OSAP will be offering free tuition to eligible students starting in the 2017-18 school year.
A team of young marketing specialists with Free For All Marketing have been travelling all over the province to spread the word of OSAP's new format that, if in place right now, would be helping as many as 230,000 students finish their school year with less debt.
The team from Free For All Marketing was in Sudbury on March 21 at the New Sudbury Centre to "give students a shot" at free tuition.
"We have kiosks set up for students to see what types of grants and loans they are eligible for," said Sara MacLellan, account co-ordinator, Free For All Marketing.
"We're trying to get students and prospective students informed on what's out there and available to them."
Starting this upcoming school year, students with financial need from families with incomes of less than $50,000 per year will have average tuition fully covered by OSAP. Middle-income students will also receive more generous OSAP grants and loans.
Grants are money provided by OSAP that does not have to be paid back, while loans are money that will have to be repaid, but is interest and payment-free while you are in school full-time.
The kiosks set up at New Sudbury Centre on Tuesday were essentially loan calculators that compared education costs and personal financial situation. For a typical two-term academic year, full-time students are eligible for up to $13,260 in loans and non-repayable grants, while married students and sole support parents can get up to $22,440.
The 2017-18 applications for full-time students will be available online sometime this spring. In the meantime, students can visit www.ontario.ca/osap and use the OSAP calculator to find out how much OSAP funding you are eligible for.
