The acceptance email arrived. You screenshotted it, sent it to your parents, maybe cried a little.
Good. You should. Getting in is real.
Now here is what nobody puts in the welcome package: the next few months before you arrive on campus will shape your financial life more than the four years after. The students who go in without a plan do not fail academically. They just spend four years in low-grade panic about money, which is its own kind of distraction.
Here is the money game plan.
OSAP Is a Loan First, a Grant Second
If you are studying in Ontario, you will apply for OSAP (the Ontario Student Assistance Program). It combines grants (money you keep) and loans (money you repay). Most students look at the total number and forget to read the breakdown.
Before you accept anything, know which part is which.
Grants come from OSAP based on your household income and family size. You will not repay them. Loans are different. You will repay them with interest, starting six months after you finish school.
In 2026, the average Ontario undergraduate student borrows somewhere between $8,000 and $12,000 per year, depending on their program and living situation. Four years of that adds up fast.
Apply as early as possible. OSAP opens applications months before fall semester. A late application means delayed funding, and delayed funding means scrambling for cash the week you need to pay for textbooks.
On student loans: borrow the minimum you actually need. Every dollar you borrow now costs you more than a dollar later. The interest may look small, and it starts growing the moment your repayment window opens. Before you click accept, it is worth ten minutes to understand what you are actually signing with OSAP.
What College Actually Costs in Ontario
Here is the breakdown most first-years never see coming.
Tuition at Ontario universities runs from roughly $6,500 to $15,000 per year, depending on your program. Business, engineering, and professional programs cost more. Liberal arts programs tend to cost less. Your acceptance package will show the exact number.
Residence fees are separate. On-campus residence in Ontario typically runs $8,000 to $13,000 for the year, including meals. Off-campus apartments cost less on rent but add groceries, transit, and utilities.
Books and course materials: budget $800 to $1,200 per year. Yes, that high. Buy used where you can, and check your campus library before ordering anything.
Personal spending, transit, your phone, and the coffee you will drink an alarming amount of: budget at least $400 to $600 per month. This is the line item most students get wrong. They plan for tuition and housing and forget they still need to live.
Add it up. A first-year student living in Ontario residence can expect total costs around $25,000 to $35,000 for the year. OSAP, RESP withdrawals, and part-time income typically need to cover most of that.
Your RESP: Understand It Before You Spend It
If your parents saved for your education, they likely used an RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan). That money is for you. But it works differently than a regular bank account, and you should understand it before it arrives.
RESP withdrawals are called EAPs (Educational Assistance Payments) and they count as your income for tax purposes. You will receive a T4A slip each year you receive funds. Because you are likely a student earning little, the tax hit is usually small. But you need to file a tax return every year you receive RESP money.
Talk to your parents about how much is in the account and how they plan to release it over the four years. Know the number. Do not assume the RESP covers everything. It is one piece of your plan, not the whole plan.
Build Your Budget Before You Pack
This is the step most students skip, and it is the reason so many run out of money in February.
Before you leave home, sit down and build a monthly budget with real numbers. Not approximate numbers. Real ones.
Start with your income sources for each month: OSAP, RESP, part-time work, any savings you have built. Then list your fixed costs: tuition payments, residence fees, phone. Then your variable costs: food, transit, personal spending.
If the expenses exceed the income, you have a gap to close. Identify it now, while you are still at home, before you are sitting in an empty dorm room wondering why you cannot afford groceries.
The most important line in your student budget is food. Students living off campus underestimate this dramatically. A realistic minimum for groceries and the occasional meal out is $400 to $500 per month.
The budget does not need to be complicated. A spreadsheet with three columns (income, fixed costs, variable costs) and honest numbers is all you need. The point is to see the picture before you are inside it.
Part-Time Work: Worth It, With a Limit
Working part-time during school is worth doing. The income helps, and so does the work experience. But there is one number to hold.
Keep it to 15 to 20 hours per week maximum during the school year. Beyond that, grades tend to slip. The degree you are paying for is worth more than the extra hours you would work to avoid a modest student loan.
You will pay tax on your employment income. You will receive a T4 from your employer each spring. File your taxes every year, even as a student. You are likely entitled to a refund most years, and filing builds your RRSP contribution room for the future.
If you can find work related to your field of study, take it even if it pays a bit less than a retail job. Experience compounds differently than money does.
The Credit Card Question
At some point in your first weeks on campus, someone will offer you a student credit card.
A student card with a low limit ($500 to $1,000) is fine. It builds credit history, which you will want eventually. Set it up to pay the full balance automatically each month, and use it only for things you would buy anyway.
A credit card with a high limit is a different situation. Do not accept more credit than you can pay off in full each month. The interest rates on student cards are not forgiving, and credit card debt is one of the few things that can genuinely damage your financial life before it starts.
Keep it simple. One card. Low limit. Full balance cleared monthly.
Your TFSA: Set It Up at 18 and Leave It Alone
You have been building TFSA contribution room since you turned 18. In 2026, you receive $7,000 in new room each year.
A TFSA is a good place to keep any savings you manage to build during school. The growth is tax-free, and you can access the money if you genuinely need it.
Do not drain your TFSA to cover spending you should be budgeting for. The room you use and then refill does not compound the same way unused room does. The TFSA becomes more powerful once you are earning a real income after graduation. Keep it in good shape for that moment.
If you are 18 and have not opened a TFSA yet, open one now, even if there is nothing to put in it. The room starts accumulating the day you turn 18, not the day you open the account. But opening it gets you in the habit.
One Thing Before You Leave
Here is the concrete step.
This week, before the excitement of move-in day takes over: write down your income and expenses for your first year. Every source of money. Every expected cost. See what the monthly number looks like.
If the math does not work, you have time to fix it. A summer job, a conversation with your parents about the RESP, a smaller spending estimate somewhere. Once you are on campus, fixing a budget gap is much harder. Fixing it now is a thirty-minute conversation and a spreadsheet.
You are about to make one of the largest financial decisions of your early life.
Go in with your eyes open.