Admissions 101
Here is a pamphlet with information on the application process.
Please be aware that your GRADE 11 marks are important to post secondary admission. Often Post Secondary institutions will give you conditional admission based on your Grade 11 course marks.
Are you going to a school in British Columbia? Alberta students should provide information on courses taken in Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 when applying in BC.
2021-2022 Post Secondary COVID-Related Information and Updates
Acadia University
Acadia University has announced that Acadia is planning to welcome students to an in person on-campus learning environment in the 2021-2022 academic year. They anticipate that the Fall Term 2021 will start in a virtual or hybrid format and will pivot to fully in-person classes as the term progresses and as the Province of Nova Scotia eases restrictions.
Students should plan to be on location in the fall, either in residence or nearby off-campus accommodations. While some online learning will be incorporated, the majority of learning will be in person.
Bow Valley College
Diploma Exams: Bow Valley College’s longstanding practice has been to accept the “official mark” indicated on the Alberta high school transcript, whether the learner wrote the diploma exam or was formally exempted from it. Conventionally, if a diploma exam is not written for a reason approved by Alberta Education, the “official mark” is the same as the mark assigned by the school. The absence of a diploma grade for an approved exception (such as the Government's recent public health measures) will not affect applicants to Bow Valley College. For more information, please reach out to your dedicated Bow Valley College recruiter, call 403-410-1402.
Burman University
Burman University is excited to announce that we will be returning to campus this coming fall term. Classes will be held in-person and campus activities will resume as they were before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All Alberta Health Services protocols will be followed as we keep the safety of our students, faculty and staff a priority. Delivery of services on campus may be adjusted to comply with AHS health guidelines.
Concordia University of Edmonton
- We are planning for a full return to campus this fall and are currently exploring how to safely offer the highest possible number of in-person learning experiences
- We may also continue to offer some virtual programming and services this fall, and will be introducing a number of flexible delivery courses
- We are committed to reopening our residences this fall. We would encourage any student seeking housing to apply as our residences operate on a first-come, first-served basis
- While we are unable to make definitive decisions at this time on facilities such as study spaces, cafeteria, etc., we are hoping to be fully operational as part of our return to campus
- For more information, please visit our website at https://concordia.ab.ca/
fall2021
Dalhousie University
While the plan is to deliver the majority of our courses in-person for fall and winter, there are a few other course delivery formats to watch for on the timetable:
Asynchronous (recorded) online courses do not require students to be online at any specific time/day.
Synchronous (live) courses are held online on a specific day/time every week. Courses that are delivered synchronously are scheduled in Atlantic Time.
In-Person (details TBA): This course will be offered in-person, but we are still working on the details for the classroom. Keep checking back for the room update.
Online (details TBA): This course will be offered online but we are still in the process of determining the delivery type (synchronous or asynchronous).
Some courses have both in-person and online components (e.g. asynchronous lecture, in-person lab/tutorial). The format is noted on the timetable for each component.
HURON at Western
Huron at Western has just announced that they are planning for a return to campus in the Fall of 2021, with in-person classes and all residences open.
KING'S University
Diploma exams
Students who are completing 30-level coursework in the 2020-21 academic year will not be expected to complete diploma exams in order to be eligible for admission to King’s. We will be accepting final class marks as the mark that will be used for admission purposes. If a student chooses to write a diploma, we will use the higher of the classroom mark or the combined mark for admission purposes. These policies will also be used in assessing students for automatic admission scholarships.
In lieu of in-person events, King's is offering King's Now On Demand events. Students can check out King's at any time from home. Details at: https://www.kingsu.ca/admissions/visit-kings/kings-now.
Lethbridge College
Diploma exams
For the 2020-2021 school year exams, students who are completing 30-level coursework in the first Quarter of the academic year will not be expected to complete diploma exams in order to be eligible for admission.
MacEwan University
Diploma Exams: MacEwan University will continue to accept the final marks as reported by Alberta Education on the high school transcript. Those students who elect to write the 2020-2021 diploma exams will have their earned diploma marks blended (weighted at 30%) in their final marks. For those students who elect not to write the diploma exams, their school mark will be reported as their final mark.
