Funding for full-time students

This 14-minute virtual presentation will help full-time students understand information and eligibility requirements for student financial assistance and how to apply for funding.

If you are having problems viewing or hearing the presentation, click here for support.
 

If you still have unanswered questions after watching the virtual presentation, register for one of the virtual question and answer sessions. These sessions are for Canadian citizens, permanent residents, protected persons or individuals registered under the Indian Act who will be applying for New Brunswick Student Financial Assistance. International students who are studying in New Brunswick under a student visa are not eligible for New Brunswick student financial assistance.

If you are a 2023 high school graduate entering full-time post-secondary education in the fall of 2023 and you have questions after watching the presentation, please read  the dependent student applicant information sheet. It provides an overview of the application process for students belonging to the Dependent Student Category which would be the majority of 2023 Grade 12 graduates entering year one of post-secondary studies in the fall.

If you are not able to attend one of the virtual question and answer sessions, you can contact Student Financial Services at 1-800-667-5626 with any inquiries. 

To be eligible for student financial assistance, you must:

• be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, a protected person or an individual registered under the Indian Act, regardless of your citizenship
• be a New Brunswick resident, as defined by the program
• have a financial need according to program criteria (see Calculating your need)
• be enrolled or qualified to enroll in an approved degree, diploma or certificate program of a minimum 12 weeks in length at an eligible post-secondary institution
• be taking at least 60% of a full course load, or at least 40% if you are a student with a disability
  • if your course load is less than 60%, or less than 40% if you are a student with a disability, you may be eligible for part-time student financial assistance
• maintain a satisfactory scholastic standard
• not be delinquent or in default on a previous student loan
• not have a history of credit abuse if you are 22 years of age or older and applying for the first time (for provincial funding only)
   

You are not eligible for full-time assistance if you:

• do not have an assessed need under the New Brunswick Student Financial Assistance Program
• have exceeded the number of years your school says it should take to complete your full-time program, plus one additional study period. 
• have reached the lifetime assistance limit of:
  • 340 weeks of funding
  • 400 weeks of funding for doctoral studies
  • 520 weeks of funding for students with disabilities
• are enrolled in:
  • a non-degree program
  • courses needed to be accepted in a program
  • courses you previously took and passed but are taking again to stay full-time or to get a better grade
  • practical training that takes place after graduating from the program, such as a medical internship or residency
• have received funding for two certificate or diploma programs
• declared bankruptcy
• are an international student

When you are ready to apply, review the checklist to ensure you have all the information you need to submit your application.

Student information:

• Social Insurance Number (SIN)
• Email address (where information can be sent to you regularly)
• Mailing address (where you want to receive notices and letters)
• Permanent address (if different from mailing address)
• Employment history (if applicable)
     

Academic information:

• Name of program of study
• Program start and end dates (year/month/day)
• Educational institution name and phone number
• Educational history (if applicable)
    

Resources:

• Income from your previous year’s Income Tax Return (line 15000 and 21000 – if applicable)
• Scholarships, bursaries, and other education-targeted funding
    

Student with a disability:

• If applying as a student with a disability, refer to the Students with disabilities information sheet for required documentation details
    

Permanent residents: 

• Date (year/month/day) you arrived in Canada and New Brunswick 
• Clear copy of both sides of your valid Permanent Resident (PR) card or a copy of your landing document 
• If sponsored into Canada, provide a letter from your sponsor with the details of the sponsorship
    

Protected persons of Canada (including Convention Refugees):

• Date (year/month/day) you arrived in Canada and New Brunswick
• Clear copy of both sides of your Protected Person Status Document (PPSD) which must be valid for the entire study period for which you are applying for financial assistance, or a copy of the Notice of Decision issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or a copy of the Verification of Status document from Citizenship and Immigration Canada
• Copy of your SIN document that begins with a “9”
    

Dependent students will also require:

• Date of birth of your parent(s) and any sibling(s)
• SIN of your parent(s) and any sibling(s) enrolled in post-secondary studies
• Specific line number amounts from your parents’ previous year’s Income Tax Return

You are a dependent student unless:

• you have been out of high school four years, or
• you have been in the workforce or looking for work while not in post-secondary studies for at least two periods of 12 months, or
• you are married or living common-law, or
• you are a single parent
    

Married or common-law students will also require:

• SIN and date of birth of your partner and any children enrolled in post-secondary studies
• Partner’s total income from the previous year (line 15000, 21000 and 30300 of their previous year's Income Tax Return)
    

Single parent students will also require:

•  SIN of any children enrolled in postsecondary studies
    

Your international educational institution must be designated under the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program for you to be eligible for funding. You should apply for funding as early as possible before your study period starts.

We require a request for program information form for any student financial assistance application where the educational institution is located outside of the maritime provinces.

With one application you will be considered for provincial and federal funding programs.  How much funding you can receive is based on things, such as your financial situation, length of your study program, tuition cost, number of dependents, etc.  There are maximum amounts available for each type of loan, grant, and bursary.   

The 2023-2024 funding maximums are:

There are two grants available for students with disabilities who qualify for student financial assistance:
 

Canada student grant for students with disabilities

This grant provides $2,800* per academic year to help reduce the costs they face when participating in a post-secondary program.

