Student Financial Assistance

The Remissible Loan and Repayable Loan are limited to a revolving loan limit, which has increased from $60,000 to $90,000.  The loan limit is the maximum amount of funding that a student can receive through loans from Student Financial Assistance.

This limit is a revolving limit, which means once students make payments to their loan balance or earn remission, they are able to access that amount of money again from the Student Financial Assistance program.

Student Financial Assistance offers two loan repayment incentives to encourage you to return and reside in the NWT and to help alleviate the burden of student debt:

• Loan forgiveness (remission), which can provide up to $6,000 to $12,000 in loan forgiveness per year, depending on the community you live in.  
• 0 percent interest on loans

To learn more about these initiatives, visit Loan Repayment and Incentives.

Applications for loan repayment incentives are accepted twice a year and must be submitted by April 15 and October 15.

• April 15 applications will be accepted between March 1 through April 15
• October 15 applications will be accepted September 1 through October 15

Late applications are not accepted.

If you have any questions about your loan repayment details, please contact your Finance Officer, Revenue and Collections, who will be happy to assist you.

In order to receive SFA, you must provide proof of enrollment in an approved program at an accredited post-secondary institution.

To find out if your college or university is approved, please refer to the Master List of Designated Educational Institutions. Still have questions? Contact the SFA Office toll-free by calling 1-800-661-0793 or email nwtsfa@gov.nt.ca.

No, you can apply for SFA before being accepted into a post-secondary program or institution.

Apply by your application deadline to ensure you receive SFA funding on time for your first semester. 

The Remissible Loan is a monthly living allowance you may qualify for if you are ordinarily a resident of the NWT for 12 months before applying. The Remissible Loan may be forgiven if you return to the NWT once you cease full-time studies. 

The Repayable Loan is a needs-assessed loan based on education-related expenses. The Repayable Loan is 100% repayable and you must start making payments towards your Repayable Loan once you cease to be a full-time student, even if you return to the NWT.

Nothing! The SFA Office will contact you after assessing your application when further documents are required.

SFA is intended to supplement the cost of obtaining a post-secondary education, not to cover all expenses. Other options may include:

• Applying for the Repayable Loan. This is a needs-assessed loan based on your education-related expenses
• Exploring various Scholarships and Bursaries available to post-secondary students
• Reviewing your school’s website for opportunities that may be available
• If you’re an Indigenous student, contact your Indigenous organization to see if they offer top-up funding.

Full-time studies means being enrolled in 60% or higher course load. Part-time studies is being enrolled in less than a 60% post-secondary course load. For example, if your school considers 15 credits per semester as a 100% course load, you would need to be enrolled in at least 9 credits (60%) to qualify for full-time SFA benefits.

If you are a student with a permanent, persistent or prolonged disability, you may be considered a full-time student while being enrolled in 40% or higher course load. For example, if your school considers 15 credits per semester as a 100% course load, you would need to be enrolled in at least 6 credits (40%) to qualify for full-time SFA benefits. For more information on how to be considered a student with a permanent, persistent or prolonged disability, contact your Student Case Officer or email nwtsfa@gov.nt.ca.

Yes, it is important to contact the SFA Office if you drop or withdraw from a course to make sure your SFA benefits are not affected. If you drop to part-time studies during a semester, you will no longer be eligible for SFA funding. Please contact the SFA Office before dropping or withdrawing from a course to see how your funding may be affected.

Yes, generally summer breaks are from May to August of each year. If you choose not to return to the NWT for summer, your residency will not necessarily be affected. Your residency may change if you are outside of the NWT for 12 or more continuous months without being considered a full-time post-secondary student. If your residency changes, you may have to seek post-secondary funding from other provinces or territories.

Funding rates can be found here but may vary depending on your eligibility.

Yes, you need to submit official transcripts; however, they do not have to be original copies. Transcripts can be faxed to 1-800-661-0893 toll-free, or emailed to nwtsfa@gov.nt.ca. Online unofficial transcripts are not accepted by the SFA Office.

No, in order to continue to receive funding from SFA, you and your school must complete and submit a Form D for each semester. Form D helps the SFA Office to confirm that you are enrolled in at least 60% of a 100% full-time post-secondary course load, indicates the program you're taking, and confirms tuition, book and fee costs for the semester. Form D can be found here.

Once your application is assessed you will be notified of your travel entitlements by letter from the SFA Office. Depending on your eligibility, you may qualify for up to two return trips from your home NWT community to the nearest approved educational institution in the NWT or as far as Edmonton, Alberta. Trips can only be used for a break in between semesters, such as the break between fall and winter semester. Travel during a semester, such as during spring break or reading week, are not eligible for SFA travel benefits.

You are responsible for making your own travel arrangements by contacting a travel agency in the NWT at least two weeks prior to your travel date. View our list of NWT travel agencies for their contact information.