Ep.2 -- How Do I Pay For All This? : Financing Your Education

What the heck is OSAP and how does it work? Finding the resources and funding to pay for all of the costs associated with university is no small job. Often times, students may not be aware of the financial resources available to them such as grants, scholarships, and bursaries.

This episode, Sam and Bri sit down with Karen Warner, the head of scholarships and bursaries at York University, to discuss the various options available to finance your post secondary education.

Backstage Pass is funded by an eCampus Ontario Virtual Learning Strategy Grant, and  is a collaboration between students, staff, and community members based at Ryerson University (Renaming in process) and York University.

Timestamps
01:55  Intro - Financing your Education
02:49  Finance talk with the expert -  Karen Warner Interview
29:29  Financing options for students in EDG’s
35:46  How to get the most out of your Degree
41:42  Wrapping up and Closing Thoughts

Resources
Access the transcript and free eLearning modules HERE!
Episode Transcript
eLearning Module

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Credits
Ryerson University (Renaming in process) Content Experts
Meera Govindasamy, Academic Engagement Specialist, Principal Investigator
Andrew Bisnauth, Manager, Student Life and Campus Engagement

York University Content Experts
Kayla Lascasas, New Student Transition Coordinator
Jair Kallidumbil, Manager, Student Life

Student Advisory Committee
Riya Bhatla
Micah Chu
Karanveer Khadra

Media Production Research Assistants
Samantha McNulty, co-host and technical producer
Brianna Roett, co-host and producer

Designers
Mariam Ahmed, Instructional Designer
Sally Goldberg Powell, Instructional Technologist
Erica Wu, Graphic Designer

Ali Aird, Project Manager

The included music and/or sound effects from Jamendo and Artlist are used with permission in this project, but the user is not free to remix the content containing music and/or sound effects, extract and use the music out of the context of the podcast or use the music or sound effects offline. All other material is licensed under an Ontario Commons License.1.0.

Please see this citation list for all sound effects and music used on the podcast.

Chapters

• 1:55 Intro - Financing your Education
• 2:49 Finance talk with the expert - Karen Warner Interview
• 29:29 Financing options for students in EDG’s
• 35:46 How to get the most out of your Degree
• 41:42 Wrapping up and Closing Thoughts

Transcript

New Student: 0:01

Okay, budgeting time. I have a budget of about$350 a month of my own money. What do I have to spend it on?$50 a week for the commute to campus. Got to fill up the Presto. $200 flat fee for my textbooks, $60 a month for my gym membership, 80 bucks a month for my phone plan. And lastly$150 a week for Starbucks. And that brings me to a grand total of $690? I work two shifts a week. How am I supposed to afford this?

Sam: 0:42

This podcast has been funded by the eCampus Ontario Virtual Learning Strategy Grant.

Brianna: 0:51

Hello listeners. I'm Brianna Roett and I will be your host throughout this mini series.

Sam: 0:56

And I'm Sam your co-host and welcome to Backstage Pass podcast.

Brianna: 1:00

Made in conjunction with two Toronto universities, our goal for the Backstage Pass podcast project is to shed light on the university experience, so that prospective students from Ontario who belong to equity deserving groups feel prepared with the skills and resources that can make going to university feel like a possibility.

Sam: 1:17

In this podcast series you'll be hearing from a variety of people in the education system, from university students to academic experts, as well as some of you. We wanted to hear from other prospective students on their thoughts, feelings and fears about attending university.

Brianna: 1:33

Backstage Pass also includes a range of resources to support you depending on how much you want to learn and how you like to learn. So first, we have four audio podcast episodes like this one. And we also have free elearning modules that get into some of the issues discussed on the podcast in a little bit more detail, and will provide you with an overview of how things like money, networking, and study skills work at the university level.

Sam: 1:55

On this episode of Backstage Pass, we are going to be diving into finances. Like many students venturing into post secondary, we realize that many high school students are not billionaires. Finding something affordable from the cafeteria can be stressful enough so finding the funding to attend university can seem like a daunting task.

Brianna: 2:13

And there's no doubt that having financial resources makes it easier to apply to, attend, and complete university. Finances at university are an equity issue because histories of discrimination and inequity affects some people's ability to pay for post secondary education. Different costs and expenses can be barriers to pursuing post secondary, and our backgrounds, resources and positionality all affect our ability to cover these expenses and succeed at university.

