Loans

A student loan is money borrowed to assist you in covering the costs of attending school.

A student loan is just that – a loan that must be repaid, with interest (the rate charged for borrowing money), within a defined period of time.

Repaying Your Loans

Student loans are interest free while you are in school. After your Period of Study End Date, you are given a  non-repayment or grace period before you have to start making payments: 

• Canada student loans - 6 months after your last day of school
• Alberta student loans - 12 months after your last day of school
  Note: Alberta loans interest-free grace period is extended from six to 12-months as of July 1, 2023. This change benefits students who completed studies on or after December 1, 2022.

During this period, there is no interest on your loans.

If you want to pay off your loans sooner, you are welcome to make payments at any time. This may help reduce the interest you pay. 

If you have full-time student loans and move to part-time studies – you will need to start making payments on your Canada loans in 6 months.

Grants

Grants are available to students from low and middle-income families, students with disabilities, and students in special circumstances. A grant is money that you don’t have to pay back – however, it's important to know if you receive more funding than you are eligible for, you could have a grant overpayment.

Common reasons for a grant overpayment include:

• A change to your start or end dates.
• Your costs and/or resources change during the school year.
• You drop from full-time to part-time studies.
• You withdraw from school.

A grant overpayment be converted into a loan – and these loan dollars must be repaid.

Repayment

You must begin making payments once your non-repayment or grace period ends:

• Canada student loans - payments will begin in 12 months
• Alberta student loans - payments will begin in 6 months

Repayment assistance is also available to students who need help repaying their loans. Learn more about repayment of your Alberta student loans and Canada student loans.

Eligibility for Loans and Grants

You must:

• Be a Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident or have Protected Person status (including Convention Refugee).
  
  
• Be a resident of Alberta.
  
  
• Have a calculated need.
  
  
• Be enrolled as a full-time student taking a minimum 60% of a full course load at an approved post-secondary institution or 40% of a full course load if you are a student with a documented disability.

Post-secondary institutions determine full-time and part-time course loads. Ask your school how many courses they consider to be a full-time course load.

Students with a study permit are not eligible for financial assistance from Alberta Student Aid.

Lifetime Loan Limits

The Lifetime Loan Limits shown in the chart refer to the amount of combined Alberta plus Canada student loans you can have outstanding at any time. This includes loans for your current program and any previous programs of study.

For example, if you enter a graduate program after completing an undergraduate degree, your maximum student Lifetime Loan Limit for both degrees is a total of $100,000.

Students may still receive Canada student loan funding of up to $300 per week for subsequent periods of study after the Lifetime Loan Limits shown in the chart have been reached.

*Up to $68,000 for either Commercial Aviation Training (maximum of $17,000 for each of four approved fixed wing training components), or for Commercial Helicopter Training.

Lifetime Loan Limit = The total amount you can owe at one time

If you repay some or all of your loans, you may be eligible to receive additional loans up to the maximum for your specific credential or program of study.

In some cases, you may be eligible to receive additional funding beyond the standard Annual Loan Limits and Lifetime Loan Limits. See more details on Loan Limits.