Paying for university

[PharmaStache]

I am looking for information about the following subjects:

-the optimal way to withdraw from the resp
-changing asset allocation in the family resp as it gets closer to uni start time
-Manitoba specific information about student loans/grants (everything I read online seems to be about Ontario)
-estimates of living expenses for students who need to move away from home for school (residences, rentals, parents buying a place for the student to live in)
-costs associated with leaving the province for school

I'd love to just buy a book, but I haven't found any that weren't published 10+ years ago.  If the info in these hasn't changed much, I'm still willing to read them.  Blogs or other internet sources are fine too.

[Freedomin5]

I found this site from the Government of Manitoba on student aid: https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/msa/

I think living expenses would depend on where the student is moving to. Costs will be different for a student moving to downtown Toronto to attend University of Toronto versus moving to Niagara Falls to attend Niagara College, for example. Costs would also differ depending on whether they live on campus or off campus. The university websites typically have estimated or sample budgets for incoming students.

[techwiz]

Sometimes going to the source info is the best way to figure out the optimal way to withdraw.   
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/education/education-savings/paying-education.html

The real answer is it depends on individual circumstances there is no one way to be optimal for everyone.

[Metalcat]

@Lews Therin can probably help you with that

[Lews Therin]

It's the same logic as getting closer to retirement for most people, you simply move the portfolio to a safer balance.

Pretty darn hard to average out estimates for universities, since it's every university, every city, every town, every program dependant.

Some info from a PF blogger on the subject here for costs.

https://www.canajunfinances.com/resp/

Keep going down, there's a section of university costs in Canada with some interesting links.

[Metalcat]

Well, I've been a student in Canada on and off for a few decades at three different universities in 3 different provinces.

The cost of living is almost universally higher than the cost of tuition.

As for tuition, it is easy to find on any school's website what the difference is for in-province tuition vs out-of-province tuition. [Get your kid to do this]

My advice for undergrad is that for the vast majority of programs, pretty much all Canadian universities are equivalent in terms of quality of education, so the best bet financially is to go where the cost of living is lowest.
[You should do this since your kid likely doesn't understand COL factors, but you should work through budgeting with your kid, because cost of living is expensive everywhere in Canada, and there are rental shortages everywhere and students usually can't live in residence behind first year]

However, if your kid is industrious and understands the value of networking, there is a significant advantage to attending university where you want to end up working afterwards because that means 4 solid years of networking opportunities. [Talk to your kid about this, and if you don't know much about networking, find someone who does to talk to your kid about this]

For provincial funding, just google "Manitoba student aid" and this is the first result: https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/msa/
[Get your kid to do this, help if they need specific documents]

Get your kid as involved as possible in figuring this shit out. First, they're a digital native, so it's probably easier for them to find information. Second, their school has tons of resources they can ask for. Third, me figuring this shit out for myself was the first step in me learning to make things happen for myself.

[elaine amj]

I underestimated how much my kids would earn from various sources. One year I withdrew $20k for my DD and she had other income too so she got dinged with a few thousand in taxes.

I saved so much that withdrawing has been a nuisance. Especially since I have two RESP accounts because I changed institutions and decided to leave the first as-is.

I only pay tuition costs - and it is only $7+k/yr for DD’s uni. So draining the account before they graduate is another nuisance for me.

Just be aware you cannot specify CESG grant withdrawal amounts and it seems to fluctuate in a way that has not been comprehensible to me (prob my own lack of understanding).

TD butchered DD’s grant withdrawal one year and withdrew more than her lifetime max so it took me some time to get them to redo the math and resubmit the papers. I was freaking out thinking their mistake was going to cost me a few thousand dollars.

Give yourself time to before deadlines to do RESP stuff. Last year I started in early Dec and we finalized things at the close of business before the end of Dec. Then again, this was because of complications of having 2 RESp accounts.

I get grumpy about RESP but a friend lets her financial advisor handle all withdrawals and says it goes smooth as silk.


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[Gerard]

for the vast majority of programs, pretty much all Canadian universities are equivalent in terms of quality of education, so the best bet financially is to go where the cost of living is lowest.
[...]
 there is a significant advantage to attending university where you want to end up working afterwards because that means 4 solid years of networking opportunities.
[...]
Get your kid as involved as possible in figuring this shit out.

A big +1 to all these things. Researching this is a good safe doorway into life planning for young 'uns, and I can't emphasize enough how tiny the quality-of-education difference is across Canadian universities. Universities with apparently more successful graduates are just the ones that were able to attract better candidates in the first place; the "value added" is virtually identical everywhere.

https://optimacheap.wordpress.com/2020/05/20/a-low-prestige-university-wont-cost-you/

One caveat: particular *programmes* may be better at some universities (although this may be hard to judge for non-experts). Even there, there's an upside: your local or cheap or pleasantly-situated university might actually give you the best education in the specific area that interests you.

[rocketpj]

Community college for the first 2 years is a vastly more affordable option, with zero effect on the value of the final degree.  I'd particularly recommend this for students who are fresh out of their parents' homes, as colleges tend to have smaller classes and be a bit less overwhelming.

[Metalcat]

Community college for the first 2 years is a vastly more affordable option, with zero effect on the value of the final degree.  I'd particularly recommend this for students who are fresh out of their parents' homes, as colleges tend to have smaller classes and be a bit less overwhelming.

This is Canadian. Our world class universities aren't expensive. I'm fact, community college programs in Canada are often about the same cost or even more expensive depending on the program.

[RetiredAt63]

Community college for the first 2 years is a vastly more affordable option, with zero effect on the value of the final degree.  I'd particularly recommend this for students who are fresh out of their parents' homes, as colleges tend to have smaller classes and be a bit less overwhelming.

This is Canadian. Our world class universities aren't expensive. I'm fact, community college programs in Canada are often about the same cost or even more expensive depending on the program.

Quebec CEGEPs are free.  But they are not a substitute for university, the pre-university program leads to University and the Career programs are not designed to meet university requirements, they are designed to meet job needs while still giving a general post-high school education.

Some provinces have had their colleges and universities work out equivalents so College grads get some university credits, but it is not something that is reliable for all provinces and areas of study.  And once students want to change provinces from college to university it gets messier.

So Metalcat is right, a student needs to figure out what they want to learn and then figure out where they will learn it.  Community colleges tend to be more applied and universities tend to be more theoretical.