$$, Pare, Moola, Dinero, Argent, Pieniądze...However you say it we all need it to pay for school!!

There is nothing more serious to people than there finances. Everyone is concerned with paying bills  and making making ends meet, regardless of where you're from. In this post I'll be covering a few options that International Students can access to pay for University.

Not sure if I mentioned this before but I'm an international student...ok who am I kidding...I totally mentioned that like 1000 times. This time though it's actually super important :)

Diversity @ York U

Unfortunately for my domestic friends this post will probably not be too interesting to you, buttt feel free to read anyway, maybe you'll learn something new??




Going to school is expensive...if you haven't noticed that yet, then you probably will notice it VERY soon. FACT: College and University undergrad's aren't exactly "making it rain"so finding money to pay for school can be a challenge even for the most thrifty among us :P

A couple of things right off the bat that I feel I should let you know...

As International students  Don't qualify for:
-OSAP
-The Ontario Tuition Grant
-RESP's (at least not Canadian RESP's)

Not to be a "Negative Nancy" but here are a few things that we as International Students have to include in our tuition costs.

How can I afford all this?!?

1. Tuition: Usually this is about twice the fee of domestic students.
2. UHIP: Since we haven't been paying in the Universal Health Care of Canada we are REQUIRED by LAW to pay for the University Health Insurance Plan.
3. Shelter: You'll need to live somewhere during your time at York, that can be in on-campus housing, off-campus housing OR if you're super lucky with distant relatives you don't really know but will let you live with them while you're at school.
4. Books and other supplies
TOTAL: CRA CRA CRAZY amounts of cash!

I know what you're thinking..."DO WE GET ANY HELP IN PAYING FOR SCHOOL??"

Well don't worry we do have a few options open to us! All York University Students have access to the Student Financial Profile, which has a listing of all the available Scholarships, Bursaries and Grants. If you want a run down of all that the SFP has to offer check out my "Money, Money, Money..." post from last week.

As international students we also have access to some Aid from the Government of Canada. Now I'm not going to sugar coat this we don't qualify for very much, since we are international students, and therefore haven't been paying into government tax programs. But you might be surprised at what we can access!

One option I'd recommend is to check out the following website: http://www.cicic.ca/389/student-financial-assistance.canada This has a listing of all the scholarships, bursaries and grants available for international students based on country of origin. You'd be surprised at what you might be eligible for, so definitely check it out and apply.

If you remember NOTHING ELSE from this post I want to remember the following resource I give you. Honestly I can't tell you how helpful this resource is for international students. So get a pen and piece of paper and write this down...well actually since you're on your computer BOOKMARK this website and check it OFTEN!!

One of the MANY sessions
they run throughout the school year!

On-Campus Resource:
-YORK INTERNATIONAL

Who are they?
-They are the office whose primary task to help International students navigate, York, Toronto and Canada.
- They can help you if you want to find additional funding for school, if you want to get a job off campus, if you have questions about your status in Canada.
-Most importantly they provide you with your University Health Insurance Card.
-They offer TONS of workshops to help aid your transition into Canada.
-----They have workshops on how to apply for bursaries, off-campus work permits, how to find jobs in the GTA and on-campus and soo much more.

***Here's a link to York International's FUNDING webpage, since this whole post is about paying for school :P***

Where are they?
-They are located at 200 York Lanes.
(They are literally at the top of the stairs on the second floor of York Lanes, you can't miss their office it's so there's a BIG bright colourful display right outside their door!!)

Fun Facts:
-They are maybe the NICEST people on campus (after the RED Zone of course :P).
-The office is staffed with people from all over the world, so they are literally the face of diversity on campus.
-Also they really want to help students succeed. Basically if you have any questions or you find that you need assistance then you should visit York International.

There are tons of options available for International Students, you just have to know where to look, and who to ask for help. If you want any more info, or you have a specific question feel free to post in the comments section.

I hope that my fellow International folks are feel a little bit better about paying for school!