Nova Scotia forgives student loans!

Students graduating from non-professional programs at levels below a master’s in Nova Scotia no longer need to repay their provincial share of student loans. Graduates can take advantage of 5 years of loan forgiveness, up to $20,400.

Nova Scotia loans granted on or after August 1, 2015 will include loan forgiveness. How the loan forgiveness program works is different for students with permanent disabilities or graduate students with a diploma or educational certificate.

Conditions and criteria necessary for loan forgiveness

You must have graduated from a Nova Scotia university in a non-professional field at the lower level of a master’s degree.

This major and degree must be the first degree below the master’s level to be eligible for the loan forgiveness program.

The entire course of study must be completed within 8 years from its starting date.

In most cases, an eligible degree can include an inter-university transfer made by agreement between educational institutions (sometimes only in the form of a letter of authorization).

The eligible amounts will be as follows:

If you graduated before August 1, 2017 and your degree was five years or more, you will be assessed for loan forgiveness for the first four years of your education.

If you graduated after August 1, 2017 and your degree took five or more years to complete, you will be assessed for Nova Scotia student loan forgiveness for the first five years of your education.

If you graduated before August 1, 2019, your total state student loan debt (CSL and NSSL) must be more than $28,560.

If you graduated after August 1, 2019, your entire Nova Scotia student loan can be forgiven (up to a maximum of 5 years).