Ok so I'm a bit confused about how this works. I'm trying to get the approval for work-study but I have to fill out a form because I haven't applied to osap this year.
So I was wondering when the deadline to apply for approval is. And also do I need to have approval before I apply for jobs or after? There's a section on the form for the employer to fill out so I'm confused as to when I need to get the approval.
Also, even though I didn't apply for osap, I still need to get a job to be able to cover my expenses for things other than tuition. Would I get denied because of this?

From my understanding, you need to have applied for OSAP to even be considered for work-study. If you qualify for OSAP, I'm fairly certain that you are automatically approved for work-study. If you do not qualify for OSAP, you can then submit a secondary application directly with the Financial Aid office for direct approval from McMaster. In this application, you need to be able to clearly demonstrate how you are in significant financial need by the university's standards. I say "by the university's standards" because I'm pretty sure most students at McMaster are in financial need, but work-study is for students who need financial support beyond what the average students needs. This is what I was told by the Financial Aid office about 6 months ago.

oh wow I wonder how much the "university's standards" are...
Is it too late to apply for osap? I've already checked and I do qualify for some money from osap.

Originally Posted by *spark*

oh wow I wonder how much the "university's standards" are...
Is it too late to apply for osap? I've already checked and I do qualify for some money from osap.

No clue, I am not familiar with the OSAP process. I would call the Financial Aid office to ask and confirm anyways (if they are open right now).

Originally Posted by *spark*

Is it too late to apply for osap? I've already checked and I do qualify for some money from osap.

Nope, it's not! I once applied around this time but i had to like pay the school a small amount from my tuition at the beginning of the year cuz mac didn't get my osap money until like late September..

There's no deadline really for the workstudy application, just ASAP because jobs start accepting applications, interviewing and sending offers whenever they want, so having the form filled out and approved sooner is better. And it's definitely not late for OSAP! You just may not get the money in your account by the time you need to pay tuition

You can apply whenever the deadline is like a few weeks before your term 1 ends (to get that terms money). The deadline to have OSAP money ready for your account when school starts already passed (June29). For workstudy you need to be on OSAP. If so go to mugsi->Financial Aid->work study form. Just copy paste to word, print, sign