The first thing you will need to do is check your school designation under StudentAid BC. To receive student financial aid, your school must be deemed eligible. In addition, there is special information if you are attending two schools, if you attend a private institution, or if you are going to school outside of B.C. or outside of Canada.
Here are some important things to consider before beginning your studies at a private post-secondary school in B.C.
- Is your school approved?
Private post-secondary schools in British Columbia are regulated to ensure that standards of integrity and educational competence are met by private institutions offering post-secondary education in B.C. - For-profit schoolsPending regulatory approval, students at for-profit private schools in Canada are not eligible for the Canada Student Grant for Full-Time Students (CSG-FT). All other federal loan and grant eligibility requirements for students studying in Canada remain.
Note: Impacted students enrolled in programs with high labour market priority (Nursing, Early Childhood Education, Dental Hygienist, or Paramedic) may be eligible for CSG-FT funding in program year 2026/27 under an exemption provision. Contact your school directly for more information on eligibility. - Career training schools
You can only receive StudentAid BC funding if the private post-secondary school holds a Designated Institution Certificate from the Private Training Institutions Regulatory Unit (PTIRU), Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, and has been designated by StudentAid BC. - Degree granting schools
Private schools issuing degrees in B.C. must be approved through the Degree Quality Assessment Board. You can only receive StudentAid BC funding if the private degree-granting school is approved and has been designated by StudentAid BC. - Signing an enrolment contract
Once you have been accepted by a B.C. private post-secondary school that holds a Designated Institution Certificate, you must sign an enrolment contract. Enrolment at an accredited school designated by StudentAid BC requires that you complete this contract.
The enrolment contract should contain the following information:
- Name and address of the school.
- Name of your course or study program.
- Start date, end date and duration of the course.
- Cost of the course.
- Date that the contract is entered into.
- Name, mailing address and signature of the student or guardian.
- Signature of the school official.
- A tuition payment schedule if you are paying by instalments.
- The school's tuition refund policy.
Attending more than one post-secondary school at the same time is called "split enrolment." In some cases, you can receive StudentAid BC funding for courses taken at the second school.
Before registering at your second school, check with the financial aid office at your "home" school about student financial aid options. The home school is the one that will issue your credential at graduation time.
You may be eligible for funding if courses at the second school are:
- Offered with the same start and end date as those taken at the home school.
- An essential element of your study program.
- Counting for credit towards your certificate, diploma or degree at your home school.
- Either not offered by your home school or are full.
Your second school must be a designated school under StudentAid BC.
Split enrolments involving private vocational/trade schools are not permitted.
Here are some important things to consider before you enrol in a post-secondary school outside British Columbia but within Canada:
- To be eligible for StudentAid BC funding, the school you plan to attend must be designated.
Students at private schools outside of B.C. and within Canada are not eligible for provincial student aid.
Note: Students enrolled at an out-of-province private school within Canada during the 2025/26 program year who received provincial student financial aid for the same program at the same school, may request to continue to receive B.C. student financial aid until their program is complete, or until July 31, 2029, whichever occurs first.
Here are some important things to consider before you enrol in a post-secondary school outside Canada:
- To be eligible for StudentAid BC funding, the school you plan to attend must be designated.
Students at for-profit private international schools are not eligible for federal or provincial student aid.
Students at international public schools, or international not-for-profit private schools, are eligible to apply for student financial aid. Provincial grants are generally not available for study outside B.C. The B.C. Access Grant for Deaf Students (BCAG-DS) will continue to be available to eligible deaf students attending approved schools outside Canada (Gallaudet University and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf).
Note: For students enrolled at for-profit private international schools during the 2025/26 program year (Aug 1-July 31):
- A train out provision allows some returning students to keep receiving funding for a short time, even though that funding is ending.
- To qualify for train out funding, you must stay in the same program at the same school you received student aid for in the 2025/26 program year.
- After receiving your 2026/27 Notice of Assessment, you can request train out funding through your online Student Account.
- If your request is approved, your application will be reviewed again, and you will receive a new Notice of Assessment.
Online programs offered by designated B.C. public or private post-secondary schools are eligible for StudentAid BC funding if they meet basic StudentAid BC program eligibility requirements. However, a moratorium restricting student financial aid eligibility for net new 100% online programs offered by BC private post-secondary schools remains in place for program year 2026/27.
Designated schools located outside of B.C. delivering online, blended, or other programs with a non-traditional form of delivery, must meet all basic StudentAid BC program eligibility requirements. In addition, these programs must meet one of the following additional eligibility requirements to be eligible for StudentAid BC funding:
- The academic or career training program with the same study period length is offered and delivered at 100% course load on site.
- A similar program where a student will earn the same number of academic credits in the same time period as a student in other StudentAid BC-eligible programs is delivered on site at the same institution.
- A student will earn academic credits for 100% of the program at the undergraduate level for a program that is recognized as equivalent at another designated institution listed in the B.C. Transfer Guide, Alberta’s transfer guide or other comparable articulation agreements from other jurisdictions.
Note: All programs must also meet all other required StudentAid BC program eligibility criteria, as outlined in the Policy Manual.