Funding Education

[Volly]

Hello,
I am an international student from Nigeria, currently a second-year undergraduate at an Ontario university.
When I was processing my admission and study permit in 2022, my family could just afford my tuition and living expenses based on the exchange rate then. However, the exchange rate from NGN to CAD has since quadrupled due to new government policies (currently about 1 CAD to 1200 NGN).

I am looking for suggestions for ways to finance my education. I am doing very well in my studies and even with a partial scholarship, I currently owe more than 20000 CAD to pay by April. As a full-time student, there are no part-time jobs that pay enough based on my available after-school hours and loans I have seen advertised have unaffordable interest rates.

Any suggestions or similar experiences would be appreciated.

 

[Shmiler]

Does the university offer payment plans? Have you spoken to them directly to find out what sort of support they can offer? If not, then that would be my first port of call.

 

[Naturgrl]

Agree talk to your university about options. There is no way to not pay and continue studies. You also need to talk to your parents on how you are going to pay tuition now and for the next few years. Research different loans too.

 

[canuck78]

Realistically if you have 2 more years of undergrad to go it may not be possible for you to continue studying in Canada. It is already quite unusual to be able to defer tuition payment which appears you have been able to do unless the 20k is for upcoming semester/year. Is the 20k tuition payment for this semester? If you are unable to pay have you discussed with your university whether you can continue studying? If your parents can not cover the 20k for this year how did they expect to pay for costs in 3rd and 4th year? International students were never supposed to be able or cover their costs by working. The ability to work was supposed to be able to supplement their living expenses. Many are under the false impression that costs can be covered by working which in reinforced by consultants in their home country who lie to people.

 

[canuck78]

Does the university offer payment plans? Have you spoken to them directly to find out what sort of support they can offer? If not, then that would be my first port of call.

It appears like they have already been given the ability to pay late but at a certain point the university will require paying tuition if you are attending classes. A 20k debt to the school would be very difficult to pay off by the end of the semester.

 

[Volly]

Yes I was allowed to defer my fees. If I cannot pay by April, interest will be charged every month. I hope to be able to pay by the end of summer so I can register for the next session so August is the latest I have.

 

[scylla]

Hello,
I am an international student from Nigeria, currently a second-year undergraduate at an Ontario university.
When I was processing my admission and study permit in 2022, my family could just afford my tuition and living expenses based on the exchange rate then. However, the exchange rate from NGN to CAD has since quadrupled due to new government policies (currently about 1 CAD to 1200 NGN).

I am looking for suggestions for ways to finance my education. I am doing very well in my studies and even with a partial scholarship, I currently owe more than 20000 CAD to pay by April. As a full-time student, there are no part-time jobs that pay enough based on my available after-school hours and loans I have seen advertised have unaffordable interest rates.

Any suggestions or similar experiences would be appreciated.

Have you spoken to the university about any available bursaries or scholarships? If not, I would do that.

You can also look into the destitute student work permit. It's not guaranteed you would be approved so if you go this route I would recommend staying in school until you know the outcome of your application. Good luck.

 

[canuck78]

Yes I was allowed to defer my fees. If I cannot pay by April, interest will be charged every month. I hope to be able to pay by the end of summer so I can register for the next session so August is the latest I have.

Have you discussed with your school what will happen if you can’t pay by April? Will you be able to register for next year? Even if you are able to pay by the summer there is a good chance that the school may want payment upfront before you are able to attend the next semester since I assume you will not have savings to pay for next year if you are only able to get enough savings by the end of the summer to cover the last year. Most schools will not keep allowing you to have extensions and paying extremely lat because most will no longer be able to pay at a certain point. Would suggest you speak to the international student advisor and your family about potential options and a plan. Would also ask the student advisor direct questions about what would happen if you were unable to pay next September. Would you be able to get an extension again and for how long? Would you be allowed to attend the winter semester if you haven’t paid for the Fall semester? Knowing what you can expect will make knowing what your options are more evident. Asking about scholarships and bursaries is a good idea although realistically there aren’t a lot of scholarships and bursaries for undergraduate international students especially for anywhere close to the full tuition costs. There may be some small bursaries available which will help a little bit to cover things like food but unlikely for all tuition or living expenses. Certainly worth asking.

 

[Volly]

Thank you for the suggestions. I am going to be discussing more with the school. So far I know that I would not be able to enrol in courses next session without completely paying the fees. Hopefully, I can raise money by working in the summer.
Does anyone have any information about places I may be able to qualify loans with reasonable interest rates?

 

[YVR123]

Thank you for the suggestions. I am going to be discussing more with the school. So far I know that I would not be able to enrol in courses next session without completely paying the fees. Hopefully, I can raise money by working in the summer.
Does anyone have any information about places I may be able to qualify loans with reasonable interest rates?

If you are not enrolled, can you actually work in the summer in Canada? Or are you going to leave and raise fund before you return.

 

[canuck78]

Thank you for the suggestions. I am going to be discussing more with the school. So far I know that I would not be able to enrol in courses next session without completely paying the fees. Hopefully, I can raise money by working in the summer.
Does anyone have any information about places I may be able to qualify loans with reasonable interest rates?

As always indicated if you don’t have the money to enrol for next school year you would not qualify to work. Unless you have a rare high paying skill there is no way you will be able to save enough to an over your costs next year by working over the summer. Canadian students can’t cover their costs by working over the summer and have a lower tuition payment. You would need to look for loans in your home country and unless your parents have significant assets to underwrite the loan then interest rates will be high. Your family needs to assess whether taking on that level of debt and repayment is actually feasible or will put your family in a much more precarious condition. No education is worth losing a family home for example especially given that securing PR isn’t even guaranteed and due to COL paying back the loans may be difficult.