Deferring Your Tuition Fees

If you are waiting for your OSAP funding to arrive, you may be eligible to defer your minimum payment to register in ACORN if:  

• You meet the general eligibility requirements above
• You have submitted your OSAP application by the recommended date:  
  • Fall or Fall/Winter sessions: June 30  
  • Summer Session: March 31 
• You have been approved for OSAP for the current session 
  • Note: If you’ve only recently been approved, please allow up to 5 days for your tuition deferral eligibility to appear in ACORN 

Confirm your deferral and registration 

If your fee deferral is successfully processed in ACORN, you will immediately see a Success! confirmation message. 

You can also confirm that your deferral has been applied by checking your ACORN dashboard: 

• Under the Academics card, your Degree Registration Status will display Registered. 
• Under the Finances card, your Financial Arrangement will display Deferred payment (student loan/fin aid). 

Pay your remaining balance by the deadline

After your fee deferral has been successfully processed, continue to monitor your ACORN invoice and ensure that any Remaining Balance is paid by the payment deadline. 

OSAP tuition payments are typically sent directly to the University of Toronto. Use the Net Cost view in ACORN to estimate the amount you may need to pay after your expected OSAP funding has been applied to your tuition and fees. 

You are responsible for ensuring that your student account is paid in full by the payment deadline, even if your OSAP funding is not directed to your tuition and fees or your OSAP eligibility changes. Failure to pay by payment deadline will result in services charges, holds or penalties.

If you are waiting for provincial or territorial student aid to arrive, you may be eligible to defer your minimum payment in ACORN if:  

• You meet the general eligibility requirements above
• You have submitted your Provincial and Territorial Student Aid by the recommended deadlines:
  • Fall or Fall/Winter sessions: June 30 
  • Summer session: March 31 
• You have submitted your required documents to the University Registrar’s office through the Out of Province Portal and waited 5 business days, then log into ACORN during the tuition fee deferral period.

Confirm your deferral and registration 

If your fee deferral is successfully processed in ACORN, you will immediately see a Success! confirmation message. 

You can also confirm that your deferral has been applied by checking your ACORN dashboard: 

• Under the Academics card, your Degree Registration Status will display Registered. 
• Under the Finances card, your Financial Arrangement will display Deferred payment (student loan/fin aid). 

Pay your remaining balance by the deadline

If you are receiving financial aid from another Canadian Province or territory, funds are send directly to you and should be paid using one of the approved Payment Options.

You are responsible for ensuring that your student account is paid in full by the Remaining Balance payment deadline, even if your Provincial/Territorial Financial Aid eligibility changes. Failure to pay by the payment deadline will result in service charges, holds and penalties. 

If you are waiting for U.S. Student Aid to arrive, you may be eligible to defer your minimum payment in ACORN if: 

• You meet the general eligibility requirements above
• You have submitted an application for your US Government Loans on the US Direct Loans Portal, or for your Alternative/Private Loan such as Sallie Mae or Earnest Loans or VA benefits on the Out of Province Request Portal.
• Once you have completed your application, allow five (5) business days, then log into ACORN during the tuition fee deferral period to request the deferral. 

Confirm your deferral and registration 

If your fee deferral is successfully processed in ACORN, you will immediately see a Success! confirmation message. 

You can also confirm that your deferral has been applied by checking your ACORN dashboard: 

• Under the Academics card, your Degree Registration Status will display Registered. 
• Under the Finances card, your Financial Arrangement will display Deferred payment (student loan/fin aid). 

Pay your remaining balance by the deadline

Depending on the type of U.S. Student Aid you receive, your funding may be sent either directly to the University of Toronto or to you. If your funding is sent to you, you must pay your tuition and fees using one of the approved payment options.   

You are responsible for ensuring that your student account is paid in full by the Remaining Balance payment deadline, even if your U.S. Student Aid funding eligibility changes. Failure to pay by the payment deadline will result in service charges, holds and penalties. 

Partial Award Deferrals

A Partial Award Deferral is available in ACORN if you have been offered a University of Toronto award that will cover either your minimum payment to register or at least 50% of your tuition fees, but will not cover your full tuition and fees. This deferral allows you to register without making the minimum payment upfront. You are responsible for paying any remaining balance by the applicable payment deadline.

Failure to pay by the payment deadline will result in service charges, holds and penalties. 

Full Award Deferrals

A Full Award Deferral is available in ACORN if you have been offered a University of Toronto award that will cover 100% or more of your tuition fees. This deferral allows you to register without making the minimum payment upfront. If your award funding changes or does not fully cover your account, you are responsible for paying any outstanding balance by the applicable payment deadline. 

