First week at George Brown Polytechnic: the money dates

Your first week at George Brown Polytechnic runs across three downtown campuses, and nobody hands you the money dates in one place. Most of orientation is fun. A few pieces of it are financial, and those are the ones that cost you if you miss them. Here is what to sort out, and when.

Where you start

George Brown teaches out of three main campuses, and knowing which one is yours changes your commute and your lunch options:

• Casa Loma, 160 Kendal Avenue, home of the construction, engineering technology and applied science programs.
• St. James, 200 King Street East, home of business, culinary arts, hospitality and the creative industries.
• Waterfront, 51 Dockside Drive, home of nursing, health sciences, design and architecture.

The George residence sits at 80 Cooperage Street, a short walk from St. James and Waterfront and under 40 minutes by transit from Casa Loma. Check which building your program uses before you sign a lease, because Casa Loma is a different trip from the other two.

The deposit you already paid, and the one you have not

To hold a seat and register for courses you pay a tuition deposit before your first term of each academic year. For domestic students it is $500. The deposit is non-refundable, but it is not an extra charge, it comes straight off your tuition.

If you have not paid yet, do it through online or telephone banking, or through the PayMyTuition option in STU-VIEW. A bank payment takes three to five business days to arrive, and the payment has to be received by the due date, not made on it. Paying the day before the deadline is how students lose their registered courses.

Tuition, and the fees that ride along with it

For 2026-27, tuition for Canadian citizens and permanent residents runs from $2,508 to $13,416 for two semesters, depending on the program, and that figure leaves out ancillary fees. Materials and supplies add anywhere from $1 to $6,100. Look your program up in the program finder rather than guessing from a friend’s number.

A few of the fees that land on top, for a full-time domestic student:

Fee	Per semester
Student Association	$147.14
Academic technology support	$122.89
Athletics	$72.72
Counselling, career services, tutoring	$17.10 each
Health and dental (annual, September start)	$378.60

The health and dental plan is mandatory but you can waive it if you already have comparable coverage, and you opt out through the Student Association before its deadline. Once the deadline passes, no opt-out applications are accepted.

Miss the fee deadline and a $150 late payment fee applies, once per semester.

OSAP: the timing that matters

George Brown is an Ontario public college, so Ontario residents apply through OSAP. There is no single opening date to remember; the thing that makes people late is processing time, not eligibility. Funding that arrives after your fee deadline leaves you covering the gap, and a $150 late fee is a bad way to learn that.

Two things worth doing this week:

• Check your STU-VIEW financial services page for your fee deadline and your balance, rather than working from a rumour.
• Check the awards dates for your term. Applications for each term open a few months before it starts, and close a month or so in.

The awards window, and why it is short

The awards program pays out scholarships, awards and bursaries, and it looks at academic achievement, financial need and community involvement. You fill out a student profile once per academic year, covering your basic information, your budget and your essays. Then you submit the institutional and faculty award applications each term, reusing the same profile.

The window for each term is short: Fall ran August 18 to September 30, 2026, Winter runs December 15, 2026 to January 31, 2027, and Spring/Summer runs April 20 to May 31, 2027. If you missed the Fall window, the Winter one is the next chance, and the profile you already filled carries over. Awards paid out generate a T4A in late February, which you can pull from STU-VIEW at tax time.

The setup that pays off all term

A few small tasks in the first week save money for the next seven months:

• Opt out of the health and dental plan if you have comparable coverage. That is $378.60 back.
• Look at the food services membership plans if you eat on campus most days. The annual and semester plans are tax exempt, which saves 13 percent on everything you buy with them.
• Get a PRESTO card and tap the same card every trip. Fare capping stops your spending at the equivalent of a $128.15 monthly post-secondary pass, so you never pay more than that however often you travel.
• Register for the Student Association’s SNAP if money is tight. It is at Casa Loma, E building, room 127.
• Walk your route between campuses before classes start. Casa Loma to St. James is a real commute, and finding that out on the first morning is the wrong time.

The bottom line

Get the deposit paid with time for the bank to process it, opt out of the insurance plan if you can, and apply for the awards for your term while the window is open. Those three cover most of the money stress in your first week at George Brown.

Sources

• Tuition fees and costs
• How to pay your tuition deposit
• Awards and scholarships
• Where to eat on campus

For more on making your money work at George Brown, see our guides to student housing and eating cheap on campus.