Mandatory to live on campus in University?

[apple123]

Could anyone help with this question regarding ROTP Civil University Residence housing Costs
My son has been accepted ROTP Western London Ontario .The Fees for the 8 months Residence are $9600
If his pay is will be approx $1200 after tax ?  that is almost exactly the same amount.
Is there any compensation or should he start saving for the extra fees? The University expect the Residence Fees to be paid in advance $4800 in Aug & $4800 in January will he need to get a loan to cover these advanced payments.
From what I understand the CF cover his Academic Fees , Books etc and his housing he pays out of salary.

 

[MJP]

He should start saving, as there is no compensation for residence (other than PLD or Post Living Differential), which looking above London doesn't get.

 

[chris_log]

Could anyone help with this question regarding ROTP Civil University Residence housing Costs
My son has been accepted ROTP Western London Ontario .The Fees for the 8 months Residence are $9600
If his pay is will be approx $1200 after tax ?  that is almost exactly the same amount.
Is there any compensation or should he start saving for the extra fees? The University expect the Residence Fees to be paid in advance $4800 in Aug & $4800 in January will he need to get a loan to cover these advanced payments.
From what I understand the CF cover his Academic Fees , Books etc and his housing he pays out of salary.

He should start saving as soon as possible. I personally paid my residence fees out of my first RESP payment (thank goodness I had parents who planned) but if you don't have the benefit of that then you pay out of pocket.

If your son hasn't saved up enough for residence, I would suggest looking at a student line of credit from a bank to cover it (since ROTP types don't qualify for normal student loans like OSAP due to their income being too high)

 

[Lumber]

The Fees for the 8 months Residence are $9600

Is there a cheaper residence? Does he HAVE to live in residence?

 

[Marshall]

Is there a cheaper residence? Does he HAVE to live in residence?

Yea, I would look for an off campus apartment or something. Not sure on rent around the London area, but I am sure its under $1200 a month for a single?

 

[apple123]

Thanks everyone
Everything is much clearer now at least we have a good 5 months to start saving
His 1st year will be very tight, but hopefully the others will be fine living of campus.
Regarding PLD Victoria is over $800 and their Residence is $7500 London is $9700 with 0 PLD

 

[MJP]

PLD isn't just based on housing cost but a whole host of other factors.  Victoria is a more expensive place to live compared to London period.  Plus your sons costs include food, if I read the chart right.  Once that comes into play it really doesn't seem overly bad considering he is get a salary to just attend school.  He can always get a second job if his SEM allows it.

 

[trentonmilwife]

If your son hasn't saved up enough for residence, I would suggest looking at a student line of credit from a bank to cover it (since ROTP types don't qualify for normal student loans like OSAP due to their income being too high)

As an ROTP student your salary is not too high to qualify for OSAP, as the cut off is fairly high (The first time I went to school, I qualified for enough OSAP to cover my tuition and I had made 40k the year before and owned a used car (only worth 8k thank god), but there are many mitigating factors, such as:
- How many years ago did the student finish highschool (if it was within the last 4 years, parents household incomes are counted in addition to the OCdt's salary)
- Does the applicant own a car worth more than $10,000
- How much tuition, books, fees, living costs will all be etc

I'm not sure if the forces allows students to apply to OSAP (as we can't claim that we are students on our income taxes), so a personal line of credit might be the way to go.

SISIP, the financial services provider for military members, offers low interest loans to members for things like school. http://www.sisip.com/

Regarding PLD rates, they are based on the cost of a set basket of goods (that is costed in many Canadian cities) and doesn't depend on rank of the member receiving it.

While Residence is very costly, it is not the forces responsibility to cover these costs, as residence is not mandatory (just a nice convenience for first year students) and some (and most once done 1st year) will go live off campus for less.
Given that tuition, books, some school supplies and academic fees are fully covered and we get a salary (that is closer to $1100 net a month (don't forget pension contributions and disability insurance)) is really not a bad deal, considering most students don't get any of that.
-

 

[Drag]

Maybe your son should look into a cheaper residence... $9700 for 2 semesters is excessive even with a meal plan...  the only thing I ever looked at approaching that amount of money living in downtown Toronto in a hotel that rented to students for a school year, and even that had 2 meals a day included.

