program area

All

award type

Loan

Federal and Provincial governments help with the cost of post-secondary education through student loans, grants, and scholarships.

Single parents or students with high need may receive grants as well as loans.

Students with a temporary or permanent disability may receive additional grants for technology and services aimed to remove barriers to education.

Eligibility

Students enrolled part-time or full-time and who meet the other loan eligibility requirements, as determined by your province, can apply for loans. Ask us if you need advice on which application to submit. 

If you’re entering a structured program, we can confidently report study dates, tuition and book costs several months before your program begins; even before being accepted.

Please note that RRU does not participate in US Loan programs. While we provide this service for Canadian students, we regret that we cannot confirm enrollment for US loans. However, if you require deferment options, please contact our Financial Aid Office for assistance.

How to apply

Apply through the province where you last lived for 12 continuous months without attending full time post-secondary school.

BC residents enrolled in a structured program, find the correct study period in the online application. For students with a tailored program completion plan, hit the “study period not found” button. Financial Aid & Awards will be automatically prompted to enter your program information in StudentAid BC’s system.

A series of YouTube videos is available to help you learn about the student financial assistance journey from start to finish. Check out the playlist here.

Alberta residents, enter your own study period (min 12 weeks, max 52 weeks) tuition and books cost.

Ask Financial Aid & Awards for your study period dates and tuition and books cost in advance of completing the application for the smoothest experience.

Nova Scotia, Ontario, and PEI residents, enter your own study period (min 6 weeks, max 52 weeks). RRU staff will be automatically prompted by your province to review the dates and add the required tuition and book cost.

Ask Financial Aid & Awards for your study period dates in advance of completing the application for the smoothest experience.

Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador and Saskatchewan residents, complete the application online and email the program information to Financial Aid & Awards to complete and return to you for submission to your provincial loan administrator.

Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon residents, submit the program information form to Financial Aid & Awards to complete and submit directly to your territorial loan administrator with a copy of your course schedule for the year.

Quebec residents, complete the application online and email the Confirmation of Student Status form to Financial Aid & Awards to complete and return to you for submission to your provincial loan administrator.

Important note: Blended and online education is not funded for programs delivered outside Quebec.

How the funding process works

  1. You can apply for student loans up to 6 weeks before the end of your program.
  2. Enrollment will be confirmed as early as 30 days before the funded study period begins.
  3. Funding is sent directly to you.
  4. A new loan will put previous student loans into interest-free/payment-free status. Read more about that here.

Government loan borrower responsibilities

  1. Mind the terms you agreed to as part of the application process, particularly if this is the first loan you’ve received.
  2. Know that the first obligation for use of funds is payment of tuition seeing that education is the purpose of the loan program. This matters most when tuition and living expenses exceeds the loan amount. Plan early to find additional funding for living so that you can manage tuition payments as they become due.
  3. If your loan is scheduled to disburse after tuition is due, request a Tuition and Fee Deferral before each affected tuition deadline.
  4. Contact Financial Aid & Awards before making changes to your program completion plan during a funded period.