Today, I’m going to share some of my best tips to help you get admission into Canada’s number one university, University of Toronto. I applied to U of T for the fall of 2021 and received admission offers from U of T Scarborough and U of T Mississauga. Therefore, I have been through the application process not long ago and hope to share some of my best tips to help YOU get into U of T as well.
But for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Zohair, a U of T admit, currently in my gap year.
If you haven’t read my previous post in which I talked about How I got into University of Toronto – my application, stats, extracurriculars etc. and some of the things that helped me stand out, I recommend you quickly read that before continuing this one.
Check Here 👉 How I Got Into University Of Toronto (Stats, Extracurriculars, Advice, Supplementary App., OUAC)
Now, without further ado let’s get right into it.
Application Process
Know the exact application process and the deadlines for both the main application and the supplementary application.
Let me give you a brief overview of the application process at U of T because when I was applying as international student, it took a lot of time to understand the exact process and the time interval between each step in the application process.
The first thing to know is that you do not apply to U of T directly but through a university application portal called the Ontario Universities Application Centre or OUAC.
No matter whether you are a Local, Canadian or International applicant, the first step is to create an OUAC account and fill out all the required information in the application.
The second step is to pay the application processing fee and submit your application to one or more programs and campuses of your choice.
After you’ve submitted your application, in one to two weeks time, you can expect an email from U of T providing you with the login instructions, your application number and details on the next steps in the application process.
Once you are able to access the Join U of T portal, you can check the status of your applications as well as the list of any required documents including supplementary applications. Though most programs do not require a supplementary application, if your program does, you can access the detailed instructions as well as the application itself through your Join U of T portal.
Now, the next step is to self-report your Grade 11th and 12th grades and submit your transcripts on the Join U of T portal.
And that’s it, YOU’RE DONE !.
If you’d like to know the Exact, Step-by-Step application process to apply to University of Toronto as a Local, Canadian or International Student. You can read my ‘How to Apply to U of T’ post.
Check Here 👉 How to Apply to University of Toronto (Step-by-Step Guide) for Canadian and International Students
Personally, what I suggest you to do is to schedule the deadlines for your main application and supplementary applications in Google Calendar and set reminders weeks before the deadline to avoid last minute hassle. Even though this is a generic thing to keep in mind, I wanted to emphasize this because when I was applying to Universities, I didn’t know the power of Calendar apps like Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook Calendar to help you remember things in high school life, so I am guessing some of you might not know this and greatly benefit from Calendar apps.
On a side note, if you’d like to get know all of my tips and strategies visually (with graphics!). You can watch my video on the same topic down below. Do let me know your views on the video.
Admission Requirements
Do your research early on and know the admission requirements.
Before wanting to get into University of Toronto, you need to figure know which programs you’d like to get into and what are their requirements?
Each program is offered at different U of T campuses and has different subject and grade requirements.
Generally, the minimum requirement percentage to get into U of T is low to mid 80s, but it can vary from program to program, therefore I suggest you aim in the 90s to be on a safer side.
Be sure to check the the high school courses and subjects you need for a particular area of study and for a particular program at a university. For example – Mathematics and Physics are are pretty much the required subjects for most Engineering majors including Computer Science and if you are doing the IB Diploma Program, you are absolutely required to have IB Math, IB Physics, IB Chemistry and IB English for admission into any Engineering Major at U of T.
To find out the required subjects and their minimum scores needed to secure an offer, head over to University of Toronto’s website. Go to the Undergraduate Programs and search for the programs of your interest.
After opening it, you’ll see the program details such as the campus at which the program is offered and the minimum academic requirements for most of the education systems. For IB students, the minimum admission requirement is to have English HL or SL and to get the IB Diploma whereas the specific IB requirements depends on the faculty offering the program you’ve applied to.
If English is not your first language, you are required to provide evidence of your English language proficiency for which you have to take an English Language Proficiency test and submit its official test scores to the university. In my case, I submitted the IELTS Academic Module. Also, there is a huge advantage if you are doing the IB Diploma Program because your English language requirement will be met if you scored a 4 or more in English A: Language and Literature either on HL or SL level. You’ll only know this if you have done your research and know the requirements.
I remember one friend of my mine who wasn’t aware that most Canadian universities accept IB English A language and literature as a proof of English proficiency and took the IELTS test. Luckily, his IELTS Exam didn’t go to waste because it is also required in the student VISA application. Therefore, doing your research, knowing the requirements, choosing the right subjects and getting high scores in them can greatly boost your admission chances at U of T.
Moreover, doing your research will not only help you keep the track of the application process but will also help you figure out whether U of T is right place for you or not.
