ÉTS

Student Loans and Bursaries (Government Financial Assistance)

Need financial help to undertake or continue your studies? If you’re a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, refugee or protected person, you can benefit from the Government of Quebec’s Loans and Bursaries Program. Here’s some information on this financial assistance program.

Loans and Bursaries Program

Quebec’s ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur (the education and higher learning ministry)’s Loans and Bursaries Program is administered by Student Financial Assistance (SFA, or AFÉ in French). It is the main form of financial assistance for many students who reside in Quebec. Office of Student Life staff at ÉTS are specially trained to work with you and provide information and advice about this financial assistance program. 

Services

  • Help with applying for financial assistance for the first time
  • Reviewing forms
  • Issuing a Guarantee Certificate
  • Confirmation of academic information and change of institution
  • Advice if your situation changes
  • Help with understanding your file and your assessment
  • Advice for problems (ex. suspended assistance, refusal, assistance payment is too large, etc.)
  • Assistance with exemption requests

What You Need to Know:

The Ministry’s permanent code appears on your high school report card or college transcript. Careful –  it’s not the same as ÉTS’s code.

  • Institution code: 978010
  • Program code:
    • Non-program student or preparatory year student: 09999
    • Bachelor’s: 40050
    • Certificate, master’s, introductory, doctorate: 40000
  • You must complete a financial assistance application using a paper form. You can get the form on the SFA Website or at our offices. It’s best to have your financial assistance application checked by staff at ÉTS Office of Student Life before sending it to avoid delays due to errors or missing documents.
  • A Guarantee Certificate is how you start the process with your financial institution to have the amounts that are allocated to you through SFA deposited into your account.
  • Simply present it, before its expiration date, at one of the following financial institutions:
    • A Desjardins credit union
    • A Bank of Montreal branch
    • A Laurentian Bank branch
    • A National Bank of Canada branch
    • A Royal Bank of Canada branch
  • The financial assistance that you receive will be deposited directly into your bank account.
  • You must be registered full time.
    • For undergraduate students, this status means that you are registered for a minimum of 12 credits or a co-op work term.
    • For graduate students, this status means you are registered for a minimum of 9 credits or a co-op work term as part of your master’s degree.
    • Contact Office of Student Life about exceptional situations.
  • Your financial assistance application must be renewed each school year.
  • You must provide two confirmations of your financial resources (September and January).
  • You must keep your income updated at all times.
  • You must declare any change in situation (such as a co-op term, income, marriage, birth, etc.)

You are deemed to be a full-time student for the financial assistance program by registering for a minimum of six credit

  • You can easily view and update your file on line (in French).
  • To report a change in your registration, contact Office of Student Life. Vous pouvez consulter et mettre à jour facilement votre dossier

  • Work terms in a co-op program do not make you eligible for financial assistance. However, you do not have to repay loans or interests during your co-op work term.

  • There is no specific bursary for students with 90 credits. It’s a loans and bursaries program.

  • For SFA, obtaining 90 credits means the student’s status can be changed to a status without parental contribution. This change could affect the amount of financial assistance granted in the form of loans and bursaries.

  • Your financial assistance will be deposited to your account on the first of each month by following instructions provided by the SFA.
  • For the entire school year, all of your financial assistance will be paid to you in the form of a loan by your financial institution. At the end of the school year, after the last payment and once your income is verified with Revenu Québec, the SFA will repay the amount of your assistance that corresponds to your bursary. This is known as loan-tu-bursary conversion.
  • You will receive a tax slip if you are in one of the following situations:
    • You had a loan-to-bursary conversion during the fiscal year.
    • You were awarded a loan remission amount.
    • You repaid a bursary overpayment amount.
    • You repaid interest on your student loan to the SFA collection department.
    • You have a major functional disability and receive all your assistance as a bursary.
  • During the month of February, the tax slips you need for your tax returns are added to your Online File in the Tax Slips tab on the SFA site and, if you have so requested, are mailed to the physical address shown in your file.
  • If no tax documents are shown in your Online File in the Tax Slips tab by March 1, none will be issued to you by SFA for the year in question.
  • The Assessment Simulator lets you evaluate the amounts you could receive before you apply.
  • If you are unsure, contact Office of Student Life for an evaluation.
  • The student is responsible for interest on the loan beginning on the month after his or her full-time studies end.
  • Repayment begins 6 months after your full-time studies end.
  • Repayment and interest stop when you return to your studies full time.
  • You can postpone repayment if you qualify for the deferred payment plan.

  • The purpose of the Loan Remission Program is to forgive 15% of the student loan debt of any person who completed his or her studies within the prescribed period and who has received a bursary under the Loans and Bursaries Program for every year of study.