 

[apple123]

OK let me explain on the website for ROPT it does say that Residence is mandatory
We are in BC and Residence for better (newer) accommodation at UVic is $7500
So you can see our dilemma when we realized the UWO is $9700.... interesting Victoria has a extra living allowance and of course London Ontario does not seem to.
Do not get me wrong we totally understand that his School , books,etc is paid plus a salary.
It was just an observation .........this is really nothing to do with CF its..
Ontario Universities in Comparison to BC

 

[Barts]

OK let me explain on the website for ROPT it does say that Residence is mandatory...

It's only mandatory if the university being attended has mandatory residence. 

RMC & RMC St-Jean: mandatory

Other (civilian) university: depends on the university, I haven't heard of any civilian uni requiring it.  UVic definitely does not care where I live.

...interesting Victoria has a extra living allowance and of course London Ontario does not seem to...

It's more expensive to live in some areas of Canada.  PLD is intended to cover cost of living differences for personnel posted to those areas. ROTP isn't the major consideration, we just tag along, since we're reg force too.  Case in point: There are several thousand members posted to Esquimalt (our entire west coat fleet, plus more...) and among those are the subsidized students at UVic and other schools in the area (roughly 20 of us.)

I can definitely empathize with your situation.  $9700 is a painful amount for res.

 

[chris_log]

OK let me explain on the website for ROPT it does say that Residence is mandatory
We are in BC and Residence for better (newer) accommodation at UVic is $7500
So you can see our dilemma when we realized the UWO is $9700.... interesting Victoria has a extra living allowance and of course London Ontario does not seem to.
Do not get me wrong we totally understand that his School , books,etc is paid plus a salary.
It was just an observation .........this is really nothing to do with CF its..
Ontario Universities in Comparison to BC

Living in residence at a civilian university is not mandatory. It is mandatory to 'live in' at RMC et al, but not if you attend a civilian school. I'd like to see the link you got that from so I could maybe help you understand what it is saying.

Also, PLD is designed to cover a variety of living costs, not just university residence. London is NOT an expensive place to live vs a vs Victoria. Now, UWO does have more expensive residence costs but the PLD rates don't account for that. PLD is designed for ALL CF members, not just students. I think you may not understand the C&B benefits system and how it works. There are thousands of CF members in Victoria...there are less then 100 reg force members in London.

Western is in general a more expensive school, always has been and is well known as such, I can't say I sympathise with the situation. As I mentioned before, look into student lines of credit to cover costs...they have low interest rates, are easy to get and have nice long terms to repay.

 

[apple123]

The Regular Officer Training Plan begins with academic training at the Royal Military College of Canada
or at another Canadian university,[/size] followed by full time military service. Under this plan, the cost of tuition, uniforms, books, instruments and other essential fees are borne by the Department of National Defence. Medical and dental care, are also provided. Officer Cadets receive a monthly salary and are responsible for costs such as lodgings and meals. Living on campus is compulsory
http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/lf/English/1_3_2_2.asp

 

[George Wallace]

The Regular Officer Training Plan begins with academic training at the Royal Military College of Canada
or at another Canadian university,[/size] followed by full time military service. Under this plan, the cost of tuition, uniforms, books, instruments and other essential fees are borne by the Department of National Defence. Medical and dental care, are also provided. Officer Cadets receive a monthly salary and are responsible for costs such as lodgings and meals. Living on campus is compulsory
http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/lf/English/1_3_2_2.asp

Yes.  And I would say someone was in too much of a hurry in posting updates to the CF site, or didn't really know what they were typing and "GENERALIZED" in that statement.  I would agree with all the others, that those attending Civilian Universities are NOT COMPELLED to live on Campus.  Many of the people that have replied to your query are such candidates and have not had to live on Campus. 

