In your second post you mention "My Financial Aiod Office ..." Exactly what financial aid office are you referrining to here? What school here in Canada will you be attending? From your posts, it appears you may not be 100% clear on the entire process.
In a nutshell (as DBSS pointed out) the correct process you should be following is this:
1.) Do some research and select a school (or schools) that offer the program(s) you're interested in.
2.) Submit application(s) to the school(s). Each school has it's own policies and qualification requirements. Whereas some colleges are non-competitive, most (if not all) universities have competitive admissions policies. You'll find specifics at each school's websites, including instructions onhow to apply, what documents to submit, etc. Some schools put more weight on GPA, class standing, etc. whereas others may value extracurricular activitiies, etc as well. Keep in mind that universities receive many more applications each year than they have openings, so be flexible and apply to more than one school unless you're previous academics are top-tier. Each school sets its own policies as far as fees are concerned, including the application fee, which usually run anywhere from $75.00 to $300.00, each. Also, when checking out a school, make sure you're looking at the section for INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS. Tuitions and fees for non-Canadian citizen or PR students are much higher (including the initial application fee) and a small number of course/degree offerings may also be unavailable to international students.
Also important: When you apply, you'll have to specify the program as well as the start term. Not to worry, you can always change the program later if your goals/interests change. You'll also likely need to furnish proof of adequate English or French (if the school is in Quebec) language skills.
3.) After processing your application(s) the school(s) will send you one of three letters:
a) rejection, either because you don't meet the program's prerequisites, because other applicants had better application packets than you and all slots are filled, or because your application was submitted too late for the requested starting term.
b) request for more information, usually because the application was incomplete and/or required documents were not received.
c) a conditional acceptance. This is the one you're looking for. This letter will state that you've been accepted into the program you applied for and will outline next-steps you need to follow. Basically this means formally agreeing to the school's provisional acceptance in writing, possibly writing a language assessment exam (details will be provided), and remitting tuition and fees. Most schools require the up-front payment of estimated tuition and fees for the first term. (For latter terms, a commitment fee of $500 to $1000 is due about halfway through the current term, rather than the full tuition/fee amount required for the first term.) This payment is refundable (less a circa $500 administrative fee) only if you are unable to get a study permit, so only make the payment if you're certaiun of your plans. lastly, the letter will detail deadlines as to payment and formal acceptance of the school's offer.
4.) Once you formally agree, meet any language or other testing requirements, and make any necessary payments, the school will provide you with the all-important ACCEPTANCE LETTER. It will specify the program of study, the start and end dates fo the program, the cost of the program, and will state exactly how much money (for tuition/fees) you have paid. Until y0u receive this letter, you cannot apply for a Study Permit.
IMPORTANT: THE COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH PROCESSING OR GRANTING A STUDY PERMIT.
5.) Only after you receive the accepatance letter can you apply for the Study Permit. At a minimum, you'll need the letter, proof-of-funds and a valid passport. Proof-of-funds can be a current bank statement, actual cash, etc. You must show an amount that covers, at a minimum, the cost of the first year tuition and fees, plus $10,000 for the first year's living exdpenses. Any amounts you have already paid (as stated in the acceptance letter) can bet deucted froim the amount you need to show.
5a. If you are a U.S. citizen applicant only, you can get the Study Permit any point of entry (either by land or air). No medicals or police background checks are necessary. The whole process will take about 20 minutes. If your eligible to use this method, do not try to get the permit too soon. Generally, they'll issue the permit about a month before start of the term but not earlier.
5b. Non-U.S. (but visa-exempt) applicants: Follow the Study Permit application procedures on the CIC website. Medicals/police checks may or may not be required, depending on nationality.
A few other notes/thoughts ...
1) I have purposely avoided topics such as proving strong home ties, aplying for a program/degree that follows logical progression based on previous educational/work expereience, etc. Since you mentioned you're visa-exempt these issues aren't as important for you. In addition, these topics have been addressed ad-infinitum in other threads and need not be repeated here.
2) Don't count on scholarships/bursaries to supplement your funding. Bursaries are ONLY awarded to Canadian citizens/PRs, and scholarships are only VERY VERY RARELY provided to international students. Unless the source of scholarship is in your home country, don't assume you'll get one, no matter how great a student you are.
3) You won't be able to work until you've been a studen for AT LEAST six months. You can apply for an off-campus work permit once you've demonstrated satisfactory academic preformance and attended a required orientation. Work permit fee is $150. You must be attending a Public college or university and must carry a fulltime course load. For-profit private school students are not elligible for work permits. Once you get a permit, you'll be limited to a 20-hour work week except during academic breaks. You must at all times maintain fulltime status and meet GPA minimums to maintain eligibilty to work. Important thing to remember here is DON'T COUNT ON WORK to provide funds for the first year.
For the record, I'm a U.S. citizen myself, attending school fulltime in Vancouver. The information I provide comes from first-hand experience.
Good luck in your endeavours.
