Student loans in Alberta
Alberta Student Aid, what the Alberta half of your loan charges in interest, how the grace period works, and how repayment assistance is assessed.
- 4.45%Interest on the Alberta portion
- NoneInterest on the federal portion, since April 2023
- 12 monthsGrace period, interest-free
How the money reaches you
Federal and provincial aid are issued separately. Two loans, two servicers, two payment schedules, and two places to arrange repayment assistance.
The programme is Alberta Student Aid.
Interest on the provincial half
4.45%
The CIBC prime rate, for both floating and fixed, since 1 July 2023. Reduced then from prime plus one on floating and prime plus two on fixed.
Repayment assistance
Apply to the province as well as federally. Two loans means two applications and two servicers.
Worth knowing
- Two loans, two servicers, two payment schedules: the Alberta loan through Alberta MyLoan and the Canada loan through the National Student Loans Service Centre. The single most common source of a missed payment here is a borrower who set up one and forgot the other.
- The twelve-month grace period is the longest in the country, and it is interest-free. The federal half still starts at six months, so payments begin on one loan and not the other.
- For 2026-27 the minimum student contribution doubled from $1,500 to $3,000, and parental and spousal contributions were reinstated.
- A one-time option exists to switch from floating to fixed, locked at CIBC prime on the day of the request.
What it costs to study here
The average Canadian undergraduate in Alberta paid $8,067.00 in tuition for 2025/2026.
| Field of study | Tuition |
|---|---|
| Dentistry | $35,205.00 |
| Medicine | $19,371.00 |
| Pharmacy | $17,820.00 |
| Law | $16,474.00 |
| Veterinary medicine | $14,608.00 |
| Engineering | $9,812.00 |
| Business, management and public administration | $8,046.00 |
| Nursing | $7,993.00 |
Sources
- Interest rates for student loans in repayment, Alberta Student Aid. Checked on . Backs the CIBC prime rate on Alberta loans since 1 July 2023.
- Repaying your student loan, Alberta Student Aid. Checked on . Backs the twelve-month interest-free grace period; the two-servicer arrangement.
- What's new, Alberta Student Aid. Checked on . Backs the increase in the minimum student contribution to $3,000; the reinstatement of parental and spousal contributions for 2026-27.
- Repayment Assistance Plan, Employment and Social Development Canada. Checked on . Backs the federal zero-payment monthly income thresholds by family size; the 10% cap on the affordable payment; the six-month application period; the 15-year horizon, and 10 years for a borrower with a disability.
- Pay back OSAP, Government of Ontario. Checked on . Backs Ontario's separate zero-payment thresholds; Ontario's 20% cap on the affordable payment; the Stage 1 and Stage 2 structure; interest on the Ontario portion at prime plus one percent.
- The Repayment Assistance Plan (backgrounder), Employment and Social Development Canada. Checked on . Backs the reduction of the affordable payment cap from 20% to 10% in November 2022.
- Tuition and Living Accommodation Costs survey (record 3123), Statistics Canada. Figures describe 2025/2026. Collected automatically on , so nobody checked this row by hand.
Checked on .