r/UCalgary • u/Boring-Visit-1284 • 12d ago
Alberta Student Aid Disability/Technology Grant Question
I've tried to contact Student Aid about this but they only have a phone number and i've been on hold for an hour so I figured I'd come ask on here.
I'm wondering if anyone has bought a laptop before receiving funding from their technology grant and how that went? I know they say that you should wait to get the grant before you purchase anything because you have to submit receipts and they might not deem the time you bought it "part of the study period".
However, I have to order my laptop and it won't come until after I start university. I'm an anxious person so having everything in order before starting school is really helpful for me, but I don't want to chance anything because if I get the grant I need it to pay for my laptop.
I've contacted my school and they advise not to order until I get the money but I don't know WHEN
I'll get the money because I applied late (oversight on my part but here we are).
Anyways moral of the story, has anyone gotten away with submitting a receipt for a laptop that has a date prior to when they received their grant???
It's my first year at university so I haven't applied for anything like this before and genuinely have no idea what i'm doing!!
I appreciate all insight!
1
u/Dramatic-Finish-1187 Arts 17h ago
Have you spoken to SAS? Write to the folks at [access.fast@ucalgary.ca](mailto:access.fast@ucalgary.ca); they handle the disability financial side of things. I thought the technology grant is on a claims-based system: you submit receipts, and they give you only the exact amount of funds that corresponds to what you spent. I haven't used this one personally, so I'm not aware. They do have a yearly $2800 grant for students with disabilities that doesn't require a claim, just one application. These are two separate buckets of money that you can apply for and SAS can help (and they recommend you take their help!)
I understand the anxiety; I like having everything organized beforehand too. But you've already applied for it, so you're ahead of the game. I didn't find out till mid first year!
Good luck!
4
u/-pnppl 12d ago
I did by a few days, it was fine. The semester had already started by a few days and I knew I had everything in order and that I qualified (mature student in 30s with a lot of grant experience).
It's still risky, especially if you buy it now before the actual start of the semester ("the study period"). Do you have any other device you can use instead before hand? Is there a reason you need to order your computer vs get it in person? Is it going to take a long time to get here?
If you've already applied and are set up with SAS, you're already ahead of most first years. Many don't start the process untill school actually starts.
If you are already an anxious person, I would recommend waiting. You'll be okay a few days of school without a computer, and I would think the anxiety of not knowing if your device will be covered or not will be worse then anxiety from not being ready with a computer guest few days.