Sam: 2:39

But fear not. Today, we are going to be breaking down the real cost of uni, and highlighting the many financial resources available to help prepare you for your first year at university.

Brianna: 2:49

Every university has a financial service office, which is where you'll want to start for information and support around tuition and other expenses. Folks like Karen Warner are a great resource when you're trying to figure out what's going on with the paperwork and procedures involved in getting ready for university.

Karen Warner: 3:12

We know that you know from data that we've received from the Nessie survey, and from our own surveys that financial matters are a big stressor for students. So I like to stress when I do any kind of session or speak to students to make them think about some of the costs that they're going to incur. Of course, tuition being the first and largest probably of their costs. But also you know, when you're paying your tuition, quite often you're paying additional fees for services that are offered at your institution for you know, access to your fitness center or to have counseling and disability services and things like that available to you. Then, of course, all students have books and supplies that they have to factor in and that can be an exorbitant cost also. And then depending on the type of program you're in, there's sometimes course material fees and lab fees. So for example, you know, a music student may have a private tutorial that costs a couple hundred dollars if they have a private person that's helping them with their music training. At York in particular, we have a health plan and I think that a lot of institutions do offer a health plan, health and dental coverage to students. But of course that comes at a cost to the students. So it's always something I would like students to be mindful of when they're thinking about planning whether they need that particular charge or that coverage. And then, you know, we're a large commuter campus so transportation, of course, if you're commuting onto campus, if you're parking and living expenses, so they do you know, the costs do add up. And so I asked, encourage students to look holistically at what their costs are not just focused on the tuition and the books.

Sam: 4:44

For sure. So what are some options that students have to finance their education?

Karen Warner: 4:50

little bit about OSAP. It is a consolidated aid program. So it's made up of both federal and provincial funding. And most importantly, it's made up of a combination of loans and grants. So students often of course, you don't want to finish your degree and come out with a ton of student loan debt. But what students should know is that there are grants that are assessed as part of your OSAP entitlement grants being non repayable aid. So we do encourage all students to first look into OSAP as their primary source of support. Then, of course, there's options offered by most post secondary institutions, we offer scholarships and awards, we offer bursaries, and we offer on campus employment opportunities to students. So all of those things, coupled with external things, external scholarships, and awards, you know, RESPs, that your parents may have paid into, contributions from your parents, all of those things together will make up what the student is using to help fund their education.

Sam: 5:58

Right on. So in terms of OSAP, how does it work? I know there's two components to it but I think some prospective students don't really realize the difference between what a grant is and a lone, so could you go into that?

Karen Warner: 6:11

So OSAP is something you're going to apply to every year. It's an online application. And when you go in to the application, as I said, you're going to complete all of the information online for students who are coming out of high school, and who have been out of high school for less than six years, you're actually considered a dependent, which means parental information is going to be required on the OSAP application. So whatever your parents earned in the previous calendar year, you'll be asked to report that. Once you've completed the application on online and you submit it, two things are going to happen. First, it's going to allow you to get an estimate a very preliminary estimate of what you may be eligible for. And the other thing it's going to give you a list of any supporting documents that you may be required to provide all of which you can scan and upload to the OSAP site for processing. So they've made a number of substantial changes in OSAP, over the last couple of years, one of which is that you no longer have to report any RESP funding that you may have access to, or any Indigenous sponsorship funding that you have. So if you're an Indigenous learner, and you're getting sponsored by your band that will not impact your OSAP entitlement. They also greatly increased the amount of money that a student can earn, without it impacting their OSAP entitlements. So historically, it was something like $100 a week and anything over that started to impact your OSAP entitlement. Now it's about$5,600 per term, so over$11,000, for the school year, without it impacting your OSAP because the reality is, even with OSAP, many students are going to need to get a part time job to supplement what they're getting from OSAP to help them cover their costs. So those two or three changes have made a great impact in what students, you know, the whole OSAP experience. And again, I mentioned to you about grants that the most students are going to be assessed for a portion of their funding as a grant, you actually have the option just to take the grant portion of the funding. So if you really want to stay away from getting loans, and if you think that you can manage with just the grants and whatever other supports you have, that is a wonderful option. You can apply through OSAP, get a grant and decline the loan portion and that won't impact your ability to get funding in subsequent years. So it really big improvement for students and of course, if there's anybody from another province, they would apply for their aid through their home province.

