Managing and minimizing your debt

Student Assistance is helping you afford your post-secondary education, but you want to borrow as little as possible. Every dollar you borrow today will be repaid out of your future earnings and you’ll want those monthly payments to be as small (and few) as possible.

Before school: plan to minimize debt

In addition to how you budget and spend money, you are making many other decisions that will have a long-term effect on how much student debt you’ll need to eventually repay:

• looking at all your options to “earn while you learn”
• choosing a program that will get you a job and earnings you desire, in the area you expect to live
  • using designation information to choose the right school and program
• schools and programs that qualify for the Nova Scotia loan forgiveness program (for certificates and diplomas, undergraduate degrees and students with a disability)
• finding other resources to help pay for school

In school: keep your debt low

The Student Finance 101: Course Syllabus (PDF) covers tips to help you keep your debt low while you’re in school.

Other resources include:

• Calculated Need: Educational Costs and Resources
• Overawards

After school: reducing debt after graduation

• Nova Scotia Loan Forgiveness Programs:
  • undergraduate degrees
  • certificates and diplomas
  • disability
• qualifying for 0% interest on Nova Scotia student loans
• Repayment Assistance Programs