The new Financial Aid, Awards and Scholarships solution can be accessed though a web browser at https://yorku.smartsimple.ca/s_Login.jsp

After you log-in, use the “globe” icon on the top right menu to change the language of the student portal between English and French. Be sure to update your language before you start navigating.

The Student Portal dashboard has the following main sections:

Left side of the portal: 

• Quick Links: Displays your contact information.
• Profile Management: Contains links to your Student Profile and Graduate Funding Profile (GFP Summary).
• Useful Links: Contains a link to a Help Guide for users.

Top right section of the portal:

• Student Portal (Home) is available to click on and return to your portal when you are logged in
• "Globe" icon allows you to change the language between English and French.
• "Lock" icon displays the displays the notices and declarations that you agreed to when you first logged in to the Financial Aid, Awards and Scholarships solution.
• "Bell" icon displays some system notifications to the user.
• "Letter" icon will display the first letter of your name and contains a link to “End Session” which logs you out of the solution. Centre section of the portal.
  Each section has "tiles" or links to help students track the progress of their financial aid applications and confirm what actions they need to take. 
• Announcements: important announcements pertaining to Financial Aid, Awards & Scholarships will be posted in this section.
• Funding Opportunities: awards that are available to apply for will generate here once you submit or update your Student Profile. Additional links to government aid tools are available, including Summer/Winter OSAP Extension application and US Financial Aid applications.
• Applications: view the progress of awards you are being considered for and any actions you need to complete. As a reminder, you do not have to apply for every award that you are eligible for, some will be generated and added automatically for you.
• Government Aid Applications: View the progress of your applications or uploaded documents for government aid and any actions you need to complete.
• Payments: View the progress of award payments scheduled to be sent to your York student account. Please note: if funds are being sent to your personal bank account, you will need to trace this in your York student account. It will appear as a new “refund” transaction.
• Government Aid Payments: View the progress of Bursary for Students with Disabilities (BSWD) payments scheduled to be sent to your York student account. Please note: BSWD funds will be sent to your personal bank account, you will need to trace this in your York student account. You will see the BSWD bursary get deposited and then a “refund” transaction for the same amount.

The first step towards successfully using this system is to complete your Student Profile, ensuring you provide the most accurate information possible. This will help the system match you with funding opportunities most relevant to you. You may also complete a financial needs assessment as it’s a requirement for some awards.

Submitting your Student Profile is easy! Navigate to the Student Profile section in the left-hand menu; you’ll be guided through the steps to create your new profile. The more details you give, the better the system can find opportunities you might qualify for.

Once you’ve set up your profile, your information will be saved. You will need to come back to update your information during each award application period. It’s important to update your Student Profile ahead of the Fall, Winter and Summer terms that you are enrolled in studies. Creating your profile isn’t a one-time set-up, it’s an ongoing process of reviews and updates.

Here are the steps to begin an application:

• Submit/Update your Student Profile. Once your Student Profile is complete, the system will present Funding Opportunities based on the information you provided in the Student Portal.  Choose which opportunities you’d like to apply for.
• Select the “Apply” button to begin an application for any of the listed awards.
• Complete and submit applications.
• Log back in regularly to confirm whether there are any actions for you to take and track the status of decisions, including award offers and payments.

There are different requirements for awards, scholarships and graduate funding opportunities offered at York University. Once you submit/update your Student Profile, you can view a list of Funding Opportunities in your Student Portal. Each opportunity listed will be for an award that requires a specific application. If you see an award you are interested in, you can click on the ‘Check Eligibility’ button to have the solution check if you are eligible to apply. You can then proceed to review the eligibility requirements and the necessary information to complete. Some award applications may require other users to be invited to submit a reference to support your application.

Eligibility means that you meet the basic requirements to apply for the award. There may be other criteria which the award administrator will evaluate when they are reviewing your application.

There will also be many awards where you will be automatically considered for as a candidate. You will see new Applications in your Student Portal being added when this occurs and you can track the progress of those applications in additional to the ones you submitted.