Sam: 8:30

If you don't qualify for OSAP, what are your options? So you mentioned that students from other provinces would apply for financial aid within their own province, and that their own portal through that? And you mentioned, sometimes there's like family support or getting a part time job in scholarships, bursaries. I guess my question is, why wouldn't a student qualify for OSAP?

Karen Warner: 8:52

Well, the primary reason why student is that, you know, it's a financial needs based program. So, you know, if your parents I mean, students often ask me, what is kind of the dollar amount where I shouldn't bother, and I can't really it's not that cut and dry, because when you're submitting an OSAP application, they're also asking, you know, yes how much do your parents make, but also, how many dependent children do your parents have? It's all relative, right? They're taking a look at the big picture. So students who don't qualify for OSAP it's typically because they don't demonstrate financial need, they seem to have sufficient resources, or in some cases, they may not meet residency requirements, because again OSAP is for Ontario residents, for students who are Canadian citizens, permanent protected persons or permanent residents. So if they're not meeting some of those residency requirements, for example, a student who has only very recently entered the country may not qualify for the Ontario portion. So it's not to say they won't get OSAP but they may not get both the federal and the provincial aid that they need. Sometimes students are unable to provide parental information and that should not be a deterrent for them applying for OSAP. There is something called a family breakdown appeal. So for students who have extenuating circumstances where they have, you know, for whatever reason they have no relationship with their parents, there is still the ability for them to apply for OSAP and if they can demonstrate that they have that kind of breakdown within the family, they can proceed without having the requirement to provide the parental information. So, every student, as I said, we encourage every student to apply for OSAP. Because even if you do end up with a loan, at the end of the day, you're not making any interest payments on that loan for the duration of the time that you're a full time student and you're not accumulating any interest on that loan, the government is covering your interest while you're a full time student. So you know, if you had to go to a bank or go get a line of credit, you're not going to get those kinds of terms and conditions. So an OSAP loan in itself is still a good option for a student who is, you know, trying to make it through their studies.

Sam: 10:59

It's good to know that there's options for those who may not think that they qualify, but they may qualify for other aspects of the program, or have other outlets to get funding for their education. So in terms of scholarships, bursaries and grants outside of OSAP, why should students apply to those?

Karen Warner: 11:18

My question is, why wouldn't they. I mean, the post secondary institutions have a lot of money to give out, we're very fortunate, like, we give out about $32 million every year just in funding to our undergraduate students. Then that's made up of institutional funding, like York, money that York gives back to students, as well as some funding that we have from government, from the government from some of our government programs, and a large number of funding that we have from donors. So we have a lot of York alumni who are happy to support students and, you know, come back to us as donors, setup awards to give to York students. And it's a great way to supplement what you're getting from your OSAP. In addition to that, you know, in addition to the financial support, there's actually some academic merit because any scholarship or award that you receive is actually reflected on your transcripts, it becomes part of your academic record. So you know, at this time of the year, in particular, I'm getting a lot of students who are applying to medical school or to law school and they're filling out their application and you know, they list those awards that's part that makes them more competitive if they can show that they've been recognized by their institution for their academic progress through, you know, receiving scholarships and awards. Some of those, of course, they wouldn't have even had to have applied for they would have automatically been selected just on their academic merit. But others they do, would have required an application. So students, even if they don't have financial needs the financial the academic prestige of getting some of those scholarships, make it worthwhile to do an application.

Sam: 12:54

I guess my next question would be where and how can

Karen Warner: 12:59

Well, every institution is going to vary. What I would encourage students to do is connect with the financial aid or the scholarship office at their particular

Sam: 13:28

I know there's a lot of students who kind of get intimidated by that process of actually applying and having to institution, we are in ourselves use an online application that students apply for these scholarships? contact somebody. Do you know what percentage of students students can complete for all of our scholarships and awards. I actually apply for the scholarships, bursaries grants, would imagine it's very similar at other institutions. So yeah, all of those awards that are available through whether it be York or just in general? In Ontario? I can answer broadly, but I would just encourage students to check online with their particular college or university

