Ivey AEO application 2027: awards, two activity essays, references, the Kira video and the January 15 deadline

Ivey's HBA starts in third year. AEO, short for Advanced Entry Opportunity, is a conditional spot in the HBA that you earn from Grade 12. You then spend your first two years in any Western, Huron or King's program. Ivey says AEO is not a program choice on OUAC. It is a status that needs its own application.

Ticking the AEO button on OUAC is not enough. Ivey's FAQ says the OUAC box only tells Western that you also plan to apply for AEO status. You must still complete the AEO application on Ivey's website. To start it, you create a username and password on the Ivey portal. Ivey asks you not to use your high school email address.

For the whole program, including tuition, the two-year average you need to keep and the HBA years, see our Ivey HBA admission requirements page and the Western Ivey AEO pathway.

Ivey's page lists three written parts. In the awards section you list and briefly describe non-academic awards, certificates or distinctions from high school. Ivey's examples are community service or leadership awards, competition placements and the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Academic awards do not go here.

In the activities section you write about two activities in essay format, up to 500 words each. You can then list up to five more activities in point form. Ivey says you may list up to seven activities in total. Its examples include volunteer work, paid jobs, business ventures you started, clubs and sports. Activities that earn school credit, such as co-op placements, are not eligible.

Every activity needs a reference who can verify that you took part. You give the person's name, role or position, phone number and email address. Ivey says applications without verified references will not be considered. Its FAQ says a teacher at your school can be the contact for an activity, as long as you give an up-to-date email and phone number.

Ivey's page also says a sample activity essay is available inside the application portal. We don't reproduce it here, and we don't write sample answers.

Every AEO applicant must complete a short video interview on Kira Talent. Ivey says it is mandatory, and you can do it any time before the deadline with no booking. It has five questions. Each one gives you some time to prepare and then a timed answer. The whole thing usually takes 20 to 30 minutes and must be done in one sitting.

You can practise on the platform as many times as you like first. Once you start the real interview, you must answer all five questions in one attempt. You need a desktop or laptop computer, a working webcam and microphone, and a stable internet connection. Ivey doesn't publish the questions or the exact preparation and answer times on its page.

For how Kira works across schools, see our Kira Talent video interview guide. If you need accommodations for any part of the AEO application, Ivey asks you to email its admissions team at hba@ivey.ca.

Ivey says it takes a holistic approach. It weighs academic performance and leadership experience equally, and calls this 50/50 balance unique to Ivey. A competitive applicant has a low 90% average in their best Grade 12 courses, including English, a Grade 12 university-prep math, and leadership in activities, the community and work.

Ivey says it is not the number of activities that matters, but the degree of achievement, commitment and balance. It values every area of leadership equally, from student government to athletics, music and community events. Its page says each activity should show qualities such as leadership, teamwork, initiative, achievement, commitment, integrity, resilience and breadth of involvement. Its FAQ adds that you don't need business or startup experience.

Ivey says the video lets the team understand your personality, communication skills and experiences that may not show up in the written part. Ivey does not publish a scoring rubric, point values or an AEO acceptance rate. It also says it has no cutoff average to apply, and it assesses every application.

The AEO application is due January 15, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time. Western's deadline page lists the same date for the AEO application and for OUAC equal consideration. Submit both well before the last day. Ivey says you should see a confirmation message as soon as your AEO application goes through.

Ivey reviews grades at a few points: Grade 11, first term and mid-year. It says it does not make offers on Grade 11 grades alone, but some students with strong applications get offers on competitive first-term Grade 12 grades. If you go to an Ontario high school, OUAC sends your grades to Ivey. Students outside Ontario can email updated transcripts to hba@ivey.ca.

Check other Ontario dates on our Ontario university application deadlines page and our Western deadlines page.

AEO is a separate decision from your Western offer. Ivey only offers AEO status to students who already have an offer from Western or one of its affiliated colleges. It starts making offers once Western's Registrar sends it your admission average and confirms your Western offer.

Ivey's AEO program page says the first round of AEO offers comes at the end of March. Its FAQ says mid-March. Both say most offers are made in April and May. Western itself makes offers to Ontario high school students in rounds from December to May, and its largest round is usually around mid-May. So a Western offer does not mean an AEO answer, and a late AEO answer is common.

Read more about offer timing in our guide to when Ontario university offers come out.

The Ivey pages we read on October 8, 2026 do not include a rule that names AI tools or outside writing help for the AEO application. They do set clear honesty rules. Every activity needs a reference who can verify it. Ivey's 2026 AEO Student Handbook says Ivey may refuse admission for misrepresentation or omission of facts on any application, and it names the AEO application, the AEO1 Activity Report, the AEO2 Intent to Register and Financial Aid.

Ivey also says it looks at leadership character, and the video lets reviewers hear from you directly. Your essays, activities and video answers should be your own, in your own words. If you are unsure whether a tool or a kind of help is allowed, ask Ivey at hba@ivey.ca before you use it.

These come straight from Ivey's pages, not from us.

Offer timing: the AEO program page says the first round of offers is at the end of March, while the FAQ says mid-March. Share of the class: the secondary school page says about 75% of each HBA class are former AEO students, while the AEO program page and FAQ say about two thirds. IB scores: the AEO program page says 36 to 37 points or higher usually meets the AEO average, while the FAQ says a competitive IB score is 38 points or higher. Confirm any of these with Ivey before you rely on them.

AEO is conditional. In years one and two you keep a full course load and at least an 80.0% two-year average, or 78.0% in Engineering, and earn at least 70.0% in Business 2257. At the end of first year you send an AEO1 Activity Report. In second year you send the AEO2 Intent to Register, which the handbook says includes two essays. Ivey may also ask for an online video interview then. The AEO2 deadline this cycle is January 28, 2027.

Ivey says about 80% of AEO students who want to continue make it into the HBA. If you don't get AEO status from high school, you can still apply to the HBA from Western or another university in second year or later.

Many Ivey applicants also apply to other business programs with their own supplements. See our guides to the Queen's Commerce supplementary application and the Schulich BBA supplementary application. Our supplementary applications chapter compares the rest.