Change is coming to the way students pay their college tuition.
The Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities has implemented a new system that demands students pay a $500 non-refundable tuition deposit fee before their first semester to solidify their spot in the program.
The tuition deposit for the fall 2015 term is due June 15.
However, not everyone is seeing the change as a good thing.
“(The deposit) might seem minimal to some, but it is quite a lot for others,” said Brayden Lockyer, a high school student looking to enroll at Algonquin for the fall. “As a new student, (it) almost steers me towards choosing another path.”
And it’s not just new students that are turned off by the early deadline. As the rule applies to all full-time new and returning domestic students, current Algonquin students are up in arms as well.
“This change will absolutely have an effect on my financial well-being,” said Sam Franklin, a second-year child and youth worker student. “As a student living on OSAP for the majority of the year, it is already extremely difficult to keep up with basic living costs.”
Some feel like the new tuition guidelines haven’t taken into account students’ monetary situations. Franklin is a strong believer of just that.
“This change would affect thousands of students in a similar position,” said Franklin.