Fall 2023 – OUAC Undergraduate Application

We are excited to announce that a new OUAC project is now underway. One of our long-time goals has been to simplify the application process to undergraduate programs by combining the 101 and 105 applications into a single application.

When will the project be complete?

As of fall 2023, or in OUAC lingo, the 2024 cycle, applicants to undergraduate programs at Ontario universities will have only 1 application option, the new Undergraduate application.

How are the 101 and 105 applications combined?

Applicants, regardless of their age and academic background, will all complete the same application, the Undergraduate application. They will no longer be identified as 101 or 105 applicants on our website or in our applications. Based on the demographic and educational background information they provide, the new Undergraduate application will have the smarts to recognize whether the applicant is a graduating Ontario high school student (what we’ve always called 101) or not (what we’ve always called 105) and display the relevant programs/application sections/fields for them to complete or to see displayed in the application.

Start-up Date for the Undergraduate Application and Counsellors’ Online Services (COLS)

The Undergraduate application will open mid-September each year to everyone, whether they’re current Ontario high school students or not.

COLS will also open in mid-September at which time the first grades collection of demographic data will begin. Early November will continue to be the deadline for schools to submit their demographic data files to the OUAC.

Discontinue PINs

The PIN process will be discontinued. Graduating Ontario high school students will no longer require OUAC access codes, i.e., a PIN, to start an application.

Grades Files

The common Undergraduate application will not affect the grades file process and grades deadlines. Schools will continue to send the following electronic files as per the published Schedule of Dates:

• October/November – demographic file

• Mid-November – first-semester midterms/interim full-year grades

• February – first-semester final grades/interim full-year grades

• April – second-semester midterm grades/interim full-year grades

• July – all final grades

Note: The grades file process is independent of the application process. There are no negative repercussions if a student submits their application before the OUAC receives their grades.

The OUAC will automatically match grades transmitted by the school to student’s accounts based on set criteria, e.g., first name, last name, OEN, Mident. OUAC staff will manually match any grades that fail the auto-matching process.

Note:

• The auto-match process will verify that the Mident of the current high school the student adds in the Education section of their application matches the Mident in their home school’s grades file.

• Students will be required to add their OEN to their application. Counsellors will need to ensure that students know their OEN or where to find it.

It is possible that students might submit an application before a grades file is sent by their school. This is not a concern. The application will be forwarded to the universities without grades. Once the school sends a grades file, grades will be auto-matched to the student and sent to the universities the next business day. The grades will display in the student’s application as they do currently.

For students who submit an application after the school sends a grades file, the grades will be held in COLS and once the student submits an application, we will match the held grades to the application.

Counsellors’ Online Services (COLS)

The only change to COLS will be the removal of the PINs and Test PINs options. All other options should remain the same.

Counsellors will be able to create their own practice application. More information about practice applications will be available in the spring and/or fall.

Counsellor Resources

We will begin updating existing resources on the Guidance Site and adding new resources outlining the new PIN-less application in late spring, continuing through to the fall. Updated video tutorials and an updated PowerPoint presentation will be available in late summer as we require a mostly finalized application for the necessary screenshots.

OUAC Communication Schedule

1. Early March 2023: Preliminary communication to Guidance Leads to share.

2. April 19, 2023: Official announcement at Guidance Dialogues. Information posted on Guidance Site along with some new or updated resources. Email sent to all COLS registrants.

3. May 2023: Follow-up communication to Guidance Leads to share. Updated information posted on Guidance Site with more new or updated resources. Email sent to all COLS registrants.

4. August 2023: Follow-up communication from Guidance Leads to share. Updated information posted on Guidance Site more new or updated resources. Email sent to all COLS registrants.