Tuition rebate kicking in for Ontario students

[mentalfloss]

Tuition rebate kicking in for Ontario students

Starting this semester, about 300,000 Ontario college and university students can apply for a 30 per cent rebate on their tuition, MPPs told students across the province yesterday.

In Ottawa, MPP Yasir Naqvi held a press event at Carleton University and said the price of keeping the Liberal campaign promise will be steep but worth it.

“The cost to the treasury, especially in these tough economic times, is about $430 million a year,” he said, “but we are committed in ensuring that education remains affordable and accessible.”

The rebate doesn’t apply to part-time students and those who graduated from high school over four years ago — and opposition parties and the Canadian Federation of Students say the Liberals should reduce tuition fees for everyone.

Premier Dalton McGuinty held a similar event at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he also spoke about how the province will deal with the $16-billion deficit.

“We’re all going to have a role to play if we’re going to be as effective as we need to be in terms of strengthening this economy and ensuring that we’re getting ever more value for the public dollars that are being invested,” McGuinty said.

Metro - Tuition rebate kicking in for Ontario students

 

[DurkaDurka]

This "rebate" certainly won't help the deficit.

 

[mentalfloss]

It won't, but the real question is whether or not it is a good expenditure.

With the way students have been getting saddled before entering the work force, it could really help the economy to give them a bit of a break.

 

[Walter]

My daughter is getting this rebate and all she will do is invest it with the rest of her thousands. She doesn't need it but the idiot premier keeps throwing the money around.

 

[mentalfloss]

My daughter is getting this rebate and all she will do is invest it with the rest of her thousands. She doesn't need it but the idiot premier keeps throwing the money around.

On a four year term, this could end up saving the average student up to $6000.00 in tuition fees. That's a pretty big boost to help get their careers going.

 

[Walter]

It won't, but the real question is whether or not it is a good expenditure.

With the way students have been getting saddled before entering the work force, it could really help the economy to give them a bit of a break.

We should teach them to use their money wisely instead of teaching them to rely on my tax dollars.

 

[mentalfloss]

We should teach them to use their money wisely instead of teaching them to rely on my tax dollars.

If it makes education affordable for more people, then it's a good investment that positively impacts the economy.

 

[DurkaDurka]

It won't, but the real question is whether or not it is a good expenditure.

With the way students have been getting saddled before entering the work force, it could really help the economy to give them a bit of a break.

I had to take loans when I went to school as well, I really don't have any sympathy for them.

 

[mentalfloss]

I had to take loans when I went to school as well, I really don't have any sympathy for them.

So did I, but we have to come to terms with the fact that tuition costs keep rising (and higher than inflation). With each successive year, those that apply get screwed more than those previously.

 

[DurkaDurka]

So did I, but we have to come to terms with the fact that tuition costs keep rising (and higher than inflation). With each successive year, those that apply get screwed more than those previously.

Compared to an education in the US, schooling in Canada looks like a bargain still.

 

[mentalfloss]

Compared to an education in the US, schooling in Canada looks like a bargain still.

The cost of education in the U.S. is part of what's fueling their economic disparity.

If you have too many people riddled with debt, your economy begins to tank.

 

[lone wolf]

My daughter is getting this rebate and all she will do is invest it with the rest of her thousands. She doesn't need it but the idiot premier keeps throwing the money around.

Doesn't she have to apply for it?

 

[Walter]

Doesn't she have to apply for it?

No; if you apply for OSAP you are already on their radar so they take the stats you provide on your OSAP application and apply the data to this rebate.

 

[mentalfloss]

Tuition rebate to be funded by cutting expenditures, Ontario says

Sam Andrey, executive director of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, praised the move as “a very real and a very significant relief to students.” But he said the decision to pay for some of the grant by cancelling a trio of existing supports – the Textbook and Technology Grant, the Trust for Student Support and the Queen Elizabeth II Aiming for the Top Scholarships – is disappointing.

“It’s too bad,” he said, “especially the textbook and technology grant being cut – for those that aren’t eligible for the new tuition grant, it’s a real cut. They’re getting $150 less.”

Mr. Murray said axing the programs saves the government tens of millions of dollars, and deeming them less relevant with other scholarships proliferating and arguing they are giving way to “a larger and more relevant program.”

“We have to be agile. Programs are out there for the conditions of the time, and you have to revisit and repurpose them,” he said.

Some eligible students hailed the grant as a welcome elixir to Ontario’s steadily rising tuition fees – already the country’s highest at $6,640 on average.

Huzaifa Saeed, a fourth-year student at McMaster University, called it “a massive step.” He works three part-time jobs – at a gas station, as a soccer referee, and with McMaster’s student union – and although he’ll receive only $800 before he graduates, he has a brother finishing high school who will reap its full rewards.

“When I get this grant, it’s only $800, but I could quit one or two of those jobs and then have weekends to study,” he said. “It’s these minor differences that make a big impact.”

Tuition rebate to be funded by cutting expenditures, Ontario says - The Globe and Mail

 

[Tonington]

We should teach them to use their money wisely instead of teaching them to rely on my tax dollars.

No; if you apply for OSAP you are already on their radar so they take the stats you provide on your OSAP application and apply the data to this rebate.

Ontario students are automatically considered for the grant if they receive OSAP. If she doesn't receive OSAP, then she has to register for an OSAP number, and then fill out the online grant application. Then you and she will need to sign declarations.

Did you not teach her to use her money wisely? Or perhaps you and she need to read a bit more about what is required for that free money taken from your tax dollars Walt.
https://osap.gov.on.ca/OSAPPortal/en/PostsecondaryEducation/Tuition/index.htm

 

[Walter]

Ontario students are automatically considered for the grant if they receive OSAP. If she doesn't receive OSAP, then she has to register for an OSAP number, and then fill out the online grant application. Then you and she will need to sign declarations.

Did you not teach her to use her money wisely? Or perhaps you and she need to read a bit more about what is required for that free money taken from your tax dollars Walt.
https://osap.gov.on.ca/OSAPPortal/en/PostsecondaryEducation/Tuition/index.htm

All smart people apply for OSAP even if they don't receive a loan. My daughter does not need the loan so when ishe did get one she put her money in an investment vehicle and when she graduates she'll pay the loan off and keep her gains from the investment. A well coached young lady.

 

[WLDB]

I got an email about this today. I was pleasantly surprised that McGuinty is keeping his promise on this. I expect to get less from OSAP this semester forward as I started working in September. If a student makes more than $100/week they start cutting the amount of the loan. That has its ups and downs. I'll find out next week.

 

[Tonington]

All smart people apply for OSAP even if they don't receive a loan. My daughter does not need the loan so when ishe did get one she put her money in an investment vehicle and when she graduates she'll pay the loan off and keep her gains from the investment. A well coached young lady.

So people who need the loan need to be taught to live without your tax dollars, and people who don't require assistance but take it anyways and invest it are a well coached young lady. :roll:

 

[Walter]

So people who need the loan need to be taught to live without your tax dollars, and people who don't require assistance but take it anyways and invest it are a well coached young lady. :roll:

Obviously this concept is beyond your ken.

 

[Tonington]

Obviously this concept is beyond your ken.

You're right, I don't abandon principles because of convenience or chastise people for doing what I say they shouldn't. Also, I pay all that money back and then some. The majority of my student loans are actually from my bank.