The biggest difference between a loan and other forms of financial aid like grants and scholarships is that grants and scholarships do not need to be paid back, but loans do. This means that borrowing money to pay for university does place a burden on you to make repayments - often as soon as you graduate or even while you are still studying. This is why a loan should be the last resort to fund your education, rather than your first port of call. Try to fund your studies in other ways with personal savings, grants, scholarships and family funds before taking out a loan. With that being said, a loan can make all the difference between being able to afford the dream of studying in Canada or not, and in that case repaying the loan after graduation may be totally worth it.