What is this Program?
A Faculty of Law interest-free loan is a loan designed to supplement, not replace, government loan programs.
If a student qualifies for interest-free loan assistance, the Faculty will advise the student as to how much interest-free loan s/he is eligible to borrow from his/her line of credit. The Faculty will reimburse the interest on amounts borrowed up to the amount of the interest-free loan while enrolled in the JD program.
The interest will be reimbursed by the Faculty from the time the student takes the loan until two months after the last day of the final year of law school, including summer months.
Back to Top
How much Interest-Free Loan can I receive?
The actual interest-free loan is determined by the Financial Aid Office based on the annual financial aid application submitted by a student.
Students may take out of their line of credit amounts over and above the Faculty interest-free loan that they are eligible for. However, the Faculty will only provide interest coverage for the approved interest-free loan amount. Any borrowed amounts not approved by the Faculty will not receive interest coverage.
Back to Top
Am I eligible?
Scotiabank requires that the student be a Canadian citizen, or have landed immigrant status, have a credit history in good standing (i.e. not recently bankrupt, in default of a current loan or have a history of chronically missed payments) and not be overly debt-involved (maximum loans at time of graduation cannot exceed $100,000, with certain exceptions).
If you are concerned about your eligibility, or you are not a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant, please contact the Financial Aid Office at financialaid.law@utoronto.ca or by phone at (416) 978-3716 as soon as possible.
Back to Top
How do I Apply?
In order to qualify for an interest-free loan, students must complete both of the following Application Forms:
Back to Top
I've applied, what happens next?
The Financial Aid Office will contact incoming first-year students a few weeks after the application deadline and provide them with a provisional assessment of their bursary and interest-free loan eligibility.
These provisional assessments will be finalized in the fall, after students have provided their final documents.
Back to Top
What about repayment?
With the exception of the fact that interest costs will be reimbursed by the Faculty while eligible financial aid recipients are in school, the loan is treated as any normal bank loan and is repayable to Scotiabank after graduation, subject to eligibility for Post-Graduation Debt Relief.
For amounts over $10,000, the loan amortization period will typically be 10 years.
In addition, for up to 18 months after graduation, at times when a graduate may not be earning a sufficient income or has moved on to further education, a graduate can choose to service the loan by making interest-only payments rather than blended interest and principal payments.
Students in a Combined J.D./Ph.D. program who have completed the J.D. portion of the program and are still working on the thesis portion of the combined degree will be responsible for their Scotiabank loans after graduating from law school.
Back to Top
Summary of Steps to be taken to apply for Faculty of Law Financial Aid
Fill out and submit a Faculty of Law Financial Aid Application.
Check your credit rating.
Apply for government assistance from your home province. Apply as early as possible because
- processing of government student financial assistance applications may take a long time.
- proof of having applied, and being eligible for, government student financial assistance can be used in early August to defer payment of tuition to a later date.
Not Applying for Faculty of Law Financial Assistance
All students are encouraged to apply for financial aid assistance. Students who are not considering seeking financial aid assistance from the Faculty:
Back to Top
