Students (and their parents!) spend so much time figuring out what and where to study, but often leave conversations about how to pay until the last minute.
We created our Ways to Pay for School worksheets so that students can get a handle on their expenses and sources of funds before they even arrive on campus. Being aware of funding gaps early and having a plan to fill those gaps will reduce a lot of stress, leaving you with more time to study.
The best way to prepare for post-secondary financially is to understand the expense and to line up all your funding before you arrive on campus. We work to help students get the needed funds, so you can focus on studying, not stressing about money!
Expenses & Source of Funds Worksheet:
HigherEdPoints has helped students and family fund over 2 million dollars in tuition and student loan repayments – that’s more than 300 million loyalty points! Find out how it works here.
Download this fillable worksheet to get started on tracking your expenses and sources of funds, or download a PDF version for your classroom!
There’s lots of free money out there for funding your education (scholarships, bursaries, etc.) it’s just a matter of knowing where to look. We’ve compiled some tips on where to find funds before, during, and after post-secondary too!
Did You Know?
The average Canadian student graduates with about 27k in debt, but there’s millions of dollars in funding available! Through HigherEdPoints.com students can use ANYONE’s loyalty points to fund tuition and student loan repayments. We’re obsessed with helping students find all the sources of funding they can, so we created this guide with our favourite Ways To Pay For School.
Below we’ve complied some advice and tips to make your post-secondary journey as smooth as possible, so you can focus on what really matters at school.
Before You Get to School
- Start looking at what and where you want to study.
- Research expenses for your top 3 choices.
- Compile the sources of funds you’ve got lined up.
- Investigate scholarships, awards, and government loans so you know what is required for each.
#1 Tip: Apply for every scholarship you can in Grade 12- it’s the very best time in your educational career to land some free money!
As Soon As You’re Enrolled
- Meet your campus financial aid officers (FAO’s)– they are dedicated to helping students find funding for school.
- Ask about campus work-study programs – the spots go quickly.
- Enroll for any scholarship/bursary alerts at your school so you don’t miss out on any opportunities for funding.
- Visit the campus career center to see if there’s any part-time jobs available or if there’s any career fairs coming up.
#1 Tip: If you see a financial bump in the road deal with it right away! FAO’s can likely assist.
After You Graduate:
If you’ve got Canada student loans or Provincial loans you won’t have to pay the principal for 6 months post-graduation, but interest may start to accrue- if you can, start paying back your loans before you graduate and during your ‘grace period’ to reduce the overall interest you’ll pay (we calculated paying $250 before graduation will save you $130 in interest over the average 8-10 years it takes a grad to pay back their loans!).
Even after you graduate your school’s career centre can help set you up with a job so keep your alerts on and keep your school email active!
#1 Tip: Attend campus student loan repayment sessions and read your repayment notices to understand the details.
Helpful Sites:
HigherEdpoints.com – Use loyalty points for tuition and student loan payments.
Scholarshipscanada.com – Canada’s largest database of scholarships.
Canlearn.ca – Government student loan site.
Indeed.com – Jobs for all stages
If you’d like more Ways To Pay For School tips, or info about HigherEdPoints’ seminars get in touch! Email us at Info@higheredpoints.com or give us a call at 1-855-435-8941.
Have some tips to share about other Ways to Pay for School? Get in touch at: info@HigherEdPoints.com