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The program’s predictability is one of its greatest benefits, according to Giroux-Bougard. That’s a change from the Millennium bursaries, the qualifications for which were often unclear. “I remember one student calling [the Millennium Scholarship Program] a bit of a lottery,” Giroux-Bougard says, but being able to count on receiving the grant will now help students plan their finances.

Unlike the soon-to-be-defunct Millennium grants, the new program is available to first-year students. There are also new grants specifically for students with unique needs, such as those with dependants, with disabilities or who attend school part-time. With all the new programs in place, many more students are eligible for grants than in previous years. Human Resources and Social Development Canada estimates that 245,000 college and university students qualify for a grant—100,000 more than the number who received Millennium bursaries last year.

Alex Usher, vice-president and director of the Educational Policy Institute Canada (EPI), says that because there was no increase in overall aid funding for the program, it really boils down to smaller cheques for more students. EPI points out that because eligibility for the program is determined according to need, almost all mature students qualify. (Those who have been out of high school for more than four years are not required to include their parents in their family income.) “It’s problematic in the sense that it will drive up program costs substantially without necessarily improving access, as most of those students will already have been in [post-secondary education] for some time,” Usher says.

The result? The lucky students who used to qualify for Millennium grants will likely receive less funding. But if that’s you, don’t fret: the Canada Student Grant program has created a transition grant to fill the gap for up to three years.