All students, regardless of whether they are applying to the Faculty of Law's Financial Aid Program or not, are advised to apply to Canadian government's student grants and loan program.

Why Apply To Canada Student Loans Program

  • Typically, government aid is issued in the form of grants that do not need to be paid back and loans that require repayment.
    • Students can select to only take grants that don't require repayment and not the loans that do.
    • Government loans do not require repayment until the student graduates and then, the repayment terms are typically favorable.  Should the student not be in a position to repay the loan after graduation, there are Repayment Assistance Plans that allow graduates to pay smaller amounts based on their income.
  • Proof of having applied, and being eligible for, government student financial assistance can be used in early August to defer payment of law school tuition to a later date, when government funding and faculty funding will be available to reduce student's tuition portion.

Who Can Apply To Canada Student Loans Program.

The Canada Student Loans Program offers loan assistance to students who are
  • Citizens/permanent residents of Canada,
  • Satisfy provincial residency requirements (province in which student most recently lived for at least 12 consecutive months not including anytime spent as a full-time student at a post-secondary educational institution) and
  • Demonstrate financial need.

How To Apply To Canada Student Loans Program

  • Students should apply to the program through their province or territory of residence via links available on the Canada Student Loans Program web site.
  • Students can get an estimate of the aid they may receive from the Government online 
  • Students should apply for government financial aid as soon as the applications are available (typically in April or May of each year) because the application approval process can take several months AND
  • Faculty's Financial Aid application requires copies of the government funding application, so students need to apply for government funding PRIOR to filling out their Faculty Financial Aid application.

IMPORTANT - Please read before completing the government student financial aid application:

  • Students should choose bachelor or undergraduate study as their level of study
  • Students should NOT include any anticipated Faculty bursary in their government loan applications
    • Once students are granted bursaries, the University will report these bursaries to OSAP. Students from other provinces are responsible for reporting Faculty bursaries they are receiving for the current academic year as per their provincial government student financial assistance agency’s reporting requirements. The bursary received should be reported AFTER it has been disbursed into the student’s account on ACORN.
  • Students should take screen shots of their government application.  These will need to be submitted with their Faculty Financial Aid application.  Some provinces/territories do not allow students to have access to their applications once they are submitted, so the screen shots are your only record of the government application submission.

Who At UofT To Contact With Questions About Your Government Funding

Further information about government funding programs is available from University of Toronto's Registrar's Office.

  • Information about OSAP loans 

The University of Toronto's Registrar Office is responsible for processing and reviewing Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) applications for all University of Toronto students, including J.D. students. OSAP inquiries can be addressed to the UofT Registrar's OSAP Office

  • Information about Out of Province loans 

The University of Toronto's Registrar Office is responsible for processing and reviewing Out of Province Student Assistance Program applications for all University of Toronto students, including J.D. students. Out of province loan inquiries can be addressed to the UofT Registrar's OOP Office.

How is Government Funding Treated by the Financial Aid Office

All applicants to the Financial Aid program are expected to apply for Government Assistance. The applicants will be deemed to receive $10,000 in assistance unless the applicants receive a smaller amount in total aid. Applicants choosing to only take grants and not loans will be deemed $10,000.