Your first week at King’s is small and personal, which works in your favour: the same handful of offices handles your ID, your tuition questions, and your financial aid. Here’s what the week actually holds and the money deadlines hiding in it.
Orientation: the actual dates
King’s runs its New Student Orientation Day on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, the day before classes. There’s also an online orientation you complete beforehand, and a separate International Student Orientation on September 9.
The thing that makes King’s orientation different is the Fall (First-Year) Retreat, September 16 to 18, 2026. It’s registered as a course (UNIV065) and included in your $160 orientation fee. Registration closes September 11, so if you want in, confirm it that first week rather than assuming you’re enrolled.
Money dates for the term
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| Deadline | Date | What it matters for |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation Day | Sep 1, 2026 | Your ID, campus access, first-week logistics |
| Classes begin | Sep 2, 2026 | First day of fall term |
| Retreat registration closes | Sep 11, 2026 | Included in your orientation fee, but you must register |
| Add/drop window | first weeks of term | Course changes without tuition consequences |
Your tuition is charged per term at $516 per credit. A full 15.5-credit load runs $7,998 per term in tuition, plus about $1,071 in student fees. Budget roughly $16,100 for tuition and fees across the full year before housing and food.
The money moves to make in week one
- Confirm your Alberta Student Aid application is in. King’s is a designated institution for government loans, and Alberta Student Aid recommends applying at least 60 days before your study period starts. If September arrived and you still haven’t applied, do it now, then follow up on your file this week.
- Opt out of the health plan if you’re already covered. The student healthcare plan is $322.56 once a year, and you can opt out if you’re covered under a parent’s plan. The opt-out window closes early in the term, so handle it in week one, not month three. That’s $322.56 back in your pocket.
- Pick up your student ID through the Registry. It’s your library card, building access, meal plan card, and printing credits in one. If you did online confirmation, the ID comes through the same office.
- Apply your admission scholarship. King’s automatically awards entrance scholarships based on your high school average: $2,000 for an 80 to 89% average, $3,000 for 90% or above. No separate application for those, but check your student account in week one to confirm the credit actually posted. If it didn’t, ask the financial aid office immediately, since these things take longer to fix once the term is underway.
- Sort your transit. King’s isn’t part of the Edmonton U-Pass program, so you pay regular ETS fares, about $3 per 90-minute tap. If you live in residence, you may barely need transit at all. If you’re commuting, budget it, or check whether driving works better, since student parking on campus is free.
What a first-year year actually costs
Rough full-year picture for a student living in residence, before scholarships and aid:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tuition (2 terms, 15.5 credits each) | $15,996 |
| Student fees | ~$2,142 |
| Residence (double room) | ~$4,306 |
| Meal plan (Limited, 2 semesters) | $4,508 |
| Textbooks | ~$650 |
| Total | ~$27,600 |
Against that: the maximum Alberta and Canada student loan is $8,500 per semester, or $17,000 for the year, and the Canada Student Grant adds up to $525 a month for full-time students. Scholarships, grants, and a summer job close most of the remaining gap. King’s awards roughly $660,000 in student awards each year, and smaller schools are easier to get bursaries from precisely because fewer students are applying.
The bottom line
Three things to lock in during week one: your ID, your health plan opt-out if you qualify, and your retreat registration. Everything else, tuition, aid, scholarships, follows from files you’ve either started or haven’t. Start them.
Sources
- King’s orientation
- King’s tuition and fees
- King’s admission scholarships
- King’s government aid
- Alberta Student Aid
For more, see our guides to residence costs and eating cheap on campus.
This guide is general information for Canadian students, not personalized financial advice. Program rules and dollar amounts change, so confirm the details with the official government source before acting on them.
