Umpteenth international students travel to Canada in pursuit of higher education every year. It indeed is one of the top 10 countries in the world from the purview of higher education.
Given in this article is a brief account of funding options for overseas education such as education loan and the scholarships offered at the educational institutions of Canada.
Cost of Education
The annual cost of study in Canada for international students for an undergraduate program varies from CA$14,000 to CA$ 26,000 and for a postgraduate program it ranges from CA$ 14,000 to CA$ 24,000 per year. For many, it is not possible to afford the tuition fee along with the living expenses. Nonetheless, international students pursuing higher education are benefitted a lot through various scholarships.
A list of some other scholarships for international students in Canada are-
- Entrance Scholarships
- ‘University of Regina International Entrance Scholarship’ provided by the University of Regina as an award of $200,000 annually to the undergraduate students.
- International Academic Excellence Award
- ‘Mathematics International Elite Awards’ and ‘Mathematics International Excellence Awards’ offered by the University of Waterloo in Canada exclusively to the Indian students pursuing Master in Mathematics.
- ‘International Master's and Doctoral Student Awards’ is offered to international graduate students, again by the University of Waterloo in Canada.
- NYIT Scholarships is provided by the New York Institute of Technology to excellent students.
To know more about the popular scholarships to study overseas, do not hesitate to consult an authorized study abroad consultants.
Education loan- Secured and Unsecured
Students are free to apply for either secured education loan or an unsecured education loan as any of it is accepted by the Canada immigration officer at the time of Canadian visa application process.
Quantum of Finance
Under an unsecured education loan, student can get an approximate amount of 7.5 lakhs from a nationalized bank whereas private banks sanction up to 40 lakhs, particularly for MBA studies at the Prime A premier educational institutions and up to 25 lakhs for Prime B institutions. Canada immigration office accepts loan letters from NBFCs as well. A loan amount of INR 15 lakhs to INR 20 lakhs of education loan is granted by the NBFCs.
If a student is willing to mortgage collateral at the lender then a loan amount of 1.5 Cr or more can be sanctioned by the nationalized banks.
Marginal Cost
Generally, the marginal cost is 10% of the total expenses for the course. However, this is the minimum percentage applicable and it may vary from bank to bank. Let’s understand the concept better. Suppose the total expense is INR 50 lakhs for a course and you’ve borrowed 30 lakhs only, then the marginal cost at the rate of 40% is 20 lakhs. If INR 10 lakhs is disbursed at an interval, then the marginal cost to be incurred by the applicant is INR 4 lakhs and INR 6 lakhs is borne by the bank itself.
Rate of Interest
A nationalised bank provides secured education loan at the marginal cost of 10% in case of non-premier institutions whereas no marginal cost is levied if a student has confirmed admission in premier institutions. The rate of interest is charged at a range of 8.85% to 9.60% for female and 9.35% to 10.10% for male applicants.
The repayment period is of 15 years as per the education loan model.
The rate of interest for an unsecured loan is 12% to 15%.
A concession of 0.5% on the rate of interest is offered to girl child by nationalized.
Moratorium Period
Nationalized banks, private banks and NBFCs grant a certain grace period to the borrower. This grace period is called moratorium period which is the tenure of the academic programme and the time till you get the job. Students are exempted from paying EMI during the moratorium period. However, you must remember that the simple interest keeps on adding up to the principal amount every month.
The extent of moratorium period is set by the lender. In case of Nationalized and private banks, students get a grace period of 6 months to one year whereas NBFCs grant 12 months of moratorium period.
If you’re curious to know about the student loans for studying abroad, reach out to an experienced loan advisor or a recognized study abroad consultant.
Hope the article was informative and useful to you!
Thank you for reading!
