Temporary Loans

Dalhousie offers temporary loans of up to $1,000 to help students make it through cash-flow crunches, until other funding arrives. Temporary loans are interest-free until due, and can be used to pay for living expenses, but not tuition or fees.

Temporary Loans are normally available for 30 days, but can be available up to a maximum of 90 days. With your application, you will need to provide documentation proving that you can repay the loan. Applications are processed on a weekly basis. The submission deadline for the temporary loan application and supporting documents is Wednesday at 4pm. If approved, you will receive an email notifying you of the decision and the next step. Temporary loans are disbursed through email interac e-transfer to your Dalhousie email address.

Eligibility for temporary loans

• Temporary loans are meant for students who are experiencing a short-term cash-flow issue.
• You need to be registered with Dalhousie during the term of the loan. You can be studying full-time or part-time.
• You can normally only apply once per academic term.  Exceptional circumstances may be considered.
  
• If you've received previous temporary loans and they've gone unpaid for 30 days after the due date, your application may not be considered.
• The University of King's College has its own temporary loan program. If you're a King's student in need of temporary assistance, contact the King's Registrar's Office.

How to apply:

1. Fill out a Temporary Loan Application [PDF- 36kB]
2. Be sure to attach documentation proving that you can repay the loan. Types of documents to include with your application:
   
   Government Student Aid. Temporary loans are meant to tide you over, so you won't be able to get a temporary loan if you've already received your funds from the government. Attach a copy of either your assessment or your notice-of-award. The amount the government is sending you needs to cover the temporary loan.
   
   Employment. Provide confirmation of your employment. The confirmation should include your rate of pay, hours per week and job duration.
   
   Parental Guarantee. A letter or email (from their email address) from your parents, stating that they'll repay your loan if you are unable to do so. The confirmation should include the loan amount and the repayment date.
   
   Teaching Assistantships and Residence Assistanceships. Confirmation from your employer stating your salary and terms of employment. If you are repaying from other types of funding, supply documentation.
   
   Graduate Student Award. If you are being funded by a significant fellowship or scholarship, provide a confirmation of the award containing details about the amount, duration, and payment.
   
   Students under 19 years of age must also submit a parental consent letter.
   
   
3. Submit your application to the Registrar’s Office, Sexton Campus Student Service Centre or the Truro Campus Enrolment Services Centre or by email to awards@dal.ca.
   
4. Status of application.  You will be emailed to your Dal email address with the decision of the temporary loan application.  If approved, a promissory note will be included in the email which will need to be signed and returned to awards@dal.ca.
5. Getting your money. Once the promissory note has been signed and returned to awards@dal.ca, your funds will be issued through email interac e-transfer to your Dalhousie email address.  The e-transfer my take up to 4 business days after the promissory note has been submitted.  

Repaying your loan

You can repay your loan through the Student Accounts Office.

Interest

Temporary loans are not subject to interest charges if they are fully repaid by their due date. If a temporary loan is not fully repaid by the due date, amounts owing are subject to account holds and interest as listed in the Overdue Accounts section.