🇨🇦 Canada

Admission is often offered on a first-qualified, first-accepted basis until all seats are filled, so start applying as early as possible. Many universities have a “rolling admissions” procedure to consider international students throughout the year.

The Canadian school year begins in September, with the majority of students commencing their studies at that time. Select schools and programs may have intakes in January (winter) and June (spring). Check out your specific program to see what they recommend. 

• • • For September enrolment: applications are typically due in mid-October the year before. Admission decisions are often released in February-March.

    • For January enrolment: applications are typically due in late-August with admission decisions released in October.

    • For June enrolment: applications are typically due in April, with decisions released in May.

Applications in Canada are a lot more varied than the UK’s simple, centralised system. The most important thing is to check each individual university you’re interested in to find out their application system. Here are the main processes you’ll likely encounter.

Province-wide system 

Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia have centralised application systems that allow you to submit easily to multiple universities in the region. They let you manage your applications, upload your supporting documents, and respond to your offers all in one easy place. 

Directly to the university 

Many other universities - including some in the provinces above - ask you to apply directly to the university instead. Obviously, this is a bit more work than the UK’s centralised system. But before you give up on your Canadian dream out of dread of filling out a thousand applications - hang on. Canada’s applications tend to be a lot simpler than US or UK ones, and are almost totally focused on your academic credentials rather than anything else. Quite a few universities don’t even require a personal statement, or make it optional to submit one! So you’ll be doing more work in researching how to apply, but often less work once you’re actually filling out the form. 

Tuition fees for universities vary depending on the program and school you choose. On average in Canada, university tuition costs around:

• $3,000 - $11,000 for Canadian students

• $12,000 - $60,000 for international students

On average, living costs are around $15,000 per year for university students (Universities Canada, 2019).

Scholarships

You may be eligible for a scholarship, fellowship or grant to study in Canada. The Government of Canada, our provinces and territories and many educational institutions offer funding for international students.

Many colleges and universities also offer scholarships. For more information, please contact your institution directly.

• https://www.educanada.ca/scholarships-bourses/search-scholarships-rechercher-bourses.aspx?lang=eng

• https://www.scholarshipscanada.com/

English and French are the two official languages of Canada, though the majority of universities offer teaching in English.

If your native language is not English, you must provide proof of your proficiency. 

Generally, the primarily French-speaking universities assess students’ language skills on a case-by-case basis, so you’ll need to get in touch to find out what each specific university or college needs you to do. 

Most universities accept the IBDP program, and many will accept IBCP. You can find specific information about which universities recognize the program and the specific course requirements here: https://recognition.ibo.org/en-US/.  Always check the individual university websites to find their unique requirements.

If you’re applying with an IB diploma, you’ll want approximately 30-35 IB predicted points on the full diploma, including bonus points. Full IB Diploma students may be eligible to receive admission based on predicted scores. Otherwise, your final IB grades will need to be in the range of 4-7.

Didn't get the IB diploma? Don't panic!     Read the guide here.

Students may want to consider using the CommonApp system if applying to schools in multiple countries or find the local system very confusing and difficult to navigate. The CommonApp, while typically used for US colleges/universities, is a non-profit organization with a single application which can be used to apply to 1,000+ universities worldwide. This will help make the application system more efficient and easier to navigate.

You can search for available universities and programs of study in Canada and other countries HERE.