To be considered for this grant, you must: 

• self-identify as having a disability and attest that your disability impacts your studies when completing your application for student financial assistance
• submit the disability verification form which normally only must be submitted once for verification of your eligibility as a student with a disability
• if you are applying based on learning disability diagnosis, submit Section A of the disability verification form and a copy of your Psychoeducational Assessment completed by a registered psychologist within five years of the date of your application (or completed when you were 18 years of age or older)
• submit the program information form
   

Canada student grant for services and equipment

Students with disabilities can receive up to a maximum of $20,000 per academic year to purchase education related services and assistive equipment which are not provided by your educational institution. Examples are tutors, note-takers, interpreters, readers and technical aids.

To be considered for this grant, you must:

• have submitted your application for student financial assistance and have been approved for funding as a student with a disability
• submit the application for Canada student grant for services and equipment – students with disabilities and all required supporting documents no later than six weeks before the end date of your period of study

Note: If you did not qualify for Canada student financial assistance when your application was assessed, contact Student Financial Services for additional information regarding your eligibility.
 

There are four steps in the process to determine if you qualify for assistance:

1. Your student category is identified – i.e., a dependent student, an independent student, a married or common-law student, or a single-parent student
2. Your education costs and living allowances are assessed – i.e., shelter, food, transportation, tuition, books, computer cost, etc.
3. Your resources are determined – i.e., student contribution, parental contribution (if applicable), partner contribution (if applicable), scholarships/bursaries and other funding you receive specifically to attend studies
4. Your financial need is calculated

Students with a positive assessed need will be eligible for assistance. Students with a negative assessed need are considered to have enough resources and are not eligible for funding.

Master Student Financial Assistance Agreement (MSFAA) is a legal lifetime agreement between you and the federal and New Brunswick governments that outlines your responsibilities and terms and conditions of accepting your funding and your responsibilities for repaying the loans you borrowed. You will complete the online agreement with the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) and you normally only sign it once.  

There are separate MSFAAs for full-time and part-time students.

Once all documents have been submitted, applications are normally processed within two to four weeks. If you are a first-time applicant or are returning after a break of two or more years, once your application has been assessed, you will receive a Notice of Assessment in the mail indicating:

• the amount of your funding
• when you will get your funding
• your 10-digit Master Student Financial Assistance Agreement (MSFAA) number needed to complete your MSFAA with the National Student Loans Services Centre (NSLSC)
• instructions on what to do with the MSFAA number to get your assistance.

If you are a returning applicant with no break from your studies, once your application has been assessed, you will receive your Notice of Assessment in the mail indicating the amount of your funding and when it will be available.  You normally would not need to complete the online MSFAA process again.

Within three to five days of receiving your Notice of Assessment, the National Student Loan Service Centre (NSLSC) will send you a “Welcome Email” that will include a secure URL needed to create an online NSLSC account.

To agree to the terms and conditions of accepting your funding and repaying your loan, you need to complete an electronic Master Student Financial Assistance Agreement (MSFAA) through your online account with the NSLSC.

To register for your online NSLSC account, you will need to be ready to provide your:

• bank account information (transit, institution, and account numbers)
• social insurance number (SIN)
• unique 10-digit MSFAA number
• date of birth
  

If you do not receive a “Welcome Email” from the NSLSC, please contact Student Financial Services. If you are a returning applicant with no break of two or more years from your studies, you would normally already have an online account with the NSLSC and would have agreed to the terms and conditions of accepting your funding through your completed MSFAA.

If your contact information changes, you must update your online account with the NSLSC and inform Student Financial Services of the changes.

The National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) manages all Canada and New Brunswick student loans, grants and bursaries. The NSLSC processes your MSFAA, deposits funds into your bank account or sends it to your school, helps you to keep track of your funding and the amount you have to repay, works with you to set up a loan repayment schedule and helps you find the best way to repay your loan if you are having difficulties with repayment

Once the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) has your completed Master Student Financial Assistance Agreement (MSFAA) on file, your school must confirm your enrolment with the NSLSC as part of the process of getting your money. 

Your school may advise the NSLSC that a portion (or all) of your funding is to be paid directly to the school to cover your academic fees. Remaining funds will be electronically deposited into the bank account you provided on your MSFAA. You will receive a message from the NSLSC in your secure inbox with the details on the amount of funding paid to you and your school.

Check your Notice of Assessment for details of when your funding will be released. Normally, you get your money in two installments:

• the first, when you start your study period
• the rest, halfway through your studies

If you do not reapply for student financial assistance for upcoming studies, you need to notify the NSLSC through your online NSLSC.ca account that you are still in school. If not, you will have to start repaying your loans earlier than expected.

Note: If you have part-time loans and full-time loans and are studying full-time, both loans will be payment free while you are in studies, unless you have reached the maximum lifetime assistance limit. However, if you are studying part-time, only your part-time loan will be payment free while in-study and regular payments will be expected on your full-time loan.

You can request a review of your assessment if:

• your circumstances have changed or information provided on your application was incorrect
• you believe an error has been made in assessing your application
• you have extraordinary circumstances not addressed in the assessment of your application, such as medical expenses
• the current year’s income is significantly lower than the previous years provided in the application

Request a funding review bulletin will help you learn more about the types of reviews, how and when to request a review.

An overaward is funding you received for which you are not eligible. This can occur if your application is reassessed due to a change in circumstances. For example, if you leave your studies mid-way through your academic year, Student Financial Services may determine that you have been overpaid. The overaward information bulletin will help you learn more about the common reasons for an overaward and how they are repaid.