How to Pay for University Without an RESP (or With Too Little in It)

You can pay for university without an RESP by stacking four things: grants that never have to be repaid, interest-free federal student loans, tax-free scholarships, and monthly cash flow from savings and part-time work. Apply for student aid even if you think your income is too high, because the federal grant for full-time students in 2026-27 is up to $525 for each month of study and federal loans charge no interest. If your child is still 15 or younger, opening an RESP now can still capture up to $1,000 a year of catch-up grant. A TFSA works as a flexible education fund for parents, and the student can transfer up to $5,000 a year of unused federal tuition credits to a parent or grandparent.

Step 1: if your child is under 18, a late RESP still pays

The federal government says the Canada Education Savings Grant adds 20% of the first $2,500 you contribute each year, or $500, with an extra $100 or $50 for low- and middle-income families, up to a lifetime $7,200. Unused grant room carries forward, so if you have missed years, you can contribute up to $5,000 in a year and receive up to $1,000. The grant is available until the end of the year the child turns 17, but at 16 or 17 only if at least $2,000 was contributed before the end of the year the child turned 15, or at least $100 a year in any four earlier years. So a parent of a 14-year-old can still catch up; a parent of a 16-year-old with no RESP history usually cannot.

If your family has a low income, the Canada Learning Bond adds up to $2,000 with no contributions needed, for children born in 2004 or later. A young adult who qualifies can request it themselves until the day before they turn 21. See opening an RESP for the Canada Learning Bond.

Step 2: apply for grants and interest-free loans

Student aid is the biggest source of money for many families without education savings. The federal regulation for 2026-27 keeps the Canada Student Grant for full-time students at up to $525 per month of study and sets the federal weekly loan limit for full-time students at $300. Provinces add their own grants and loans through the same application. The National Student Loans Service Centre says Canada Student Loans have been interest-free since 1 April 2023; only the provincial portions of Ontario and Saskatchewan loans still accrue interest. Repayment starts on the first day of the seventh month after you finish school.

For a made-up study period of 8 months and 34 weeks, those federal maximums would come to $4,200 of grant and $10,200 of loan room, before provincial aid and subject to your assessed need. Whether you get them depends on family income, costs and other resources, so apply early and let the assessment decide.

Step 3: use a TFSA as the parents' education fund

Without an RESP, a tax-free savings account is the most flexible place to save. The CRA says the TFSA dollar limit for 2026 is $7,000, added on 1 January, and any amount you withdraw is added back to your room on 1 January of the following year. That makes it easy to withdraw for tuition in August and keep the room. There is no matching grant, which is why an RESP still wins for children under 16, but there is no restriction on how the money is used.

Step 4: scholarships and the tuition transfer

The CRA says post-secondary scholarships, fellowships and bursaries are not taxable when you receive them for a program in which you are a full-time qualifying student, so every scholarship dollar is a full dollar. Students with little income often cannot use their own tuition credit. The CRA lets a student transfer up to $5,000 of the current year's federal tuition amount, minus what they need to reduce their own tax to zero, to a parent or grandparent. Ontario no longer has a provincial tuition credit, so Ontario families transfer only the federal amount. See transferring tuition to a parent.

Example with made-up inputs

These numbers are an example with made-up inputs. Riley's first year living in residence costs a made-up $24,000 for tuition, fees, residence, a meal plan and books. Riley's family has no RESP. Riley's student aid assessment brings $3,800 of federal and provincial grants and $6,000 of loans. Riley wins a $2,000 entrance scholarship, tax-free, and saved $4,200 from a summer job. Riley's parents withdraw $6,000 from a TFSA and get the room back the next January. A part-time campus job covers the last $2,000 over the year.

Steps

1. If your child is 15 or younger, open an RESP now and use catch-up room.
2. Ask whether your family qualifies for the Canada Learning Bond.
3. Apply for student aid as soon as the application opens.
4. Apply for scholarships and bursaries every year, not just in first year.
5. Save in a TFSA for flexible withdrawals, and plan withdrawals before 31 December if you want the room back sooner.
6. Have the student file a return each year and transfer unused tuition credits to a parent if it helps.

For more on costs and aid, see residence vs living at home, Canada Student Grant amounts and meal plan costs.