Repayment Options

Six months after completing your program, you will begin making student loan payments. You incorporate them into your regular monthly expenses just like rent and food.

In certain situations, and unlike most other loans, there may be some flexibility in setting the amount of the loan payment in accordance with your financial resources.

If you are unemployed or underemployed, there are options to apply for short-term interest relief or for reducing your monthly payment, which will spread your repayment over a greater number of months.

Tailoring your repayment plan to make it work for you is important.

Making a commitment to consistently pay back your student loan will help you avoid significant issues such as collections actions, additional interest charges, loss of future student loan and grant opportunities, a poor credit rating and garnisheeing of Income Tax Refunds and GST Rebates.

If you are having difficulty in making student loan payments, there are supports available under the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). RAP application can be found at www.esdc.gc.ca/repayment_assistance.pdf

You could be eligible for RAP if:

• you are currently repaying a provincial or Canada student loan
• your monthly payment amount is not in sync with your income or family size. A Repayment Assistance Plan Estimator is included to see if you might be eligible.
• your student loans are in good standing

If you qualify, a reduced monthly payment will be set for six months, based on your income. Depending on your situation, you may not need to make a payment at all for some months until your situation changes.

If you are behind on your payments, you can ask for a reduced payment to be back dated for up to 6 months. You can also ask to capitalize your interest charges by 3 months to help keep your loans in good standing.