Grade 12 month by month: the Ontario university and college application timeline for 2026-27

Check you're on track to graduate first. If you started Grade 9 in 2023 or earlier, the OSSD needs 30 credits, including 18 compulsory ones, plus the literacy requirement, two online learning credits and 40 hours of community involvement. Ask your guidance office to confirm what's left.

Next, check each program's required Grade 12 courses against your timetable. Use our academic requirements guide and the high school course planner.

Both applications are open. OUAC told guidance counsellors the Undergraduate application was live on September 17, and ontariocolleges.ca opened on September 26, 2026. You'll need your Ontario Education Number, the 9-digit number on your report card.

The first big scholarship deadlines land before most students apply anywhere. Loran closes October 15, 2026 at noon ET, and your referee's form must be in by then too. U of T's National Scholarship needs a school nomination by October 9, an application to U of T by October 16 and the scholarship application by October 30, with the reference due November 6.

Ask your referees this month. Our reference letters guide covers who to ask and what to give them, and how to apply for scholarships explains automatic versus application awards.

Submitting in November gives universities your file sooner. U of T recommends applying by November 7 for most programs and sending available documents by December 1 if you do. Queen's wants you on OUAC by November 20 so you can reach its Major Admission Award application, due December 8, 2026.

Your midterm grades travel too. Schools send available 4U/M midterm or final grades to OUAC by November 19, 2026, and universities should have them by November 26.

OUAC costs $159 for your first three choices and $51 for each extra one. Colleges can start sending offers from November 1, 2026. Terry Fox applications close December 1. Western's National Scholarship application opens by mid-November.

Submit your OUAC application by January 15, 2027. OUAC keeps processing later applications, but each university's own deadlines then apply. Our Ontario deadlines guide and OUAC help page cover the details.

Some supplementary pieces are due the same day. U of T Engineering's Online Student Profile and the Music questionnaire are due January 15. Waterloo's Pharmacy forms are due January 20. Schulich Leader nominations close January 27. See our supplementary applications guide.

February 1, 2027 is the ontariocolleges.ca equal consideration date. Apply and pay by then to be considered alongside everyone else. Highly competitive programs must receive your application by that date. Our ontariocolleges.ca guide walks through it.

Most university supplements close this month. U of T's Rotman Commerce, Computer Science, Architecture and Kinesiology supplements and most of its documents are due February 1. Waterloo's AIF is due February 1 for Engineering and February 15 for most other programs. The Waterloo AIF guide explains the questions.

Schulich Leader applications and both reference letters are due February 17, 2027.

Offers roll out through spring. U of T releases decisions from January through late May. Your marks keep moving through the system: schools report midterm and interim 4U/M grades to OUAC by April 22, 2027, and final grades by July 8. Our Grade 11 marks guide explains how early evidence is used.

Keep applying for awards. York opens its award application in MyFile on December 1, with some awards closing February 15 and the rest April 1.

Get ready for OSAP. Ontario hasn't posted the 2027-28 opening date yet. For 2026-27, Queen's told incoming students the application opened in April or May. You'll need your SIN and tax information, and your parents' if that applies to you. If you haven't chosen a school, Ontario says to apply for each one. See our OSAP guide.

Accept a college offer by May 1, 2027. Colleges set their own deadlines for offers made after that, and tuition deposits are due in June.

University responses should all be in by May 28, 2027 if you applied by January 15. June 1, 2027 is the earliest date a university can require you to respond or pay a deposit, and that includes residence deposits and scholarships attached to the offer. Read our guide to accepting an offer and compare rooms in the Ontario residence guide.

Your school sends final 4U/M grades to OUAC by July 8, 2027, and OUAC sends any remaining grades to universities by July 15. Summer school grades are collected from August 2 to 31.

Then the first-year setup begins. Our first-year checklist covers residence, fees, courses and your student card. If you need to push your start back a year, read gap years and deferrals before July.

Money decisions cluster in three places: application fees in the fall, scholarship paperwork from October to February, and deposits in May and June. OUAC charges $159 for three choices and $51 for each extra one. OSAP may ask for your SIN and tax information.

The student should submit each application and accept each offer, but a shared calendar with the dates on this page prevents most missed deadlines. Our parent guide goes further.

If you're not at an Ontario high school, you're likely a Group B applicant on OUAC, and universities can set different deadlines and documents for you. Our OUAC Group A and Group B guide and Canadian deadlines guide list them.

Book English tests early if you need one. TMU wants Fall 2027 test scores by April 1, 2027, and other universities set earlier dates. Our English language tests guide compares minimums and waivers, including CSEC English.