The Scholarship Option
If your child enrolls in a 2, 3 or 4-year program, the Scholarship Option is the right choice.
Your contributions pay for year 1
With the Scholarship Option, your RESP contributions (less fees) are returned to you tax free at maturity. These can be used to fund your Beneficiary's first year of a post-secondary education.
Three choices
Depending on the length of the program your child attends, you can decide how the Educational Assistance Payments (EAPs) – the government grants and accumulated interest earned on the grants and your RESP contributions – should be given out:
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For students attending a 2-year program, Option #1 provides one EAP that consists of:
Canadian Education Savings Grant
Canadian Learning Bond and Alberta Centennial Education Savings Grant (where applicable)
Interest on government grants
Proportion of the interest earned on contributions of the terminated Plans with the same Year of Eligibility
An amount equal to 25% of Membership Fees may be refunded
Discretionary payment from the Enhancement Fund
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For students attending a 3-year program, Option #2 provides two annual EAPs, where each payment consists of:
½ of accumulated Canadian Education Savings Grant
½ of accumulated Canadian Learning Bond and Alberta Centennial Education Savings Grant (where applicable)
½ of accumulated Interest on government grants
Proportion of the interest earned on contributions of the terminated Plans with the same Year of Eligibility with funds paid over two years and distributed with each EAP
An amount equal to 50% of Membership Fees may be refunded in two equal installments
Discretionary payment from the Enhancement Fund
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For students attending a 4-year program, Option #3 provides three annual EAPs, where each EAP consists of:
1/3 of accumulated Canadian Education Savings Grant
1/3 of accumulated Canadian Learning Bond and Alberta Centennial Education Savings Grant (where applicable)
1/3 of accumulated Interest on government grants
Proportion of the interest earned on contributions of the terminated Plans with the same Year of Eligibility with funds paid over three years and distributed with each EAP
An amount equal to 100% of Membership Fees may be refunded in three equal installments
Discretionary payment from the Enhancement Fund
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Discretionary payments that consist of enhancements and Membership Fees returns are not guaranteed. You should not count on receiving a discretionary payment. The Foundation decides if it will make a payment in any year and how much the payment will be.
Qualifying programs
To qualify under the Scholarship Option, a program must be at least two years in duration and attended for at least 6 months of the year, although 4 one-year programs would also be eligible. The Beneficiary must enroll in successive academic years to qualify for the Educational Assistance Payments, depending on the option selected.