The Pre-Study Report

Why this report is so important

If you do not send in this report before the deadline, you will not receive additional Canada Student Loan or Nova Scotia Student Loan or Canada Study Grant. You will also not be eligible for a Canada Millennium Scholarship bursary. When this report is processed:

• Your Pre-Study contribution is adjusted based on your actual income and allowable expenses.
• Your study period contribution is adjusted based on the updated information you provide on this report.
• Tuition fees are adjusted. If fees have been increased since your application was first assessed, the increase will show on this assessment.

Your need is recalculated based on this information and if your need is greater than the Canada Student Loan already issued, additional loan (Canada Student Loan and/or Nova Scotia Student Loan) and Canada Study Grant (for students with dependents only) will be issued. Canada Student Loan can be negotiated as soon as you receive the documents. Nova Scotia Student Loans cannot be negotiated until you are halfway through your study period. The negotiable dates are printed on the loan documents. Your assessment will show if you are eligible for a Canada Study Grant. The assessment will also show the date a cheque will be sent to the Awards or Business Office at your school. Grant cheques are not issued until you are halfway through your study period.

How long is my Pre-Study period?

Your Pre-Study period is the period immediately before the start of your classes. The length of this depends on what you were doing the year before and is broken down as follows if the study period begins in September:

• Just out of high school in June - 8 weeks



• Finished university in April - 18 weeks



• Finished community college in May - 13 weeks



• In the labour force - 18 weeks if you were in school last year, count backwards from the week this year's classes start. Your Pre-Study Period is the number of weeks between when one school year ends and the next starts, but can be no longer than 18 weeks.

What the Program expects of you during your Pre-Study period

When we calculate the amount of your loan, we assume you will be working full time and earning at least minimum wage for your entire Pre-Study Period. Full-time work means working at least 30 hours a week. Based on this, we include a minimum Pre-Study contribution (see Table B) as the amount you would be able to contribute.

If you are able to earn more than minimum wage, we may assess you for a higher contribution. We take your total Pre-Study income and deduct any allowable expenses. Click here for an example.

If the amount left is greater than the minimum Pre-Study contribution, we use 80% of this amount as an additional Pre-Study contribution. If your income is higher than you estimated on your application, your actual Pre-Study contribution may be increased and you may receive a lower amount than you expected in your second installment, or have an overaward.

Do I need proof of my Pre-Study income?

You do not need to send proof of your income during the pre-study period except for self-employed income.

To prove your income for self employment, you must send a statement of business income and expenses. This statement must give the dates you received the income and incurred the expenses.

What if you do not work during your Pre-Study period?

If you are unable to work or unable to find a full-time job for the entire Pre-Study period, we may reduce your minimum Pre-Study contribution.

You will need certain documents in order to be eligible for a reduction of your minimum Pre-Study contribution. The documents you need depend on the reasons you did not work full time.

• If you were unable to work because you were ill: a medical certificate or letter from your doctor outlining the nature of your illness and the dates you were unable to work.



• If you were in summer school or a part-time student and unable to work full time or work at all: send a copy of your marks and explain why school prevented you from working full time. If you are claiming the cost of summer school, you must send a receipt to show the amount of tuition paid for the summer classes, and we will also require your summer marks.

If you CHOOSE either to not look for work or to do volunteer or unpaid work: you will not be eligible for a reduction in your minimum Pre-Study contribution.

If for any other reason you were not able to work full time, please indicate in the space provided in Section A of the Pre-Study Report form as to the reason why. You can submit your Pre-study Report online or download a hard copy from our website.

Allowable expenses during your Pre-Study period.

Living Expenses:

On your first assessment, we calculate your minimum Pre-Study contribution as if you were living at home in Nova Scotia.

If you are a Single Independent Student, we recalculate your contribution based on where you actually lived when we process your Pre-Study Report (see Table A and Table B).

If you are a Single Dependent or Married Student, we calculate your Pre-Study Contribution as if you were living at home unless you were required to live away from home to work.

Other Expenses:

You may also have other expenses which you can claim by sending in proof. Other expenses you can claim are:

• summer school tuition: a receipt from the school verifying your tuition and a copy of your marks showing you completed the course(s)



• mandatory work clothes: a letter verifying that special clothes were required AND a photocopy of your receipt for the amount you paid



• child care expenses:

  Licenced Daycare - letter from childcare centre stating the name(s) of children in child care, the dates and the amounts paid

  Private Child Care Provider - you will need to submit cancelled cheques or money orders showing the dates and amount paid. Letters or receipts from the childcare provider are not accepted

  NOTE - If this is for child care for a child over age 11 with a disability, include a letter from your child's doctor, verifying that the child needs daily care.

• required CSL and NSSL payments: proof of the minimum monthly payment and the dates you made payments during your Pre-Study Period. If you choose to make payments that are not required, these payments will not be considered as an allowable expense



• cost of a second residence if you must carry the lease for your residence from the previous academic year: proof that you were unable to sublet your study-period residence. This could be a photocopy of a newspaper ad, a letter confirming that you were registered with student housing on campus or a written statement from your landlord stating that subletting of the apartment is not permitted. There is a set amount allowed for this expense.



• medical/dental: You can claim the amount paid since the beginning of your pre-study period and including the amounts paid to date during this year's study period. You must send receipts in your name which show the amount paid.

Is there a deadline to send in this report?

Yes. The deadline is no later than eight weeks before your study period ends. The deadline date is printed on your Assessment.

Remember, loans CANNOT be negotiated after your study period ends and the office needs at least eight weeks processing time. If you wait until the deadline, you won't get additional loan until near the end of your study period. If you forget to send all the information needed or want to request a review later, it will be too late . . . applications, Pre-Study Reports, additional information or appeals cannot be accepted after the deadline.