Karen Warner: 13:46

The short answer is not enough. We do a ton of to see what the process is at that school. outreach to students. We do a lot of outreach. You know, throughout the academic year, when the application opens, when the deadline is approaching, we do outreach to let students know that the opportunity is there and unfortunately, you know, we're trying to find ways to make students, implanted in student's mind that it's an important part of their journey, and that they should just be, you know, routinely doing it every year. We have roughly 50,000 students at York, I would say a fifth of undergraduate students only about 10,000 students out of close to 50,000 students are filling out our application every year, and this is with constant reminders, to let them know that this funding is available. I find it alarming because I have students who come to me you know, at various points in the academic year who find themselves in academic and financial crisis and when I check they haven't applied for any supports from the university. So we're working diligently to try to find more ways to get the word out to students that these opportunities exist. We offer information sessions which students don't attend. So it may be if students have some ideas on how we can reach them, that would be, that'd be great if we can get some feedback from students on how best to reach them and how to entice them to apply for aid because the aid is certainly there.

Sam: 15:07

I like that you highlighted that there is almost like sometimes there's a communication issue in terms of just communicating that like all of this funding is here for students and for you to take advantage of. Do you know if there's any other barriers that you can think of that students face when it comes to either the application process besides the communication?

Karen Warner: 15:26

I mean, I think that for students, the communication gets lost in the mix. I realize that students are inundated with messages from their, from their institutions, you know, email messages and reminders about various things, and students just quite frankly, miss it. So I mean, we're trying to, we're also working right now on working with a vendor to onboard a new kind of software, that will just be more intuitive to students and make the process easier, make sure that when they go into the application, it's really presenting them with the awards that they're eligible for and just so you know, allowing them to upload their documents directly through this tool, rather than you know, sometimes it's daunting to have to go into an application, complete that and then still collect reference letters or other supporting documents and have to find another way to submit those. So I think kind of having everything in one place, we're hoping will help to remove some of the barriers for students too and then just simplifying the process for them so that, you know, they can navigate the site more easily.

Sam: 16:30

I mean, it's just baffling to think about only a fifth of students like you were saying, actually apply for this funding, and there's really millions of dollars or you know, so much money out there for students to take advantage of. You mentioned, when students are in a financial crisis or need help financially throughout the school year, what happens? What do they do to get support?

Karen Warner: 16:52

Well, that's one thing I can say about the students of today is they do know how to advocate for themselves. So we, we quite often get referrals from our various faculties or from our front service facing areas, where, you know, students who find themselves in a critical situation may come forward and speak to somebody about that, whether it's, you know, a disability counselor, or again, just somebody that they've encountered in advising or one of our other front service areas, and so we work collaboratively with each other, you know, they'll connect the student to me, so that I can get a handle on what the student's situation is, we have in the past provided emergency funding, like in cash, if a student you know, we have students who come in, and, quite frankly, don't know how they're going to eat that day. And so, you know, we've been able to provide them with some immediate supports in that way. Sometimes, if it's something a little bit bigger, you know, eviction notice or something of that nature, then you know, the amount of support they need, is larger, and so we can help them with that. Also, we've moved into a process now where we actually have a system where students can provide us with their banking information, just so that we can get funds out to them quicker so that we can directly deposit funds into their bank account within a couple of days. So there's a lot of options out there that students you know, who find themselves really in a hard spot, they can come to their academic institution for assistance.

Sam: 18:17

That's great to know that there is help out there and even when you are in a crisis, like your school can help you and there's options for you. So that's really encouraging to know. But in terms of the planning, before you go to university, how can students make a workable budget?

