Student Loans

Student loans are a popular option for funding your education but there are several things to keep in mind to ensure you secure the financial support in a timely fashion:

• Make no assumptions about eligibility. Many students are misinformed and fail to take advantage of loans when they are indeed eligible.
• Apply early (current student loan applications are usually available mid- to late-May).
• Process your loan documents early (Medicine Hat College begins accepting loan documents for processing by mid-August) so that money is in place for tuition, fees, books and residence when all fees are due (the first day of classes).
• Allow 10 to 30 banking days from the time the loan documents are process until you get your money, depending on processing cycles. Funds are not actually transferred to your account until the date indicated as the first day of classes, at the very earliest.
• If your loan funding is likely to be late, speak to us in Student Financial Aid about options available to you.

If you apply late (after August 1st for Alberta and July 15th for most other province), the time from application to actually receiving funds is longer because of the volume of applications being processed by governments later in their cycle. In this case, we strongly suggest you put interim or short term financing in place until your government loan funding arrives. (We may be able to provide a deferral of your tuition costs. We are unable, however, to provide for the larger expenses such as accommodation, living and book costs).