If you’re applying for student loan, it’s important to make sure that you apply early—by June of the year before the year of study—in order for your loan to be received before the payment deadline. Double-check your application before you submit it to ensure that you have provided all of the necessary information. Once you have filed your loan application, it’s a good idea to call your student loan department regularly to check on its progress.
If you need help with student loan applications and student loan appeals, you can get it on campus from the manager of Housing and Financial Aid. Call Frances Cody at (902) 457-6356 or email msvu.ca.
What should I do if my loan hasn’t arrived and the Sept. 14th payment deadline is fast approaching?
If you haven’t received your loan by the payment deadline, you must fill out a student loan agreement form that will give you an interest-free extension of the deadline to Oct. 7th. You can complete the form online. Please note that you will need to fill out another payment-extension request in January if you haven’t received your winter funds by the Jan. 11, 2012, payment deadline but that there is no interest-free period for the winter term.
Will my student loan be sent to me or Financial Services?
In some provinces student loans will be sent to you directly, while in others they will be sent to Financial Services (typically, Nova Scotia loans are sent directly to the student, while loans from the other provinces are sent to Financial Services). If your loan is being sent directly to Financial Services, check the bulletin board by the Financial Services service counter in Evaristus Hall. A listing will be posted with the names of those with items at Financial Services for pick-up, including student loans. Listings are updated regularly as loans are received.
Once I have my student loan, what do I do with it?
Once you have your student loan, Financial Services will confirm that you meet the registration requirements, sign it and indicate the amount of fees that are owed by you to the University for your fee installment. Your account will be coded internally to indicate that your student loan has been signed.
You must then have your loan processed by Resolve Corp. There will be a representative from Resolve Corp on campus from late-August until the payment deadline in September to process loans. Specific dates will be posted when available. Alternatively, Financial Services will do the necessary checks before sending the student loans to Resolve Corp. Students should have their Social Insurance Card, a picture I.D. and either a void cheque or their bank-deposit information with them when they have their loans processed by either Resolve Corp or the Mount. This should be done right away because you will only have 30 days to get your loan processed after Financial Services has signed it.
Provincial loans are processed by designated institutions. For Nova Scotia loans, the funds are now transmitted electronically to both the student and the University after registration and funds owed to the Mount have been verified by the University. Again, the verification is done electronically.
When will the payment from my student loan get posted to my student account?
It may take several weeks for your payment to appear on your student account after it has been sent for processing or processed in person. Lump-sum payments are posted directly to the University’s bank account when the loan is processed, but the reports that provide the University with the detailed breakdown of the students to whom the deposit relates may take longer to arrive. Students will be able to review their accounts in "My Mount" to ensure that the payment does arrive and gets applied to their student account.
What happens if Financial Services has signed my student loan but the funds from it still haven’t been posted to my student account before the payment deadline?
Financial Services considers your fees paid, for the purposes of the payment deadline, when your student loan is signed as long as it is enough to cover your required installment. Your account is coded at that time to indicate that your payment arrangements have been met.
Why do I have to complete a pre-study report (confirmation of earnings, etc.)?
Your pre-study, or confirmation of earnings, report must be completed by the date on your notice of assessment or there will be no provincial installment of your loan. The earlier your pre-study report is submitted to Student Aid, the more likely you will receive the provincial portion of your student loan in order to make your winter-fee installment on time. The Nova Scotia Pre-study Report is also your access to the Canadian Millennium Bursaries, so it’s in your best interest to complete the pre-study report on time.
What else should I know?
It’s important that you complete each step of this process in a timely manner because there are dates after which the loan is not negotiable. You should also regularly track the progress of your loan processing to avoid delays. Once your loan has been processed, the amounts indicated on the loan as owing to the University (as completed by Financial Services) are then paid directly to the University by the processing agency and you will receive the balance of the funds. This step can get stalled if you have interest outstanding on previous loans or if the National Student Loan shows that you are in “repayment status,” so make sure your account is in good standing.
Students with previous loans and who don’t receive their loan papers before the end of September should fill out a Schedule 2 form and send it to the Canada National Student Loans Service Centre and the provincial designate of their provincial portion. This form will alert the lenders that they are registered as full-time so they don’t go into repayment status for previous loans. You can get the forms and have them processed at the Financial Services Counter in Evaristus Hall.