Is there such a thing as a stress-free student loan?
If you're one of the thousands of students
receiving student loans, then I imagine that
your first reaction would be to say that
stress-free loans are impossible. I mean,
just look at the facts.
OSAP funding is released to students twice during the school year. The first instalment comes after classes have already begun and all (or most) tuition, residence and textbook fees are required to be paid. Assuming that you were able to save or borrow the money for these fees upfront in order to attend the institution, then you will receive your second OSAP payment after the second semesters tuition and fees are due to be paid.
When the time finally comes for your funding to get released, you have to make an appointment to come in and get the paperwork. Doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary, right? Wrong. You might have to wait in line and not even get in at your appointment time.
Finally the moment arrives and you have your papers handed to you on a silver plate along with a heartfelt apology for any inconvenience caused to you... well, maybe not quite. After spending your afternoon waiting alongside other anxious students, your work isn't done. That paperwork isn't just for your records; the office you just came from is capable of performing or processing anything and everything to do with your student loan – everything except depositing the money into your account automatically, apparently. After you leave with your paperwork, you need to go down yet another avenue in order to get your money. There are two choices here. First you can hope you're one of the lucky students able to catch the school-based 'deposit team' – set up outside the Financial Aid office – before they close down. Secondly, you could take your banking information and OSAP forms to the nearest post office to be whisked away. Then after another one- to two-week wait, the money finally goes into your account.
Seems like a lot of hassle for money that won't even keep you above the Poverty Line1 and that you have to pay back after graduation. Now, one could argue that the solution to this problem comes in the form of the work-study program offered at most post-secondary institutions. But that argument could be easily countered by the fact that you can only earn a certain amount before it affects your OSAP, and that the limit still only puts you over the Poverty Line by $1002.
One could also argue by saying that the purpose of a student loan is to supplement our costs, not to provide full support. But what about students such as myself whose family just wasn't able to help financially? Or who didn't have the opportunity to save money for college because available jobs were just too few and far-between? They don't have a choice but to go into debt in order to get a higher education. They can't simply go out and work for it unless they want to seriously compromise their wellbeing by working full-time as a full-time student. It would take 36.5 hours of work every week during their study period just to earn the same amount as they would receive from OSAP and full earnings from work-study3, never mind any extra money to bring them significantly over the poverty line.
Why is education so costly to begin with? Currently, there are hundreds if not thousands of post-secondary institutions based solely over the web available to attend for a fraction of the cost. There are even full courses (minus the teacher feedback and credit) available online through highly regarded institutions such as Yale, M.I.T and Berkley. If we have the capabilities to provide equal if not better quality education this efficiently, why are we still paying $3,000-plus a year (just for tuition) for the same thing? Why hasn't there been any attempt to improve these systems?
At the very least, why aren't these facts being questioned?
1 Based on the average OSAP amount granted to single students living away from home - tinyurl.com/povertylinesontario - The Canadian Council on Social Development
2 Based on an OSAP loan of $12,000 for the year and a maximum earning amount of $1,750 through work-study.
3 Based on the numbers from 2 and a wage of $10.25 hourly over a 36-week study period.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
OSAP funding is released to students twice during the school year. The first instalment comes after classes have already begun and all (or most) tuition, residence and textbook fees are required to be paid. Assuming that you were able to save or borrow the money for these fees upfront in order to attend the institution, then you will receive your second OSAP payment after the second semesters tuition and fees are due to be paid.
When the time finally comes for your funding to get released, you have to make an appointment to come in and get the paperwork. Doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary, right? Wrong. You might have to wait in line and not even get in at your appointment time.
Finally the moment arrives and you have your papers handed to you on a silver plate along with a heartfelt apology for any inconvenience caused to you... well, maybe not quite. After spending your afternoon waiting alongside other anxious students, your work isn't done. That paperwork isn't just for your records; the office you just came from is capable of performing or processing anything and everything to do with your student loan – everything except depositing the money into your account automatically, apparently. After you leave with your paperwork, you need to go down yet another avenue in order to get your money. There are two choices here. First you can hope you're one of the lucky students able to catch the school-based 'deposit team' – set up outside the Financial Aid office – before they close down. Secondly, you could take your banking information and OSAP forms to the nearest post office to be whisked away. Then after another one- to two-week wait, the money finally goes into your account.
Seems like a lot of hassle for money that won't even keep you above the Poverty Line1 and that you have to pay back after graduation. Now, one could argue that the solution to this problem comes in the form of the work-study program offered at most post-secondary institutions. But that argument could be easily countered by the fact that you can only earn a certain amount before it affects your OSAP, and that the limit still only puts you over the Poverty Line by $1002.
One could also argue by saying that the purpose of a student loan is to supplement our costs, not to provide full support. But what about students such as myself whose family just wasn't able to help financially? Or who didn't have the opportunity to save money for college because available jobs were just too few and far-between? They don't have a choice but to go into debt in order to get a higher education. They can't simply go out and work for it unless they want to seriously compromise their wellbeing by working full-time as a full-time student. It would take 36.5 hours of work every week during their study period just to earn the same amount as they would receive from OSAP and full earnings from work-study3, never mind any extra money to bring them significantly over the poverty line.
Why is education so costly to begin with? Currently, there are hundreds if not thousands of post-secondary institutions based solely over the web available to attend for a fraction of the cost. There are even full courses (minus the teacher feedback and credit) available online through highly regarded institutions such as Yale, M.I.T and Berkley. If we have the capabilities to provide equal if not better quality education this efficiently, why are we still paying $3,000-plus a year (just for tuition) for the same thing? Why hasn't there been any attempt to improve these systems?
At the very least, why aren't these facts being questioned?
1 Based on the average OSAP amount granted to single students living away from home - tinyurl.com/povertylinesontario - The Canadian Council on Social Development
2 Based on an OSAP loan of $12,000 for the year and a maximum earning amount of $1,750 through work-study.
3 Based on the numbers from 2 and a wage of $10.25 hourly over a 36-week study period.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
