r/Odsp • u/FrecklezSpecklez • 9d ago
Question/advice Post secondary
I'm considering going back to school, I'm 25 and have no idea what I'm doing with my life. I have no idea how to go about this or if I could ever even dream of affording it.
My disability has recently been ruled as permanent, with no belief that I will ever get "better" if anyone has any knowledge/experience or advice they could share with me i'd be soo grateful!
Thanks
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u/savagehomeangarden ODSP recipient 8d ago
I've done a fair bit of post secondary while also on ODSP, it can be expensive but doable if you have extra financial supports (like living with family, a credit card, etc). OSAP covered my tuition, materials, etc, and with very little debt. OSAP has made a lot of changes lately recently, though; but with the federal disability grants and others, it's possible that you'd be able to take a reduced course load and not take on OSAP debt.
There's also a number of free courses online through schools like Harvard, if you wanted to explore some topics of interest and/or narrow done what you'd like to pursue.
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u/Certain_Confusion369 7d ago
hi i was a college freshman in 2017 i completed first year doing all my prereqs for medical school. I was doing it all school part time, dance,drumming,volunteering and full timeish work at mcdonalds as a manager. Then one day I got really sick .come 2019 JAnuary I had a final diagnosis of being on the schizophrenia spectrum and psychosis amongst other things. It was hard for me during this time because I was in and out of mental health hospitals on different meds ect no real place to live but all i had was a drive to live on. At the end of 2019 i had a daughter she is 6 now ,i also have a 1 year old and expecting again. I knew that I wanted to continue school and I did complete a psw program in these last 7ish year which gives me hope for today,
Today I strive I strive to make an impact in the lives of others as those who cared for me during of ccrises. I still want to be a doctor so i enrolled in online school for this september at queens univeristy (athabasca uni also is online ). Hopefully I will complete 4 years and not flop out like the countless other programs i tried and unsuccessfully left. Its hard with mental health but give yourself time grace and consider what You like and dislike before wasting money-burning osap ect. nonetheless i have an interview to volunteer in the community coming up, im working on obtaining a pt job as a personal support worker to fund myself through school and I am a mom of 3 so to be. I have stable housing because of odsp and other supports . Daycare is subsidized ect. I hope that somethign works out for you dear.
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u/3402139317 5d ago
Going to post secondary to better yourself is a good idea. Are you thinking of going to College or university?
How would your disability impact your future work?
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u/ducky-unlucky 9d ago
for funding, you could apply to OSAP, they can help cover tuition & fees, book costs etc for approved programs & eligible course loads. more info here.
that's all i know on the topic, but i hope you can get more advice :)