Karen Warner: 18:32

Yeah, I think that a lot of times, what we're doing, first of all, we do encourage students to create a budget, it is very important. I mean, even with OSAP, OSAP aid is not necessarily released 50/50, like a lot of times students get more of their funding in the fall than they do in the winter. And so it's not uncommon for us to see students coming to us in February, March, April, because their OSAP funding is simply run out and so it's really critical. I would just encourage students to budget based on what they have, not on what they think they're going to have. So you know, the students are applying for scholarships and awards, assuming that they're going to get something and ideally, they are going to get something but you can't plan on what you don't know you're going to have. So we encourage students to apply for OSAP early, the OSAP application is typically open, like in April or May. So quite early in the summer, students will have a sense of how much funding they're going to get for the fall-winter. So that's where they should start. And then of course, if they're working, they can add on that employment income and any savings that they, they may have been able to get or any parental support that they may have access to. And then you know, map out that budget always if possible, keeping a little bit of a contingency, which I know is, it sounds ridiculous, quite frankly. I know that students quite often don't have anything extra but as much as possible if there is a way to put a little something aside for those and emergency situations because obviously, we're doing we're in the middle of a pandemic, we've all experienced what, you know, the unexpected, that can happen. And that's exactly what you know, what we have been dealing with in the last couple of years is just students who have lost employment, to exhausted the whatever savings they may have had, and just trying to provide them with some supports about around that. But for those students who don't have anything put aside, it has been, you know, really quite devastating. So, as much as possible, trying to put a little something aside, just in case.

Sam: 20:33

Yeah, because that financial security can really impact the success that you have in school, if you're worrying about how you're going to pay rent or how you're going to eat that day. You know, that essay that you got to write for your class is probably secondary, because you have to worry about these real, more tangible problems.

Karen Warner: 20:50

Absolutely. I mean, I've seen all kinds of scenarios, how can you study and be effective when you have these kinds of, you know, major concerns hanging over your head. So, you know, the reality is, you're not going to be living well, off of OSAP, you're not going to have a lot of expendable funds off of your OSAP. As much as OSAP does consider you know, your tuition and your living costs, you know, there's a cap to how much your OSAP is. So if you're, you shouldn't be going into it thinking you're going to get OSAP and that's going to cover everything. Ideally, that would be great. I mean, so that students can focus on their academics. But the reality is, OSAP is just one of the resources you're probably going to need, you are going to need to probably hold down a part time job or get some other source of income coming in to help supplement that OSAP for you to be in a comfortable position.

Sam: 21:41

Yeah. And I think you touched on something really important there and just like the idea of not living well, or not having a lot of expendable income, are there some resources on, that or maybe included in your tuition that students don't necessarily think of, and maybe spending extra money on?

Karen Warner: 21:58

Well, mostly, it's some of the things we've touched on earlier, like access to a fitness center, for example, like, if you have a gym membership, that's a cost that you don't need, you probably have access to facilities right on your campus, you know, for you to go and do that type of thing. And, you know, if you're paying for counseling, outside of school, quite often those types of services are offered on campus. So it's really important. So I mean, though, the types of services that are available to students, again, will differ by the institution, but students should familiarize themselves with them, because you are actually paying for them indirectly. Even though you don't see a specific charge on your your student account billing that says, you know, that you're being billed for that particular item, it as I said, quite often it's built into your tuition, there's lots of services available to you, to help you be successful as a student and help you to deal with any crises, etc, that you may have going on in your life. So you should avail yourself of those, make yourself aware of those.

Sam: 22:54

So in terms of, I think we touched on the barriers that students may face and kind of a fear of reaching out or not knowing that these resources are available to them, what would you say to students who feel that they aren't qualified to apply to scholarships?

Karen Warner: 23:12

Yeah, I think that, I think that might be, you know, one of the issues is that students assume you know, because it's called a scholarship and award application, students thinking I'm not a strong enough student to qualify for any type of assistance. But you know, there, there's many different criteria that are attached to the types of funding that we give out. A lot of it is financial needs based, I mean, we have a lot of amazing donors who just want to support students who are struggling financially, quite often, some of the things that donors are looking for is more things like, you know, demonstrated leadership or involvement in your school community or in your home community. So you know, the criteria varies. There's a wide range of criteria that a student could be considered for, for aid. So the fact that you're not a strong student should not be a deterrent. And in fact, we actually have, as most institutions do funding specifically designated to support students who are vulnerable or underrepresented. So for example, our students with disabilities or sole support parents, Black and Indigenous learners, there's quite often funding that's specifically earmarked for them. So the point being that we need to know who you are, and through doing the application that gives you an opportunity to self identify. So in our application, for example, you know, we asked those questions, there's an optional section where students can tell us if they're a student with a disability, if they're, if they have children, if they are racialized in some way, if they're an Indigenous learner, we ask them to self identify that just for the purpose of matching them to those funding opportunities. So again, there's a lot of support out there. It's not just for students who are, you know, A plus students to get support.

