OSAP: Love It or Hate It?

If you are a post-secondary student within Ontario, there is one acronym that you are most likely all too familiar with: O.S.A.P.

For those of you living outside of Ontario who may not be familiar with the term, OSAP stands for Ontario Student Assistance Program and is regulated by the government through the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities. It is a way of offering lower income [potential] college/university students in Ontario a way to achieve the goal of earning a diploma or a degree; it is a means to an end. It is through this program that many students are even able to pursue an education beyond high school as the rising costs of tuition and books have made it nearly impossible for some families to finance the educational quest.

So, do you see OSAP as the Ontario Student Assistance Program or the Ontario Student Account Program? Basically, do you believe that the Ontario government should be responsible for the entire sum of of educational costs associated with college/university life for a student, or should it remain, simply, a supplement to the cost that a post-secondary education can incur?

Many student do not receive nearly enough from OSAP to cover the cost of tuition, books, rent, food, etc. for the years that they are in university. They are also expected to work during the summer and contribute about $2500 towards their education each year. Most of these students are frustrated because it seems nearly impossible, either because they are from lower-income families who do not have the means to contribute, or because they themselves are unable to contribute so much on a student's meagre salary.

So, the question is: when it comes to OSAP, do you love it or hate it?

I would venture to say that if you are currently enrolled in school and are able to do so through the aid of OSAP, then you may well feel as though you love it (otherwise your chances of being able to pay for your education would have been severely diminished), and if you are currently paying back your OSAP loan, I would almost like to say, with absolute assurance, that you hate it (with it's interest rate being prime plus 2.5).

But, correct me if I'm wrong...