Changes to Student Loans

Alberta Student Aid has made changes to how they assess and approve student loans for the 2026-2027 year.

On This Page
What has changed? | What does this mean? | Who can I contact? | What is Line 15000? | Which parents do I include? | What if I don’t receive enough funding? | Special Independent Status | Maximizing Your RESP | Line of credit vs student loan

What has changed?

  • General applications: When you apply for a government student loan through Alberta Student Aid you will now be assessed for both Alberta Student Loans and Canada Student Loans. You will only need to fill out one application.

    • Many students will receive a student loan that is made up of some funding from both Alberta Student Loans and Canada Student Loans.

  • Differences in applications of dependent students versus students with a spouse/common law partner: For the 2026-2027 academic year, Alberta Student Loans has changed how it will assess student loans for dependent students and students with a spouse or common law partner. More information about dependent vs. independent status can be found here.

    • Dependent students: parental income will now be used to determine how much funding a dependent student can receive via Alberta Student Loan funding. Student loan applications will need to include income information of the dependent student and that of their parent(s) to be assessed for a student loan.

    • Independent students with a spouse/common law partner: will need to include income information of their spouse/partner in the application. This required information will be used as a resource in the assessment of the Alberta Student Loan.

    • Independent student without a spouse/common law partner: no major changes to the assessment of your student loan applications.

What does this mean?

These changes create two significant outcomes:

  • If you are a dependent student or a student with a spouse/common law partner, you will need to include your parents’ or spouse’s/common law partner’s income on Line 15000 tax return or Notice of Assessment in order to apply and be assessed for a student loan.

  • If your parents’ or spouse’s/common law partner’s income is deemed too high, you may be eligible for less student loan funding.

For more details on how much parental income will be calculated, visit the Parental Contribution Calculator. Keep in mind this is only a part of the total assessment. The best way to determine how much funding you are eligible for is to submit an application.

Who can I contact for more information about my loan assessment?

  • Your assessment is completed by Alberta Student Aid. We recommend you contact Alberta Student Aid directly if you have questions or concerns about the outcome of your student loan application.

  • If, after speaking with Alberta Student Aid, you still have questions about your student loan, please reach out to the Student Service Centre.

What is Line 15000?

  • Line 15000 can be found on your tax return of the previous year or Notice of Assessment (issued by Canada Revenue Agency) and will need to be submitted via Alberta Student Aid's Income Verification Portal after you submit your loan application. All students must submit the information corresponding to Line 15000, even if under the age of 21 or have never earned income. 

    • If you did not file your taxes, you can estimate what your gross income was for the year and update Alberta Student Aid after you have completed your taxes if there is a discrepancy between your estimate and your actual gross income.

  • If you are a dependent student, you will need to include your parents’ income on your student loan application.

  • If you have a spouse or common law partner, you will need to include Line 15000 from their Notice of Assessment/previous tax year in order for your loan to be assessed.

Which parents do I include in my application (dependent students only)?

  • All dependent students will need to include Line 15000 of their parents’ Notice of Assessment/previous tax year. This includes natural parents, step-parents or legal guardians.

  • If your parents are divorced or you have one parent, you will need to include the financial information for the parent who is the main financial supporter.

  • Circumstances that result in parents refusing to contribute to the costs of their child’s post-secondary education will not be considered a sufficient reason to waive an assessed parental contribution, however, you may be eligible to appeal. Please review additional information below.

What if I don’t receive enough (or any) funding because of my parents' income?

The first step in understanding your student loan assessment decision is to find out more information about why you were denied funding by contacting Alberta Student Aid. Make sure to ask for specifics on why you were not assessed for funding.

Report any money your parents are giving you voluntarily (or that you are expecting to receive voluntarily) as monthly on your application (i.e., RESP, cost of tuition, cost of residency, monthly allowance, etc.). It is important to know this before starting your application.

Before starting your post-secondary studies, it may be helpful to have a conversation with your parents about what kind of support you might need from them while you are a student.

If you find out you are being denied funding due to your parents’ income, let your parents know about your student loan assessment to see if they are willing or able to support you considering the student loan is no longer an option. Knowing things like if you’ll be expected to pay rent while living at home, whether or not your parents have some reserve to support you financially and what that will look like (i.e., monthly, by term), can go a long way to easing some finance-related anxiety you may be experiencing.

Check out other resources to help you talk about money with your parents:

In certain circumstances, you may be able to appeal to have your parents’ or spouse’s/common law partner’s income waived. In some scenarios Alberta Student Aid will waive the amount of parental contribution that is used in the assessment of your student loan. These scenarios include:

  • If your parents were to experience significant financial loss such as job loss, reduced income or they are returning to school.

  • If your parents were to experience a short-term financial loss such as drought on farmland.

Additionally, you may be able to submit documentation if your parents have exceptional expenses this year. You can see more about that here under Expected Parental Contribution.

Similar to Special Independent Status, if you have a spouse or common law partner who refuses to provide Line 15000 of their Notice of Assessment/previous year’s taxes, you can appeal so as not have their income included. More information can be viewed here.

In both cases, you will need to provide a letter from your parents along with a sample budget.

How to Apply for Special Independent Status (for dependent students only)?

If you have had a significant breakdown in your family you can apply to be considered an independent student. To apply for Special Independent Status, you will need to apply for the student loan and include two additional documents after you have submitted. These two documents will need to be:

  • a self-written letter describing the breakdown of your family

  • a letter from a third party professional that can speak to this breakdown

Additional information about Special Independent Status can be found here.

Maximizing Your RESP

When applying for student aid, both parental income and RESP withdrawals are typically considered available resources for dependent students. However, once a student transitions to independent status, parental income is no longer factored into aid calculations, though remaining RESP funds still are.

Because of how financial aid assessment rules work, the timing and amount of RESP withdrawals can affect loan and grant eligibility from year to year. Students and their families are encouraged to consult with their financial institution, RESP provider or student financial aid office to understand how withdrawal strategies might align with their overall funding plan.

What is a line of credit/student line of credit? And, how does funding from government student loans differ from bank credit?

While the government student loan may seem like a hassle to apply for, it is always better to receive a government student loan over a loan from a bank.

  • Why? Government Student Loans are interest free and payment free for as long as you are a full-time student. When you are no longer a full-time student, government loans include a grace period where the loans will continue to remain interest free/payment free. Additionally, you can access loan relief programs if you are not able to make monthly payments. As well, some specializations can receive some loan forgiveness.

  • Still considering a bank credit? We encourage you to shop around for the type of bank credit that will work best for you. You are not obligated to stay with the same bank that you use for day-to-day banking. However, be mindful that “no-interest” does not mean there are no fees tied to using a bank credit. You’ll need to confirm how much interest you will be paying once you are no longer a full-time student. You can review the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada as it is an incredible resource for financial information, including how to navigate a student line of credit.

  • What about a payday loan? Where possible, avoid payday loans or similar debt as they are generally regarded as predatory and dangerous.

Additional Resources
Questions?
Contact the Student Service Centre