Student Loans & Grants

• BC residents can apply for student loans and grants (non-repayable) through StudentAid BC
• StudentAid BC’s website provides information on applying for full-time and part-time student loans, grants and repaying your loan.
• When you apply, you’ll be assessed for both BC (provincial) and Canada (federal government) loans and grants
• Indigenous students: if you are receiving Band funding, you may still be eligible to apply for student loans and grants. Contact Financial Aid & Awards or Indigenous Student Services for more information. 
• While enrolled in full-time studies, you don’t have to pay back your student loan or interest
• Repayment begins six months after you stop full-time studies
• The National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) offers an on-demand online webinar to help you understand student loans and grants, your responsibilities and how repayment works: Student Loans and Grants Orientation webinar (19 minutes)

Take a look at the information below to determine whether a full-time or part-time student loan suits your needs best.

Full-time Students

Minimum required course load for BC student loans:

• Enrolment in at least 60% of a full-time course load which is a minimum of 9 credits at the 100 level or higher (not including repeat/duplicate courses). A full-time course load is 15 credits.

Full-Time Studies Application

Part-time Students

Minimum required course load for BC student loans:

• Enrolment in between 3 - 8.75 credits at the 100 level or higher (not including repeat/duplicate courses).

Part-Time Studies Application

Students with Disabilities

Students with a recognized permanent disability as approved through StudentAid BC.

Minimum required course load for BC student loans:

• Enrolment in a minimum of 6 credits at the 100 level or higher (not including repeat/duplicate courses) to be considered a full-time student by StudentAid BC

Full-Time Studies Application

• Submit a separate application for each term through StudentAid BC
• Apply early before the term starts: applications can take up to 2 months to be processed, so apply through StudentAid BC at least 2 - 3 months before the start of each term
• You can start your application before you’ve received official admission or registered in courses
• The deadline to submit your application is 6 weeks before the end of the term
• Funding is only released on or after the first day of classes, so if you need your loan to pay your tuition, apply for a Fee Deferral once you receive your notification letter from StudentAid BC.

Your enrolment will automatically be confirmed:

• when your Master Student Financial Assistance Agreement (MSFAA) has been approved
• a few days before the start of the term 

You need to ensure that:

• your legal name on your CapU record matches your legal name on your approved loan application
• you're enrolled in the program that matches the program that your loans are approved for
• you're registered in the minimum required eligible course load
• your registration dates match the dates for your approved loans

• If there’s a balance owing on your CapU student account when your enrolment is confirmed, your student loans will be sent to CapU to cover the amount owing on that day or the total amount of your loan, whichever is less.
• Grant amounts are not sent directly to the school
• If the student loan payment creates a credit balance in your CapU student account, CapU will send you a refund cheque
• Monitor your student account, as the loan amount provided to CapU may not cover the total amount charged to your student account for the term

• StudentAid BC requires you to maintain the minimum course load for the entire study period for which you've received funding
• If you have to withdraw from a course for extenuating circumstances – often related to a medical situation – you may be able to appeal to StudentAid BC

Courses that are a repeat/duplicate of courses you have previously received credit for can't be counted towards the minimum required courseload for student loan funding and interest-free status.

StudentAid BC states that students repeating courses solely to improve their grades are not eligible for financial assistance (whether you paid for tuition costs on your own or were in receipt of student assistance).

StudentAid BC may consider an appeal if you have passed a course but did not obtain the grade required to proceed to the next level of the program.

To request this consideration, complete a StudentAid BC appeal request form (available in their Form Library under "Appeal Request Forms – Repeat Course") and submit it to StudentAid BC for their decision.

Appeals can take 6-8 weeks to be reviewed by StudentAid BC.

If you're planning to enroll in courses at both CapU and another post-secondary institution during the same term, you may be eligible for StudentAid BC funding and/or to maintain interest-free status if all of the following criteria are met:

• The post-secondary institution you are attending, in addition to Capilano University, is a designated school as defined under StudentAid BC regulations
• The course(s) taken at the other institution is/are an essential element of your program of study and count for credit towards your credential at your "home institution"
• Your combined total credits at both institutions are equivalent to a 60% course load (9 eligible credits) for a full-time loan or 40% course load (6 eligible credits) for students with approved disability status with StudentAid BC or between 20% to 59% course load (3 to 8.75 credits) for a part-time loan
• You will complete your courses within four months

During your split enrolment, your home institution (the school from which you will receive your credential) is responsible for providing StudentAid BC with confirmation of your enrolment, irrespective of which institution you are taking the greater course load at. 

If your home school is Capilano University, download and complete the Split Enrolment form (pdf) and submit it to the Financial Aid Office of the other institution, who must then send it back to CapU. If Capilano University is not your home institution, please contact the Financial Aid office of your home institution.

If your student loan is through a provider other than StudentAid BC, please contact Financial Aid & Awards prior to completing the Split Enrolment form.

While you are enrolled in full-time studies, you are not required to make payments on the principal of your loan and the interest is paid by the provincial and federal governments. Repayment will begin six months after you stop full-time studies. 

StudentAid BC repayment information

• How does loan repayment work?
• How much will my monthly payments be?
• What happens if I miss a payment?
• I can't afford my payments. What do I do?

Student Loan Repayment Webinar

The National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) offers an on-demand online webinar to help you understand the student loan repayment process. 

• Student Loan Repayment webinar (26 minutes)

When applying for student loans for the Summer term, you need to be registered in courses for the entire study period that your student loan has been approved for.

For example, if your student loans are for the study period of May – August, your registration record must show that you will be studying full-time in a combination of courses that total at least 9 eligible credits that run from May – August.  This could be a combination of Summer Session 1 (May – June), Summer Session 2 (July – August), and/or full Summer term (May – August) courses.

If you’re studying full-time in a term and have a full-time student loan for that term, you will be automatically on interest-free status.

If you will not be taking out a student loan for a term in which you will be studying full-time, you need to apply for interest-free status each term online through StudentAid BC for BC residents or through the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) and/or the province you received your student loans from.