OSAP Calculator: How Much OSAP Will You Get?

How much OSAP you get depends on three things Ontario measures when you apply: what your education costs, how much of a course load you take, and your and your family’s financial situation. The only tool that applies Ontario’s actual formula is the province’s own OSAP Aid Estimator, which takes 5 to 10 minutes. This page explains what goes into the estimate and how to read the result.

What the OSAP Aid Estimator asks for

To run an estimate for full-time study you need:

• your school and program;
• the dates the program starts and ends;
• your tuition and book costs; and
• your parent’s or spouse’s income, if the tool determines it needs it (that depends on whether you’re assessed as a dependent or independent student).

(Source: OSAP Aid Estimator.) The estimate isn’t a commitment: the amount and type of aid you get are set when your application is processed.

How OSAP works out your amount

OSAP is based on need: the costs of going to school, less the money you and your family are expected to contribute.

Money you take out of a Registered Education Savings Plan doesn’t affect how much OSAP you can get. (Source: ontario.ca, Learn about OSAP.) How dependent and independent status is decided, and the rest of the assessment rules, are in the OSAP guide.

The grant and loan mix

When you apply, OSAP automatically considers you for both grants, which you don’t repay, and a loan, which you do; you can decline the loan after your application is approved. Your award combines:

• federal money: Canada Student Grants and a Canada Student Loan, assessed through the same application and explained in the Canada Student Grants guide;
• Ontario money: Ontario grants and an Ontario Student Loan.

For programs starting on or after August 1, 2026, more of the Ontario portion comes as a loan rather than a grant: at most 25% of assessed provincial aid can be a grant (it was up to 85% before), and students at career colleges receive all of their provincial funding as loans. An estimate from before that date overstates the grant share for a new program. (Source: ontario.ca, Learn about OSAP.)

So two students with the same total OSAP can owe very different amounts after school. When you compare estimates, the split between grants and loans matters as much as the total.

Who can’t get an estimate turned into aid

You may not qualify for OSAP if you have defaulted on a student loan, have grant or bursary overpayments or several outstanding loan overpayments, or have filed for bankruptcy, made a consumer proposal or obtained a consolidation order. A defaulted loan can be brought back into good standing; the steps are in what happens if you can’t pay your student loan.

After the estimate: what the loan will cost

The loan part of OSAP is two loans. The federal part charges 0% interest; the Ontario part charges prime plus 1%, including during the six-month grace period after school. To see what a given loan amount would cost to repay, the student loan repayment calculator shows the payoff time and interest.

If payments turn out to be unaffordable, Ontario’s and Canada’s repayment assistance plans base them on family income instead, explained in the Repayment Assistance Plan guide. Some graduates also have part of their loan forgiven, covered in student loan forgiveness in Canada, and other provinces’ aid is on the student loans hub.