Alternative/Private Loans

U.S. students may also consider alternative or private loans as another source of funding.

Students are advised that:

  • Title IV/US Direct Loans financial aid may be available in place of, or in addition to, alternative/private loans. Students are encouraged to pursue this option, if they have not already considered it.
  • Alternative/private loans may reduce eligibility for federal or state student aid.

Maximum Loan Amount: Loan amounts requested in U.S. dollars must be equal to or less than the cost of attendance.  

How Do I Apply?

  • Log into the Out of Province Request Portal and submit a U of T Alternative Loans/Private Loans application (Sallie Mae Student Loans or Earnest Student Loans).
  • Upload the completed Certification Request for Alternative Loan or Private Loan form to the Out of Province Request Portal.
  • If you require a letter for study permit purposes (which can be used to apply for a study permit/student visa), you can request this while completing the Certification Request for Alternative Loan or Private Loan. When the loan is certified, instructions will be provided regarding this letter.

Note: All students must submit a U of T Alternative Loans/Private Loans application and complete the Certification Request for Alternative Loan or Private Loan form for each year that they wish to receive alternative or private loans 

I Applied – Now What?

Tuition fees are finalized and made available to students in their ACORN accounts in mid-July. After that period and onwards, loan certification forms will be processed within three weeks of being received by the University Registrar’s Office and in date order as submitted by students.  

Once the loan has been certified by the University Registrar’s Office, students will be notified via email to their UTOR email address. 

Students who have submitted an Alternative/Private Loans certification request in the Out of Province Request Portal are eligible to apply for a tuition fee deferral (see tuition fee deferral for complete information). During the tuition fee deferral period (starting in mid-July for the fall term, and in mid-April for the summer term), apply for a tuition fee deferral on ACORN five business days after submitting the Alternative/Private Loans certification request to the Out of Province Request Portal.  

A successful tuition fee deferral that is requested prior to the tuition fee deferral request deadlines will result in the following: 

  • Registration status on ACORN will change from INVIT to REG for the term/s that loan funding has been requested. 
  • Fee payment deadlines will be extended as follows:
    • Fall term tuition fee payment deadline is extended to end of September for students with fall term loan funding. 
    • Winter term tuition fee payment deadline is extended to end of January for students with winter term loan funding. 
    • Summer term tuition fee payment deadline is extended to end of May for students with summer term loan funding. 
  • Service fees on outstanding tuition fees will only start being assessed as follows:
    • In mid-October, for outstanding fall term tuition fees. 
    • In mid-February, for outstanding winter term tuition fees. 
    • In mid-June, for outstanding summer term tuition fees. 

The University of Toronto arranges equal disbursements at the beginning of each term after classes have begun: 

  • Loans will be disbursed in Canadian dollars to the student’s ACORN account, and will first be applied to pay any outstanding tuition fees. Any remaining amount after outstanding fees have been paid will be refunded to the student by the Student Accounts Office.   
  • Students must set-up a Canadian bank account, and enter their Canadian bank account information into the Direct Deposit section of their ACORN account. 
  • Students must also enter their Canadian mailing address in the Profile & Settings section of their ACORN account. 

Service Charges and Exchange Rates

Service charges are applied to unpaid student tuition fees according to the schedule published by the Student Accounts Office. Service charges cannot be waived because of fluctuations in exchange rates or because loans are issued in multiple instalments. Students are responsible to fund any shortfall due to exchange rate conversion. The exchange rate applied by the University of Toronto is based on the date of each transaction to/from U.S. currency.