loans) of any change in contact information
- you acknowledge that for 6 months after you have completed your studies or left school, you will not be required to make payments. Interest, however, will start to accumulate on your loans.
If you are receiving a Canada Student Loan for part-time studies, you'll also need to sign the Canada Student Loan Agreement (Part-Time), included in your loan documents. If you don't have this form, you can get it from a designated Canada Post Outlet.
Step 3:
Send or submit your completed loan documents as follows.
- Submit any Canada Student Loan documents (for part-time and full-time students) or loan documents for residents from provinces offering integrated loans (Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, or Newfoundland and Labrador) to a designated Canada Post Outlet or an on-campus student loan kiosk.
- Both the kiosks and the Canada Post outlets will ask to check your identification. Read more about the Identification Required.
- Full-time students who are permanent residents of one of these provinces or territories should contact their Provincial or Territorial Student Assistance Office after receiving their loan documents to check the loan document submission process: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut or the Northwest Territories.
Step 4:
Once the loan documents have been received and verified for completeness, they will be processed. Your money will be issued via cheque or direct deposit, if you have included banking information on your loan document. If you did, you will receive your money faster.
If information is missing, the NSLSC may try to contact you after you have sent the documents. Return these calls! You won't receive your money if information is missing.
Step 5:
Keep your loan documents in order according to year, and put them in 1 place for easy reference. You may need to refer to them in the future once you start Paying Back Loans.