With 21 universities and over half a million students, Ontario is a hub for Canadian higher education. Many students dream of pursuing their education in the top universities of Ontario, Canada. However, getting admission to the top medical school, law school, rehabilitation sciences and teacher education program, or any other undergraduate OUAC programs in Ontario is not easy. Students must apply through the OUAC to qualify for admission to their dream college or institute.
So, what is OUAC?
Ontario Universities Application Centre or OUAC is a non-for-profit centralized application hub for students seeking admission to Ontario-based universities. OUAC was introduced in 1971 to make the post-secondary admission application process easy and equal for all candidates, irrespective of their status and from where they are applying. All the universities in Ontario use the OUAC data collected from various sources to save their time and resources.
Applicants who want to apply for more than one school have to submit a single application via the OUAC system. OUAC will charge a fixed amount of fee as their service fee. The student can apply for admission to three different universities or three different OUAC programs at the same institute. Those who want to apply for more programs have to pay some additional fee.
However, OUAC is not responsible for deciding about the admission of the candidate. Instead, universities decide which students qualify for admission offers based on the marks of grade-11 and grade-12 posted on OUAC.
The 21st-century OUAC is very different from the original OUAC in 1971. Today, students can apply, connect with the universities they want to apply for, and check admission decisions online within their OUAC portal.
Remember that OUAC is only for applying to Ontario-based universities. If you want to apply to another university in Canada, you have to follow a different application for that university. Also, you can submit only one application per academic year. Applicants who are planning to apply for an undergraduate degree in Ontario, Canada, have to apply through the OUAC. They will submit your completed application directly to the university of your choice.
What are the different types of OUAC applications?
OUAC breaks the applicants into two categories – applicants in Ontario high schools, known as 101 applications, and students not in Ontario high schools, known as 105 OUAC applications.
This categorization is done based on where you have done your high school. For instance, no matter where you currently reside in Canada, if you are from another city or country and have done your high school in another city or country other than Ontario, you must use a 105 OUAC application.
When should you apply for OUAC?
While it is mandatory to apply for admission via OUAC, the deadline for a university is decided by the university itself. So, the application deadline is also decided by the university. Hence, candidates are requested to adhere to the deadlines of the schools they are applying to.
How long do institutes take to reply to an OUAC application?
Usually, candidates can expect a reply from the university within 2-3 weeks. However, if an applicant doesn’t receive any notification from the university even after waiting for 2-3 weeks, they can directly contact the university to know the status of their application. All you need to do is share your OUAC application reference number along with all the supporting documents with the university.
The bottom line
Now that you know what OUAC is and when you should apply for OUAC, what are you waiting for? Submit your application to get admission in your dream school in Ontario. If you need any other OUAC guidance, explore the internet.
