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Money Matters

Other Sources of Financial Assistance

Check out the following for some more ideas on how to help pay for your education and living expenses while you are a student.

Contributions from Parents or other Relatives: The 'bank of mom and dad' may be willing to help fund your post-secondary studies. Perhaps they have been putting money aside for you into a savings account, savings bonds or a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP).

Employment (Summer and Part-time: A common way students pay for their schooling is by saving money that they earn while working over the summer months and/or holding a part-time job while attending their studies.

Private Loans or Lines of Credit: A bank loan that is designed especially for students may be an option for you. Note that this is different from a government student loan in that you borrow all the money up front and start paying interest on the entire amount immediately.

Some banks and credit unions offer lines of credit for students. You may consider this option because you have access to a sum of cash that you may draw from as you need it. The benefit is that you are charged interest only on the amount you borrow for the amount of time it takes you to pay it back.

Money Received from Sale of Assets: If you own a large-ticket item (i.e., an automobile), the cash you get from selling it could help pay for your post-secondary studies.

Lifelong Learning Plan: If you have a registered retirement saving plan (RRSP), you may borrow against it to finance your full-time education. You must repay these withdrawls back to your RRSPs over a period of no more than 10 years. Learn more about the Lifelong Learning Plan.

Co-operative Education: Co-operative education (more commonly known as co-op) combines classroom instruction with paid work-related experience in a field relevant to your post-secondary studies.

Generally, co-op students must complete four work terms (16 months) before graduation. Students usually alternate work terms with classroom study semesters. While this does lengthen your time in school by about one year, remember that during this time you'll be working, learning and earning money!

The following is a list of co-op contact information at post-secondary institutions across BC.