Sam: 25:00

So in terms of all of these options that students have, you know, they have OSAP, they have these awards and grants and scholarships that they can all apply for. You mentioned part time work, how easy is it to find an on campus position, I know, that's the type of position that a lot of students kind of covet, because it's so flexible with their learning.

Karen Warner: 25:20

Right, I mean, in terms of applying for the jobs, there are typically criteria to be eligible to participate in the work study program and that'll vary from one institution to the next. But the jobs themselves, the process is the same as applying for a job anywhere, you know, you will read up a job posting, you'll submit your resume and go for an interview. And if you have the professional skills then, then you'll be considered for them. But I mean, the benefits to working on campus, I myself was a work study student, many, many moons ago. And in fact, many of my colleagues that work at the University now are alumni of the institution, and also worked at the university as students. And that's kind of how we got our start in working in higher education. But you know, again, as you mentioned, it's very flexible work study positions are typically only around 10 or 15 hours a week, they work, those hours around your class schedule, were super flexible. If students have, go into their exam period, or they have you know, a lot of assignments towards the end of the term, and they need to take time off from their shifts to focus on that, then we are completely amenable to that because of course, we want to support our students in being successful academically, you know, they're making competitive rates and salary in terms of their salary depending on the type of work that they're doing. Quite often, for example, I've got an institution at York, which is has such a high population, it can feel quite isolating when you come to such a large institution. So you know, you develop relationships, through your employment at the university, you'll be working alongside other students, you'll work with faculty, and staff, all of whom are going to work to support you. And we actually see that the retention rates are higher for students who are engaged in employment on campus. So that means that you know, their student this year, and they're enrolling back next year, you know, they're being successful as a student. And we attribute that to, again, the supports that they get the inside kind of knowledge that they get about the institution by virtue of working there. And of course, at the end of the day, our end goal is that our students graduate and move on to successful careers, and so working on campus also gives you that wonderful opportunity of building your employment skills and developing that way. So you know, you can add that to your resume, along with your academic credentials, when you finish.

Sam: 27:54

Can I ask how did you finance your studies? What was your experience?

Karen Warner: 27:58

Well, I, as I said, I was a student at York University, myself, and I was, I was one of what you would consider one of those vulnerable groups. I was a sole support parent when I was in university, I had a daughter at the time and raising on my own. And I did rely on OSAP and I worked, as I said, through work study in a part time position and that's kind of how I funded my education. Ironically, I don't recall ever applying for any, any scholarships or awards. I mean, I was a student quite some time ago. I would imagine that well, I know for a fact that there weren't as many scholarships and awards available when I was a student as there are now. But yeah, OSAP and work study were what I relied on to help me fund my education back then. The biggest, the biggest thing that stands out to me and I mentioned it to you is just that students now really advocate for themselves because as a student, myself with a young child, I certainly ran into my times when I was struggling financially, it didn't occur to me that I could go to my school and ask for assistance because I probably owed them money. So I wouldn't think that they would be willing to help me when I owed them. But you know, young people now are so well versed in you know, what's going on around them and, and yeah, they do come for it and, and the help is there for them. So I do applaud them for that, that they know where to go when they, they come forward and they ask when they need it.

Brianna: 29:29

So after listening to Karen Warner's interview, I think it's clear that there are a lot of things that come along with even just applying for universities. So I guess my question for you is what was your first time applying like? Was it easy for you or were you a little bit confused?

Sam: 29:45

I was definitely on the confused side. None of my parents had attended university at least not in Canada and not very recently. So navigating the online application was very difficult because I was doing it all by myself. But I had attended a few workshops just at my high school about filling out the application and what to expect and how it was going to work. So I found that was pretty helpful with applying. But then when it came to like applying to OSAP, that got a little bit more complicated, and I had to fill out a family breakdown review. So that was also just extra paperwork for me to figure out that I found my high school and the university wasn't really prepared for me to do. So that was a little bit difficult. But once I had that sorted out, I definitely enjoyed my OSAP very thoroughly.

