Student loans in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Student Assistance, what the Nova Scotia half of your loan charges in interest, how the grace period works, and how repayment assistance is assessed.
- UnknownInterest on the Nova Scotia portion
- NoneInterest on the federal portion, since April 2023
- 6 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 Nova Scotia Student Assistance.
Interest on the provincial half
The rate on the Nova Scotia portion of the loan
This site has not checked Nova Scotia's own published rate against its site, and carrying a remembered figure would be inventing one. The federal half of the loan carries no interest either way.
Check Nova Scotia Student Assistance instead.
Repayment assistance
Contact the province as well as applying federally. Federal and provincial aid are issued separately here.
Worth knowing
- Federal and provincial aid are issued separately, so there are two loans to track.
- Nova Scotia has among the highest tuition in the country at both undergraduate and graduate level.
What it costs to study here
The average Canadian undergraduate in Nova Scotia paid $9,988.00 in tuition for 2025/2026.
| Field of study | Tuition |
|---|---|
| Dentistry | $29,945.00 |
| Medicine | $24,282.00 |
| Law | $18,327.00 |
| Pharmacy | $14,907.00 |
| Engineering | $10,198.00 |
| Nursing | $9,768.00 |
| Other health, parks, recreation and fitness | $9,652.00 |
| Business, management and public administration | $9,510.00 |
Sources
- Loan repayment options, National Student Loans Service Centre. Checked on .
- 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 .