To know what you qualify for, submit and update your Student Profile when prompted. Then, you will be able to see a list of opportunities during the application period. If you see an award you are interested in, you can click on the ‘Check Eligibility’ button to see if you may be eligible. Submit your application and you will be informed of next steps.

Eligibility means that you meet the basic requirements to apply for the award. There may be other criteria which the award administrator will evaluate when they are reviewing your application.

Use the Applications tiles in your Student Portal to track the status of awards you’re being considered for and confirm any actions you need to take:
Draft Applications will list the applications you’ve started and need to submit before the application deadline.

In Progress or Under Review applications are being reviewed and decisions have not been made yet.

Pending Acceptance will display award offers that you need to accept or decline.

Conditionally Offered Awards will display the awards that have terms and conditions that need to be satisfied before your award offer can be finalised.

Pending Action Items will display records that require action from you, such as submitting a thank you note for an award you’ve received, which will be sent to award donors.

Offered Awards will display awards that have been awarded to you. These offers are final (no action need on your part).

Declined Awards will display awards that you were not selected to receive.

As a student, you will still need to apply through your government agencies like you currently do – for example: If you are applying for Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) funding, your first application each year needs to be submitted on the OSAP website.

If you are applying for BC Student Aid funding, you apply through the BC Student Aid website.

The new Financial Aid, Awards and Scholarships solution allows you to:

• Submit some additional applications/requests to be processed by financial aid staff at York
• Track the progress of your government aid applications, including your eligibility for funding

The following applications and requests can be submitted through your Student Portal, you will see them in the Funding Opportunities section:

Summer or Winter OSAP Extensions: students who have already applied for and received OSAP funding can apply for a winter or summer extension.

Bursary for Students with Disabilities (BSWD): Your Accessibility Counsellor will continue to submit a BSWD application on your behalf and explain the full program for you. You will be able to view and track the progress of your BSWD application in your student portal. You will also be able to submit your receipts and/or repayment details to reconcile the BSWD funds you receive.

US Government Aid: If you are applying for Sallie Mae private loans, FAFSA loans or Veteran’s Aid benefits, you can create a record in your student portal to help confirm you have an application to be processed. You will also be able to track updates and submit documents, as needed, in the new solution.

Government Aid Document Upload: If you receive a request to submit a document to York and don’t have the option to submit it through your government agency’s website, you’ll be able to upload the document in your student portal and track the processing of the document.

In the Government Aid Applications section of the student portal, you will be able to track the status of your application(s) being processed at the university. If action is required from you, the Pending Action tile will help you find the application you need to review and update.

If you are looking for more information about eligibility requirements for government aid funding, or how to apply through the government agency’s websites, please visit https://students.yorku.ca/finance-and-awards and scroll down to the Financial Aid links

If you apply for Continuation of Interest Free Status (CIFS), York will electronically confirm that you meet the requirements of the program. View the “OSAP Applications” tile to check the status of your CIFS.

Please note: if you also submit a Full-Time OSAP application and your enrolment gets confirmed for the same period of time, you may receive an update that your Continuation of Interest Free Status application has been closed.

Yes, graduate students will have a full view of their graduate funding package with a breakdown of what makes up the whole package by navigating to the GFP Summary in the Profile Management section. This includes funding that has already been paid, a breakdown of the committed amount of funding, details about awards and scholarships, and payments from other sources that contribute to the overall graduate funding package. Any questions regarding the data on your GFP summary should be addressed to the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Yes, absolutely. The new Financial Aid, Awards and Scholarships solution will allow you to submit multiple applications, and it will also automatically grant awards to opportunities you match with based on your Student Profile.

Please also remember to come back and continue updating your Student Profile ahead of each term (Fall, Winter and Summer) to continue finding opportunities to apply for during your studies!