Brianna: 30:37

I mean, I think it's smart that you attended workshops, because that is something that I definitely did not do when I was in high school, and in a similar situation to you I am a first generation student, so I didn't really have that information available. And I just figured, like, oh, it'll be fine. I just have to like fill out some things like my address, and whatever. And then when you have to get into things like taxes and financial breakdowns and stuff like that I was like as a 17 year old, I was like what is happening, I have no clue what I'm doing. Also, in my program that I applied for, there's something called non academic requirements, which is basically either a paper, or a couple short questions that you have to answer just to send off to the university for them to look over and even those things come with a fee. Application deadlines can be terrifying. When you're applying for OSAP, you have to make sure that all your information is handed in by a certain time, and every single day, I was so stressed out that I wasn't going to be able to hand everything in on time that I wasn't going to get my OSAP money for school. So I mean, I think those are pretty common experiences for students, especially students who need to find other resources to help supplement funding for tuition. For example, OSAP.

Sam: 31:52

For sure, yeah. And even when I think back to my first kind of semester at university, I had moved away from home for the first time, and I had only saved up like, maybe around like$1,000 to cover my expenses for the school year, which I quickly found out, not enough because by the time that I bought all of my textbooks I even bought them used that's like a big kicker. But even though I bought them used, I still spent about like$500 on my textbooks. So then I only had $500 cash for the rest of my semester as I was waiting for OSAP to come in, and I am a procrastinator and I filled it in late so I got it late.

Brianna: 32:31

I mean, I think those are the things that people don't think about, right? Like, it's not just I have this money set aside for tuition. Maybe there's commuting that you have to take into account, how much is that gonna cost, you have to take in textbooks how much is just getting those resources going to cost. So paying for university and figuring out the expenses for university is never just a flat fee. There are always things that are changing. There's always things you might have to pay for during the semester. So making sure that you kind of have a plan before going into it is super important. Because I mean, the last thing you want is to put aside a certain amount of money and then like you said very quickly realize that it's not going to be enough right. Students from equity deserving groups are more likely to face financial barriers for attending university. But the good news is that most universities will also have scholarships, or bursaries that are specifically available to students from these groups. So one example of that is OSAP, which provides a special first generation bursary for students who are first in their family to attend university. And OSAP also automatically provides extra funding to students with disabilities, you just need to take some time to fill out some paperwork and once you do, you won't need to pay that extra money back. This funding is from the provincial government, but universities themselves may also provide additional support to students from these groups. And we've just mentioned a few of the groups that can benefit from these services, but several others do as well. For example, students with children and Indigenous students

Sam: 34:08

Even if you're not part of an equity deserving group, but find yourself in a tight money situation due to an emergency or a crisis, it's worth contacting the Financial Services office at your university because there might be additional emergency funding you can apply for. Sometimes this funding comes from student unions, which often provide services like food support and crisis funding to students in need. Being financially savvy doesn't always come down to just scholarships, bursaries and OSAP. It can also be about making the most of the services your tuition covers.

Brianna: 34:45

Tuition often covers services such as gym memberships, drop in athletic services, career counseling, medical and dental insurance, and sometimes mental health services. Wi Fi, computer labs, childcare, academic support programs like drop in tutoring, and also social events put on by student unions and clubs.

Sam: 35:05

You can also take advantage of on campus jobs and positions like Karen had mentioned. These jobs have limited hours and are made to work around your school schedule. They're a great way to network, gain relevant job experience and skills and understand your university from an employee perspective. We should mention that not everyone can get an on campus position. Those who are able to work on campus need to be flexible with their time. So having precarious work rhythm may not be feasible for students with children who likely can't afford to have several moments of job insecurity during their studies. So these positions are more accessible for students who live on or close to campus. And some positions may even require specific skills and certifications or prior networking experience.

Brianna: 35:46

But whether or not you choose to pursue or are able to get an on campus position, every university has a career centre where you can access services like resume reviews, interview practice sessions, one on one career advising, career fairs and recruitment events. And many of these career centres have job bulletins on their websites or Facebook groups as well. And there may even be a career sector specific to your faculty. So I mean, my question is, what university services do you use? Or did you use mostly when you were on campus.

Sam: 36:17

I would say a lot of workout activities was kind of like drop in sessions that are usually held by your university's gym, I loved yoga. Definitely like the slower paced ones. I don't like things like HIT's and cycling, that's way too intense. Um, but definitely taking advantage of squash courts. Usually, you can like rent squash courts, or basketball courts and even equipment from your gym. So you don't have to worry about bringing your own balls or rackets, if that's what you're into. Even like swimming pools, pre COVID, of course, I think they're still accessible. But swimming pools are definitely my outlet to get some good cardio.

