Guides
Student finance guides
Step-by-step help for government student aid, plus plain comparisons for loans, banking, and cards. These guides are education only, not advice. Rules, amounts, and deadlines change, so confirm on the official site before you apply. Looking for awards at a specific school? See school scholarship pages.
Canada guides
Government student aid
- How to apply for OSAPOntario's student aid application, step by step, from OSAP's official instructions.
- When do you get your OSAP money?When OSAP pays, what has to happen first, and what to check if it's late, from Ontario's official page.
- OSAP deadline: the 60-day ruleHow OSAP deadlines count back from the end of your study period, from Ontario's official page.
- Aid came back short? What to do nextSteps for OSAP and the FAFSA when your aid doesn't cover the term, from the official pages.
- How to sign your MSFAAWhat to have ready and how to sign your student loan agreement on the NSLSC.
- How to apply for StudentAid BCBritish Columbia's student aid application, step by step, from StudentAid BC.
- How to apply for Alberta Student AidAlberta's student aid application, step by step, from Alberta Student Aid.
- How to apply for Saskatchewan Student AidSaskatchewan's student aid application, step by step, from the Government of Saskatchewan.
- How to apply for Manitoba Student AidManitoba's student aid application, online or on paper, from Manitoba Student Aid.
- How to apply for Nova Scotia student aidNova Scotia's one MyPATH application for federal and provincial aid, what to have ready, and when the money comes.
- How to apply for New Brunswick student aidWho qualifies, the NB Student Aid Portal steps, what to have ready, and what happens after you apply.
- Winter student aid deadlinesWinter-term student aid rules and scholarship dates, from official pages.
- No-essay scholarships in CanadaWhere student money without an essay really comes from, and sites to avoid.
First in your family
- First in your family: start hereThe student aid rules nobody explains, one page at a time, with the official link for every rule.
- How student aid actually worksGrants, loans, scholarships, bursaries and work-study. What you pay back and what you don't.
- Talking to the financial aid officeWhat to ask, what to bring, and what an OSAP "funding review" is.
- Office hours: what they are and how to use themWhat they are and how to use them, even if you don't have a question.
- Picking your first-year coursesYour course load can change your aid.
- Dropping or withdrawing from a courseRead this before you drop anything.
- Keeping your aid next yearYou apply again each year, and your grades and course load count.
- The aid paperwork decoderThe words on your aid letter, explained.
Comparing loans
Student banking
Student credit cards
United States guides
Government student aid
- FAFSA deadlines 2027-28The federal deadline and state dates for 10 states, from StudentAid.gov.
- FSA ID and FAFSA contributorsWhy each parent needs their own StudentAid.gov account, and how to invite them.
- How to fill out the FAFSAWhich FAFSA year to file and the steps on StudentAid.gov. It's free.
- Selected for FAFSA verification: what to doWhat verification is, what your school may ask for, and why to answer by its deadline, from StudentAid.gov.
- Pell Grant: who gets it and how muchThe current maximum, who can get it and how, from StudentAid.gov.
First in your family
- First in your family: start hereThe student aid rules nobody explains, one page at a time, with the official link for every rule.
- How student aid actually worksGrants, loans, scholarships, bursaries and work-study. What you pay back and what you don't.
- Talking to the financial aid officeWhat to ask, what to bring, and what an OSAP "funding review" is.
- Office hours: what they are and how to use themWhat they are and how to use them, even if you don't have a question.
- Picking your first-year coursesYour course load can change your aid.
- Dropping or withdrawing from a courseRead this before you drop anything.
- Keeping your aid next yearYou apply again each year, and your grades and course load count.
- The aid paperwork decoderThe words on your aid letter, explained.