University can be an expensive investment for many students around the world. Attending UW and other universities may financially burden many people with costs such as tuition. Students from Ontario attending UW pay around $9,000 to $18,000 every year. International student tuition costs include $48,000 to $71,000 annually. UW’s co-op program also has fees that co-op students have to pay every term. The co-op fee is $817, which includes a mandatory course that students must take during their co-op term.
Living on campus is another huge expense for many university students, especially first-year students. Residence fees at Waterloo range from around $6,373 to $8,481 a term depending on the room chosen. Meal plans can have additional costs ranging from $5,850 to $6,650 annually depending on the meal plan chosen. Upper-year students tend to live off campus in Waterloo which can range from $650 to $1,833 per month. These prices depend completely on the type of housing, size, and the length of the contract. There are also many personal expenses students will spend their money on. This can include clothing, phone bills, and the internet. Textbooks are another fee that can get pretty costly, with most programs estimating around $2,476 for the whole year.
UW students can get financial aid from the provincial government to help pay their tuition. The Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) is an application-based government aid program for Ontario resident students. Funding provided to students is based on the government’s evaluation of their educational costs and expected financial resources. OSAP provides a mix of grants (money that does not need to be paid back) and loans (money that does need to be paid back). However, the program does have a maximum amount of aid they can provide which might leave many students struggling with their finances. For the 2024–2025 academic year, full-time students who are unmarried and have no dependents are eligible to receive up to $520 a week. Whereas full-time students who are married, in a common-law partnership, or a sole support parent may receive up to $850 per week. These maximums are insufficient to support students given the status of the Canadian economy and the extent to which inflation has affected the cost of groceries and other essentials. In December 2024, Canada’s inflation rate decreased to 1.8%, but prices are still growing, making it difficult for students to keep up with expenses. The cost of transportation, particularly gas, increased, but the cost of food and housing increased relatively slowly. Those who already struggle financially with high living expenses have been further burdened by this.
The increased cost of living in Canada in the past two years has impacted many students. The increase has left many students dependent on food banks such as the ones on campus. The Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association has a food support service available for every student on campus.