Brianna: 36:55

So for me, especially in regards to online accessibility, being able to get institutional access to certain academic readings, for example, when you're doing essays in university, and they want you to have a specific number of academic sources, it can be hard sometimes to find those things, especially if there's a book or a textbook that has some really important information, but you have to pay for it or there's a membership to access it. A lot of the times universities do pay to have institutional access to those resources. So you can find resources for your essays or papers without necessarily having to pay for them. Also, there's, in my program, there is a space specifically for equipment distribution. So for example, if you need a laptop for a couple days to get a project done, or you need a camera, for a photography class, for example, you are able to rent those things out for a certain period of time for free and that kind of comes along with my tuition. But it's not, there's not an equipment distribution center for every university. But it is worthwhile trying to find spaces where you can rent technology or devices for free. I know that some libraries do offer those kinds of resources as well. So yeah, it's super important to look into especially if you don't have the access, or you don't have the funds to buy a new laptop, for example, or rent out something in specific it can be a lot of money and those things do add up. So yeah.

Sam: 38:23

I actually have a funny story about that happening to me. So I went to school for journalism for a little bit, and we had this like project where we had to go and film a story of us like doing kind of like a little expose on whatever we wanted. So anyways, I didn't have a camera or anything like that so I thought, oh, maybe the university has some to rent and I ended up looking in, it was true that they had stuff to rent but when I went to go pick it up, the person there who was giving me the camera was like, how did you find out about this? Like they didn't even realize that students could access this until I had asked about it. So sometimes it's definitely yeah, it's definitely worth asking for and looking around on even just your university's website and exploring all of the options to see if there's some resources for your specific problem. Other than that, other than looking for equipment, I would say that I also love attending any sorts of like talks at the university. So usually these are put on with, like your either your faculty or sometimes students groups, and usually like with professionals within the industry that you want to get into. And just hearing them speak about, like specialized topics. Definitely a great way to network and meet other people in your program or even just people who have similar interests to you.

Brianna: 39:36

Yeah, I find that, especially with online, there have been some talks that I've gone to that have been so just refreshing and informative and sometimes it can feel hard to make those connections or go to Student talks online because at the end of the day, you're just sitting in front of a computer and that can be a little bit awkward. But if you find something or a topic or a group that really speaks to you or something that you're interested in, I mean, I think it's super worthwhile to go and just see what the vibes are. You never know who you'll meet or what you'll learn. So yeah, I think that's a really good one that's, that's free for most, most of the time it's free. Yeah.

Sam: 40:14

Yeah, and sometimes they have snacks if it's in person so yeah. And even like speaking to on campus positions, I was very fortunate to get one over the summer and that really helped me gain some relevant job experience, because usually these on campus positions are entry level, sometimes they might be with a prof that you already know and they may already know your kind of skill set and know how to adjust that job so that it's a learning experience that's beneficial for you. So I found that was really helpful to get some really relevant experience and eventually get other gigs and other experiences, because I had that relevant experience on campus when it was entry level. And then I was able to go out into the fields and try some new things and say that, yeah, I'm a professional in this field, because I actually did do it.

Brianna: 41:03

Yeah, it is important. You don't have to be a senior student with tons of experience to apply for university jobs. I know that sometimes that can be intimidating because it's an actual institution that you're working for. But a lot of the times if you're a first year student, and you may have some prior experience in, in editing, for example, or just general research or assistance, then you can totally apply for those things. And for the most part, your boss or your teachers or professors or whoever you're working with, will be super supportive in helping you learn those skills.

Sam: 41:42

For more tips and tricks on how to save and use money wisely during university and for more student perspectives, check out the Backstage Pass eLearning module that goes with this episode. Link to that is in our show notes.

Brianna: 41:53

Next episode, we're going to be discussing community building and networking. So make sure to keep on listening. And if you want to check out either Sam or myself, follow the project on social media, or access the transcription of this episode, and you can find the links in our show notes.

Sam: 42:07

Thanks so much for listening. This has been Backstage Pass with myself Sam McNulty and Brianna Roett.