Costs
The cost to attend post-secondary involves more than just tuition. Consider the following expenses:
- tuition and mandatory fees
- books and supplies
- living costs (rent/mortgage, utilities)
- transportation
- child care
- medical needs
- food, clothing, personal care
- computer costs (internet)
The responsibility for paying these costs is shared between learners, their family (parents or spouse/partner if applicable) and the government.
Check out these common questions to learn more:
How does Advanced Education and Technology help?How much can I expect to spend on tuition, fees, books and supplies?
The following information can help estimate your costs for your first year of a certificate, diploma or bachelor’s degree program.
The amounts provided are calculated by taking the median costs for eligible courses at each institution within the categories below, then averaging them. Costs can vary within an institution for different programs, so always confirm costs with the post-secondary institution you are interested in attending.
|
Type of Education/Training Provider
Click to learn more about each type
|
Estimated Costs as of June 1, 2011 (2011/2012 school year) |
| Tuition |
Mandatory Fees |
Books and Supplies |
| Publicly Funded Institutions |
| Comprehensive Academic and Research Institutions |
$5,078 |
$870 |
$1,530 |
| Baccalaureate and Applied Studies Institutions |
$4,964 |
$1,275 |
$1,417 |
| Polytechnical Institutions |
$4,753 |
$755 |
$1,717 |
| Comprehensive Community Institutions |
$4,050 |
$611 |
$1,557 |
| Independent Academic Institutions |
$8,730 |
$597 |
$1,307 |
| Specialized Arts and Culture Institutions |
Insufficient information. Contact your preferred institution to learn more. |
| Other Education and Training Options |
| Apprenticeship Programs |
$35 apprenticeship registration fee, plus the following two types of costs:
- On-the-job costs (tools, protective equipment, etc.)
- Technical training costs (books and supplies, tuition of $92/week)
Contact your local Apprenticeship and Industry Training office to learn more. |
| Private Vocational Training Institutions |
Costs vary widely. Contact your preferred institution to learn more. |
Your choices can increase or decrease many of the costs related to post-secondary education and training. For example,
- Tuition: Some programs are more expensive than others; some schools may be less expensive for the same program; and some programs include opportunities to earn while you learn (apprenticeship or co-op).
- Mandatory fees: Different schools have different student fees; some might have none at all.
- Books and supplies: The school bookstore may have all the books you need, but buying them new can be expensive. You might find those books second-hand. You might even get a deal if you go online.
- Living expenses (rent, utilities, telephone, food, clothes, medical needs, etc.): Can you save money by living with family? Or would you prefer to live on campus or in a house or basement suite, possibly with roommates? How you get to school (bus, walk or drive) or where you eat (restaurant, cafeteria or at home) will also affect your costs.
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