Offers of Admission for Ontario High School Students

Basic Requirements for Admission

For Ontario high schools, the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) is required, with six 4U/M courses. Prerequisite courses must be at the 4U level. 4U English is recommended. Credits for out-of-class co-op work experience will not be considered as part of the six courses. Admission averages and prerequisites vary by degree and program.

Failed and Repeated Courses

We take the highest mark for repeated courses.

Timing and Process for Admission Decisions

We will begin to make offers of admission based on Grade 12 interim grades or a combination of Grade 12 interim grades and Grade 11 and 12 final grades in January/February.

Offers will continue to be made until mid-June. After that date, offers will be made using Grade 12 final grades or a combination of final grades and final summer course grades. For specialized programs (Architectural Studies, Humanities, Industrial Design, Information Technology [Multimedia and Design], Music and Social Work) that require additional information (e.g., portfolios, interviews, auditions) and that have documentation deadlines, admission offers will begin to be issued between two and four weeks after the documentation deadline.

If you are applying to any of specialty programs listed above and are also planning to submit an English-language test score, please note that scores are due on, or before, the portfolio or supplementary application deadlines.

Note: Most offers of admission are conditional. These offers of admission are based on early or interim grades. Once we receive your final grades, we will re-assess the application to ensure that it still meets the requirements for the program and that you have received the OSSD. If you no longer meet the required averages or have not received the OSSD, we will withdraw the offer of admission and cancel registration. However, where it is possible, we will attempt to provide an alternative offer of admission.

If you have been admitted to Carleton with an admission average of 80% or better, you will automatically be considered for one of our entrance scholarships. The admission average is calculated based on the high school grades that were submitted in support of the university application, and may be a combination of early/interim or final marks. You may be offered an entrance scholarship provided that our Admissions Services receives the complete application for admission and all grades by June 15. Any required prerequisite courses are included in the calculation of the admission average.

• If you were given a scholarship offer based on early grades (grades that we received in March), and your admission average is higher when we receive your midterm grades in May, you will have your scholarship adjusted upward if required.
• If your midterm average is lower than the average calculated from early grades, you will keep the original scholarship offer.
• Scholarships are not re-assessed based on the grades received in June/July.
• The entrance scholarship offer is valid as long as you remain admissible to the chosen program.

Alternative Offers

• IB Admission Information
• AP Admission Information

Language Requirements

The language of instruction at Carleton University is English. If English is not your first language, you must demonstrate that you can cope with the language demands of an English-language university.

You can demonstrate your English-language proficiency by:

• Presenting official transcripts that indicate that you have studied for the last three years (full-time) in a high school, college or university in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom or any other country in which English is the primary language, and where English was the exclusive language of instruction in the relevant educational institution.

If you choose this option, please note:

• Time spent in ESL courses will not be counted towards meeting these requirements.
• Language requirements will not be waived based on letters written by students or as a result of completing senior-level, high school English courses.
• If, in addition to evidence of three years of study, you also provide a failing English language test score, the university reserves the right to review the admission decision.
• The university reserves the right to request an English-Language Proficiency test from any applicant regardless of their academic background.

If you cannot demonstrate three full-time years in an English medium school, as outlined above, you must submit a language test result.