For many students, paying for university is often at the forefront of their minds. Many Ontario students aren’t getting the government financial assistance they need to do so, according to a new report by the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA).
The report, entitled “Paying our Way: A Look at Student Financial Assistance in Ontario,” suggests there are gaps in the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) that need to be addressed in order to make post secondary education in Ontario accessible and affordable for students.
OUSA surveyed nearly 9,000 students from across the province .
According to the document, 60 per cent of students in Ontario apply for OSAP.
“Only 85 per cent of those who apply actually obtain loans,” said Sean Madden, executive director of OUSA.
Students in Ontario face the highest tuition fees in Canada, and the perceived costs of post-secondary education are consistently identified as barriers to post-secondary education, the report stated.
The report also focused on the awarding of merit-based and need-based scholarships or bursaries.
Madden said while OUSA does not want to attack the idea of merit, he thinks many universities rely on merit-based scholarships as recruiting tools, putting schools in an arms race against each other.
The report shows that a higher percentage of students receive merit-based awards than needs-based awards. At Brock University, for example, 36 per cent of respondents received a merit-based scholarship or bursary while 14 per cent received a need-based scholarship or bursary.
“Sixty-six per cent of students on average are getting entrance scholarships of $500 to $1000,” said Madden.
Jennifer Labelle Kempster, a second-year humanities major at Carleton University, said she wouldn’t have been able to attend school this year if it weren’t for her merit-based scholarship.
Lyndsay Armstrong, a Lewar Prize Prestige Scholarship recipient, said she sought to apply for every available avenue of funding after high school, including a need-based scholarship, when cancer rendered her father incapable of working.
Armstrong’s need-based scholarships were significantly smaller than those she received based on merit, she said.
“With a Prestige Scholarship, a student could earn $21,500 over four years. The financial aid scholarship I was looking at was more like $1000 a year,” Armstrong said.
“If that money is appropriately given based on need instead, then we can broaden the definition of need to mean more money for more students,” Madden said.
He said that Ontario should fill the financial aid system’s gaps by removing interest from student loans, reducing tuition rates, and increasing government contributions.
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