The new Financial Aid, Awards and Scholarships solution allows you to view and track your applications within the system. You will have complete visibility to your applications and funding received through the “Applications” section of the dashboard. Some may require further action and some may simply inform you of the progress of your application. You may see a number of different statuses:

In Progress: These are applications you have not yet completed and submitted for consideration. They will appear in the “In Progress” tab; the status will appear as “Draft”. You must complete and submit an application to be considered.

Submitted:  Your application has been submitted; it will be reviewed within the stated timelines of the award. Once you submit the award it will appear in the “Under Review” tile.

Under Review: Your application is being actively reviewed; the status will be updated with a decision within the stated timelines of the award. Your applications will continue to appear in the “Under Review” tile until a decision is made.

Pending Action Items: On occasion you may be asked to update or provide more information for a submitted application. Those items will appear in the “Pending Action Items” tile. The status will remain “Under Review”.

Pending Acceptance: Some awards require you to accept the offered award to receive the funding. These awards appear in the “Pending Acceptance” tab and the status will be “Awarded”. Once you accept the offer, the status will change to “Accepted”.  

Offered Awards: Accepted awards will appear in the Offered Awards tab. Awards you have manually accepted or those automatically paid to you will appear with a status of “Accepted”.

Conditionally Offered Awards: These are awards you have been offered that have outstanding terms and conditions to be satisfied. Once satisfied, the status will change to “Awarded” or “Accepted”. If you don’t meet the requirements of the award, the status will change to “Ineligible”.

Declined: These are awards for which you were not selected.

You will also receive automatic emails generated from the solution, updating you on the status of each application.

Application deadlines vary depending on the financial aid, award, scholarship or graduate funding opportunity you are applying to. Deadlines will be displayed for each opportunity.

Yes! If you start your application but are not ready to submit, you can click the “Save draft” button. All drafts will appear under the “In-Progress Applications” tile. You can access your pending applications at any time before the submission deadline(s).

You are able to revisit and edit any “In Progress” applications. However, once you submit, you will not be able to edit your application.

Some awards will be automatically paid to you while some will require that you accept them to receive funding. Your offers can be found in the “Offered Awards” tab. Awards in “Pending Acceptance” status will require you to manually accept. Once accepted, whether manually or automatically, the award status will show "Accepted"

“Conditionally Offered Awards”, also found in the “Offered Awards” tab, are monitored to ensure that you maintain eligibility over time. If at some point you no longer meet the requirements of the award, the status will change to “Ineligible”.

Most awards and scholarships are applied directly to your Student Account. Some exceptions may include government financial aid which you have not redirected to be paid to the University. Any exceptions or additional details on how awards are paid to you will be communicated by the award administrator.

If references are required, referees will use the system to provide their reference electronically. You will be prompted to first invite your references in the system.

Awards applications that require referees will be found under the “In Progress Applications” tile. Open the application and click on the “Invitations” icon to submit the names and emails of referees. When you have completed your list, click on the “Invite” button to send invitations to your referees.

Referees will appear with a status of “Invited”. If necessary, you can cancel an Invitation by viewing the “Details” of an invitee and clicking on the “X” to cancel.

The referees will then need to accept or decline the invitation to act as a reference for you. You will be notified at each step by email.  If deadlines are upcoming and references are still outstanding you will also be notified so that you can follow up.

An award status will show “In Progress” after references are received. Once all references are received, you must submit the application through the In Progress tile.

The Applications section of the portal will display awards that are offered, declined or which may require acceptance before the offer is completed. In some cases, you will also be notified via email once a final decision is made regarding your application.

You can be nominated for awards within the system by a staff or faculty member. You can see what awards you’ve been nominated for under your Funding Opportunities. If there are actions required such as providing additional information or references, you will be informed via e-mail and view the actions needed in the Applications section of the student dashboard.

You are able to update your Student Profile each semester to revise your information and potentially update eligibility for different awards.

If you are a prospective student and have applied for admissions, you will be able to create a Passport York account. This will provide you with access to the solution so that you can apply for awards. However, please refer to Admissions for more details on when and how to apply.