Furthermore, it will give you a sense of clarity and purpose as you write answers for the supplementary application such as why you chose U of T or why you’re interested in a particular program? etc.
Academics
Prioritize Academics over everything else.
University of Toronto like most Canadian and UK universities is academically focused and largely considers academic performance in high school to be the deciding factor for admission. One of the reasons why I think this is the case is due to the fact that U of T gives out conditional offers which require you to maintain your grades. In my U of T offer, the academic condition was as follows “Obtain the International Baccalaureate Diploma and maintain your current academic standing, particularly in any courses required for your intended program of study.”
Though Universities around the world expect students to maintain their grades in their final exams, universities like U of T explicitly convey it in their conditional offers.
If you haven’t watched my College Decision Reaction video, you might not know that I got rejected from every single University I applied to except U of T. Let me give you a little bit more context, so I applied to MIT, Stanford, Amherst, NYU and all the ivy league schools which look at students holistically by considering their personal qualities, extracurriculars, leadership and community involvement alongside Academics.
For University of Toronto, I wasn’t asked to write about my extracurriculars or share my personal qualities, they just asked for my transcripts. So you can see that the difference is apparent, but this is not to say that University of Toronto does not value a student’s character, personal achievements or extracurricular, but that they prioritize and give more importance to your academic performance i.e., your semester grades, your predicted scores and your final exam scores.
Therefore, regardless of the education system you follow, IB, AP, CBSE, A Levels, focus on getting a exam results in the 90s but do make sure that you are doing some impactful extracurriculars in your field to be on a safer side. Then you are good to go.
Apply Early
Just Apply EARLY.
You actually increase your chances of admission by applying early as U of T starts evaluating applications early on. Spots for the class will start filling as soon as the University starts accepting applications and you do not want to apply with a very good application when spaces have already filled up.
On U of T website, you’ll find it clearly written that “Spaces fill quickly and programs may close before the application deadlines listed.”
Moreover, if the you submit your OUAC application for a U of T program which has closed, your application will be cancelled without a refund.
Therefore, I’d encourage you to submit your application well in advance to be assured a spot at U of T. And this actually true for almost all the universities in general !
Supplementary Application
Do not become complacent with regards to Supplementary Application.
Even though grades are really important, they are NOT everything. You need to utilize every opportunity from the university to show your ‘demonstrated interest’.
The supplementary application varies a lot depending the program of your interest, but generally it asks you to state and describe the extracurricular activities you did that shaped you and developed skills that will help you succeed in the program you applied to.
Here, I’ll suggest you to focus on a few extracurriculars that had an impact on you, it can be leadership positions, MUN, Student Council, Volunteering etc. and how the skills you developed can translate into your studies.
A written response, for example, could be – Participating in MUN taught me to listen to others often those with counterarguments, value their perspective and reach to a common ground. The Computer Science or XYZ program involves a lot of group projects and my experience as an MUN delegate will help me lead them while making sure that I heed to every single member’s viewpoint to reach at pragmatic solutions. So something along those lines will work.
In the case of an online interview, it is really important that you do all the practice questions in advance because
- You’ll feel prepared and not stressed out and
- The Actual interview questions are very similar to the practice questions.
Lastly, a big difference between video interview and supplementary application is that the video interview is timed whereas supplementary application isn’t. So take your time, re-edit and get feedback for your supplementary application essays while also practicing the online interview questions.
Conclusion
First, I go over the application process and explain briefly how it looks and what needs to be done in order to be considered for admission at U of T.
Second, I go over some of the general admission requirements and give some of my tips to help you better plan your subjects and grades for your programs of interest specifically the IB DP and English Language Requirements.
Third, I explain the importance of your academic performance in helping you get admitted to U of T and compare my U of T application with other U.S. University application.
Lastly, I go over some helpful tips to fill out the supplementary applications (+ an example excerpt for answering a supplementary application essay) and ace the video interviews for U of T’s undergraduate programs.
That’s it for today guys, I hope you found this post helpful and if you did. Don’t forget to share it, so others who need it can get the necessary help through this.
Also, do let me know your questions and thoughts in the comment section below. I would love to read them.
Thanks for sticking around till the end. See you in the next one 😊
FAQs
Do you apply to U of T directly? No, through OUAC.
What is Ontario Universities Application Centre? Universities application portal
How to apply to University of Toronto? Explained above.
Do all programs require a supplementary application? No, some do but most don’t.
What are the admission requirements at University of Toronto? Differ a lot depending on the campus and program you applied to.
What are the English Language Proficiency Requirements at U of T? Need to submit an English Language Proficiency Test like the IELTS, TOEFL, Duolingo English Test etc. Do check the English Requirements page on U of T’s website for exemptions and detailed instructions.
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