Failure to pay by the payment deadline will result in service charges, holds and penalties. 

External Awards

• You meet the general eligibility requirements above 
• Your external award is paid to the University of Toronto and exceeds the minimum payment to register – Fall term tuition fee total for Fall-Winter session or 50% of Summer tuition fee total for Summer session  
• You complete the Undergraduate Awards Tuition Fee Deferral form and submit it to the University Registrar’s Office Awards office via email awards.uoft@utoronto.ca at least 10 days before your divisional registration deadline.  

Confirm your deferral and registration 

If your fee deferral is successfully processed in ACORN, you will immediately see a Success! confirmation message. 

You can also confirm that your deferral has been applied by checking your ACORN dashboard: 

• Under the Academics card, your Degree Registration Status will display Registered. 
• Under the Finances card, your Financial Arrangement will display Deferred payment (Partial Award funding) or Deferred payment (Full Award funding).

Pay your remaining balance by the deadline

It is important to know whether you have been approved for a:

• Partial Award Deferral or
• Full Award Deferral

The type of deferral (also known as financial arrangement) you have will determine your Remaining Balance payment deadline.

Undergraduate award disbursements

These are processed between mid-September and mid-October and are applied to tuition and fees first. 

Graduate award disbursements

These are outlined in your graduate unit’s funding agreement. Awards are typically issued in three instalments—in September, January, and May—with later instalments applied to outstanding tuition and fees first. 

You are responsible for monitoring your ACORN account to confirm that your scholarship or award has been processed and to ensure your student account is paid in full by the applicable Remaining Balance deadlines, even if your award funding eligibility changes. 

Failure to pay by the payment deadline will result in service charges, holds and penalties. 

You are eligible for a tuition fee deferral on the basis of an accepted third-party sponsorship arrangement if all of the following conditions apply: 

• You or the Sponsor have paid for prior session fees, 
• an eligible Third Party Sponsor Organization will pay a portion of current session tuition fees that exceeds the minimum required payment (Fall term tuition fee total for Fall-Winter session or 50% of Summer tuition fee total for Summer session) 
• you submit for a tuition fee deferral request for each registration session prior to your division’s deadline.
  

Invoices for the Fall-Winter session are usually sent to sponsors in November. In some cases, Winter term invoices may be sent in February. You are responsible for covering any fees your sponsor does not pay. 

• Health & Dental Insurance: If your sponsor does not cover UHIP or student society health and dental fees, you must pay these fees yourself or opt out, if eligible.

If you have an unpaid balance from a previous session, your deferral request will be blocked. Please make a payment, allow time for it to be processed, and then try the deferral request again in ACORN.

If you are already marked as “Registered” in ACORN through another method, you cannot defer your tuition fees – your registration is already considered complete. 

If you’ve only recently applied for OSAP, Provincial or Territorial Loans, or U.S. Student Aid, your eligibility for deferral may be delayed. Check ACORN regularly for updates. If you’re approaching the registration deadline, consider requesting a manual deferral. In most cases, tuition deferral eligibility appears in ACORN within 5 business days of submitting your application. 

Deferral eligibility for part-time OSAP is typically communicated by the Ministry to the University in early August. Until then, you may experience delays and might need to request a manual deferral. 

If you’ve been invited to more than one program, you must decline the additional program(s) before your tuition deferral can be processed. This can be done by selecting “Decline” next to the program in ACORN or by contacting your Registrar’s Office. 

Students invited to register in two programs, or those in a combined program, are not eligible for tuition deferral through ACORN and must request a manual deferral. 

If your admission is conditional (e.g., pending final transcripts or other documents), your deferral request will not be approved until those conditions are fulfilled. 

If you are not being charged any program or course fees, or are only being charged ancillary fees, such as co-op fees, you won’t be eligible for a deferral in ACORN. Sometimes adding a course can trigger a tuition invoice and your eligibility to defer. 

Students in Rotman graduate programs are not eligible for tuition fee deferrals through ACORN. Please contact the Rotman Registrar and Academic Services Office directly for assistance. 

Provincial or Territorial Financial Aid

You must ensure to complete the required forms before proceeding with your deferral in ACORN.

Third-Party Sponsorship

This process is not handled through ACORN, please follow the steps in the third-party sponsorship section above.

External Awards

This process is not handled through ACORN, please follow the steps in the external awards above.

Tuition Waiver

This is not eligible for a tuition fee deferral and not available in ACORN. Please follow the application process.