It looks like someone at CFRG will have to get onto their Webmaster and clean up/correct that page.

 

[benny88]

The Regular Officer Training Plan begins with academic training at the Royal Military College of Canada
or at another Canadian university,[/size] followed by full time military service. Under this plan, the cost of tuition, uniforms, books, instruments and other essential fees are borne by the Department of National Defence. Medical and dental care, are also provided. Officer Cadets receive a monthly salary and are responsible for costs such as lodgings and meals. Living on campus is compulsory
http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/lf/English/1_3_2_2.asp

  I realize you're uneasy going against what the website said, but trust me, I go to UWO and the military could not care less where I live provided they can reach me when they need to.

 

[chris_log]

The Regular Officer Training Plan begins with academic training at the Royal Military College of Canada
or at another Canadian university,[/size] followed by full time military service. Under this plan, the cost of tuition, uniforms, books, instruments and other essential fees are borne by the Department of National Defence. Medical and dental care, are also provided. Officer Cadets receive a monthly salary and are responsible for costs such as lodgings and meals. Living on campus is compulsory
http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/lf/English/1_3_2_2.asp

I'm going to assume you just googled 'Regular Officer Training Plan' and looked at the first 'official' link that came up (thats what I just did)?

I agree with George, there's something wrong with that quote. Rest assured living in residence is not mandatory for civvie-u students, the quote is referring to RMC/CMR.

I can see how you would have interpreted that as applying to all ROTP students. I'll say it again, living in residence is NOT mandatory for an ROTP type attending civvie-u.

That being said, living in residence is part of the university 'experience' and IMHO the cost is worth it.

When your kid is enrolled and sworn in (have they?) they should receive an 'ROTP Guide' in which all the pertinent rules and regs will be provided. In there you will see that ROTP types are not required to live on campus outside of RMC/CMR.

 

[dwalter]

Just to add one more voice. I am also an ROTP student at civilian university. I do not have to live on campus. As a matter of fact I have applied to live in residence both this year and last and been denied. Nothing you can do when fighting UBC's residence lottery system.

The statement made is too general, and more specific information is given once an offer is made.

 

[murrdawg]

It's only mandatory if the university being attended has mandatory residence. 

RMC & RMC St-Jean: mandatory

Other (civilian) university: depends on the university, I haven't heard of any civilian uni requiring it.  UVic definitely does not care where I live.

Just to correct what has been said about RMC. Currently, first to third years it is mandatory to live on campus. Fourth years have what's called the socialization project where at the end of their third year, they can apply to live off campus and based on merit, etc will say whether or not they can live off or not. This is until such time that Champlain gets renovated. My guess is by that time though, they will have an increased number of students so the fourth years will continue to have the live-off program.

 

[Shannan]

hi, I have a question about the ROTP and this discussion is the closest to being related. We've been trying to find information for my sister about how long of a commitment is required after graduating from university. The recruitment officers we have talked to say it works out to nine years and when we ask if that includes school time they say no, that's after graduation. But they also say it's two months commitment for every one month they subsidize...which works out to about 5 years; and the site, and a quote from this message board say that ROTP grads are required to do 5 years of service post graduation....so is it five years or nine??? and why is it impossible to find a concrete answer?? thanks guys!

 

[benny88]

Are you calculating 8 months a year for school? Because I believe it's 12 months. Therefore 1 year of university = 2 years of service. It varies by trade, if the CFRC told you 9 years after grad, that's what it is.

hi, I have a question about the ROTP and this discussion is the closest to being related. We've been trying to find information for my sister about how long of a commitment is required after graduating from university. The recruitment officers we have talked to say it works out to nine years and when we ask if that includes school time they say no, that's after graduation. But they also say it's two months commitment for every one month they subsidize...which works out to about 5 years; and the site, and a quote from this message board say that ROTP grads are required to do 5 years of service post graduation....so is it five years or nine??? and why is it impossible to find a concrete answer?? thanks guys!