Married Father of 3 Going Back to School, what to do financially??

[asianada]

My hubby wants to go to UofT for Mecanical Engineering for 2010. He is currently fullfilling his pre-requisites through the Independant Learning Centre through Correspondance.

My questions are
1) Can he still qualify for scholarships even though he is taking ILC courses? and also given his age which is 40. He already has his diploma from the 80's but didn't have the pre-requisites as he was on a different direction at the time. I wasn't sure if it was only for new graduates or not.

2) His credit rating sucks, mine rocks. Want to apply for OSAP as we have no savings at this time, he has been laid off for a while. Do they do a credit check? Cuz if they do he's screwed. Or maybe I can co-sign??

[PureReborn]

pretty sure OSAP doesnt require an Credit Check. Its based on needs and income of family.

[sexpuppet6000]

My hubby wants to go to UofT for Mecanical Engineering for 2010. He is currently fullfilling his pre-requisites through the Independant Learning Centre through Correspondance.

My questions are
1) Can he still qualify for scholarships even though he is taking ILC courses? and also given his age which is 40. He already has his diploma from the 80's but didn't have the pre-requisites as he was on a different direction at the time. I wasn't sure if it was only for new graduates or not.

2) His credit rating sucks, mine rocks. Want to apply for OSAP as we have no savings at this time, he has been laid off for a while. Do they do a credit check? Cuz if they do he's screwed. Or maybe I can co-sign??

I applied to U as a mature student and was admitted to U with marks high enough to grant me whatever scholarships that would be normally awarded to high school kids with the same marks, except I didn't get anything. In fact, I wasn't even allotted an osap loan. From my understanding, your chances of receiving a loan are very very very low if you are above a certain age [I think this age is 22 or something]. This is because you are viewed as a independent person, regardless to whether you have money, a job, or not.

I think the principle idea is that OSAP is an investment into our nation's future by allowing young people to get an education. Therefore, it makes sense to be selective as to who and where money is being invested. No offense, but it makes more sense to invest in a hungry 18 year old than a tired 40 year old man.

However, there is somewhere on the OSAP site that says that will not let anyone needing of assistance go without it. This isn't a guarantee that you'll get anything if you need it, but it is something.

Also, I've done some courses at ILC. And doing well at ILC doesn't mean you'll do well University. So if your husband is doing well, tell him not to get cocky, because everyone gets their assss handed to them at some point in UNI.

[sexpuppet6000]

Not quite sexpuppet. Mature students or anyone that has been in the workforce has a different issue when it comes to OSAP funding calculations. In a nutshell, no matter what age you are you are expected to contribute to your expenses for schooling. Those who have been in the workforce have the issue that their funding is calculated using the previous years income level. You would be expected to bank a fair portion of it to use for school. That usually equalizes the second year of school. Those classed as mature students (4 years or more out of highschool) actually qualify for more funding as parents are no longer expected to contribute and their income is no longer used to calculate funding.

Are you saying that mature students qualify for more OSAP funding? Perhaps I am reading what you wrote incorrectly.

How the hell can expectancy of parental contribution be a calculated factor? For highschool students, OSAP looks at how much one student's parents made. This helps determined how much aid is required. There can be no calculation made for how much a parent(s) can be expected to contribute, it has to do with absolute dollars earned, not expected dollars contributed.

And how is OSAP to determine whether a student is too old to expect a contribution from their parents, insofar as that the student is then dependent, has or has no money, and requires more aid?

I applied at a mature student, and I qualified as an independent student. However, I am in fact a dependent student. And last year, I made no money. My family has a modest income. When my sister applied for OSAP [years ago] she received the maximum amount. My family income is probably less than it was when my sister applied. I received no OSAP.

[zyphere]

If I'm not mistaken, there are also points in the OSAP form that ask you to indicate whether (and how many) dependents/children you have. Mature students with children should get some extra financial help.