By Sheryl Smolkin

If you always wanted to go to college or university and life got in the way, it may not be too late. Some schools like Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University have eliminated tuition waivers for seniors due to provincial budget cuts. However, at least one Saskatchewan University plus several other well-known Canadian schools do not charge seniors for tuition.

For example, the University of Saskatchewan waives tuition fees for people 65 years of age or older, who are provincial residents and who register in the following types of courses and programs:

• Regular sessions: To a maximum of 15 credits
• Evening or off-campus courses: To a maximum of 15 credits
• Intersession and summer session: To a maximum of 6 credits
• Non-Credit extension programs

At the University of British Columbia, BC residents who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents aged 65 years or over during the session in which they are registered are not assessed application, tuition, or student fees. However, there are tuition fees levied for some programs where facilities and resources are limited.

Tuition and fee waivers apply for seniors who meet residency and age requirements at the University of Manitoba.  Although most of costs are waived for senior students, they still must to submit an application form and meet entrance requirements.

York University’s deal applies to Canadian citizens or permanent residents whether they are registered in a degree course, as a visiting student or simply auditing a program.

Ryerson also offers free tuition to students over 60 for four-year undergraduate programs and McMaster University in Hamilton has a similar program for undergraduates over 65. In addition, McMaster reduces fees by 50 per cent for seniors registered in Continuing Education courses.  However, you are out of luck if the program you want is at University of Toronto, as only nominal ancillary fees are waived for older students.

Dalhousie University encourages learning opportunities and professional development by offering senior students 65 years of age or over who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents at the time of registration and are enrolled in an undergraduate non-professional degree program a senior citizen waiver. This waives only the tuition portion of the fees. The student must pay any incidental fees.

Other colleges and universities across country also offer seniors a tuition break. For more information, contact the school of your choice.

I got an LLM. in the mid-90s, 20 years after I was called to the Bar, so embarking on another rigorous degree program at this stage is not at the top of my “To Do list.”  But if I ever get around to retiring and have some time on my hands, I will definitely be tempted to audit opera, music, theatre and other general interest courses.

Do you have tips for seniors who want to fulfill their lifelong dream to get a university degree? Share your tips with us at http://wp.me/P1YR2T-JR and your name will be entered in a quarterly draw for a gift card. And remember to put a dollar in the retirement savings jar every time you use one of our money-saving ideas.

If you would like to send us other money saving ideas, here are the themes for the next three weeks:

10-Oct	Thanksgiving	Paying it forward: Volunteer opportunities
17-Oct	Halloween	Cheap and cheerful costumes, snacks
24-Oct	Charity	How to raise money for almost anything on Indiegogo