Applicants seeking to use English 30-1 to satisfy their English language proficiency requirement must take the diploma exam for English 30-1.
Mount Royal University
Diploma exams: Mount Royal University will accept the Final Grade delivered on the official transcript by Alberta Education for each completed course regardless of how that grade was calculated.
English Language Proficiency Testing
Mount Royal is aware that some testing centres for English language testing have been closed. The IELTS website has details, listed by country, on where testing is suspended and where it has resumed. IELTS will also be offering an IELTS Indicator test that will assess English Language skills of prospective students. This test can be done from home with results available within seven days. This test will be accepted if applicants are unable to take the Academic IELTS test due to testing centre closures. TOEFL is offering a Special Home Edition test available everywhere TOEFL iBT testing is normally available. CAEL CE testing is offered online and can be completed from home in Canada and the USA. It will be available to international test-takers beginning Fall 2020. The online test features the same test format, content, and rating scale as CAEL CE. Test results will be available within eight business days to test takers.
Testing sessions should be booked as soon as they become available. If you are unable to book a testing session, email aro@mtroyal.ca to let us know you are having difficulty arranging this.
NAIT
Diploma exams: Until any further communication is made, NAIT will receive whatever final grade is sent to us by Alberta Education. Whether that includes the diploma exam or just the in-class mark would be up to your school and decisions made by Alberta Education.
Olds College
Diploma exams: Changes to high school curriculum delivery and the cancellation of Grade 12 Diploma exams will not impact admissions to Olds College. Olds College will continue to use final high school grades as recorded on official transcripts to make admission decisions. According to Alberta Education, students in Grade 12 will be assessed and receive a final mark (percentage).
In 2021-2022 Olds College is fully returning to campus. Some courses that proved to work better virtually will remain virtual. For example, Business Management Certificate will be offered completely on-campus, online or a blend of the two.
Queen's University
With the Alberta Diploma exams being optional, if a student chooses not to write the exam, we will use the final class grade. If a student chooses to write the exam and their blended grade is higher than their class grade, we will use the blended grade. Lastly, if a student chooses to write the exam and the blended grade is lower than the class grade, we will use the class grade.
Red Deer College
Diploma exams: As of October 2020, Alberta Grade 12 students have the option to write diploma exams. if an individual chooses not to write high school diploma exams, Red Deer College will use an individual's high school course mark as received on transcripts from the Ministry of Education in Alberta for admission purposes.
Saint Mary's University Halifax
We are striving to offer students a complete on-campus experience for 2021-2022. We have courses available on-campus and online, and we can assist first-year students in creating their desired schedules. If any assistance is required, please reach out! https://www.smu.ca/
We are still accepting applications to the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Diploma of Engineering, and Bachelor of Commerce.
SAIT
SAIT will accept whatever mark is listed on the Alberta Education transcript so a diploma exam will not be required. Students just need to ensure they’ll meet admission requirements for their program with or without the exam.
SFU
Planning is underway for a safe return to campus in the Fall term. SFU will prioritize teaching, learning and research while continuing to ensure the safety of our students, faculty and staff. Updates for the SFU community will be posted on our Return to Campus website and SFU students will be kept informed via email communication.
University of Alberta
Diploma Exams: The University of Alberta will accept final Alberta marks from the 2020-21 school year as presented on the Alberta Education transcript, regardless of whether or not students have written their diploma exams. This means that not taking the diploma exams will not negatively affect a student's application.
In order to ensure clarity around our admissions process, the University will continue to follow this practice for any future instances where diploma exams are deemed optional or cancelled by the Alberta Ministry of Education in response to COVID-19.
Applicants who are required to demonstrate English Language Proficiency (ELP) and had intended to fulfill that requirement using English Language Arts 30-1 will only be able to do so if they write the diploma exam. If students don't write the diploma exam, they will be required to demonstrate ELP another way. Additional details related to language requirements are available online.
Self Reporting Courses: If you cannot find one or more of their courses in the drop-down menus of the UAlberta application (excluding Apply Alberta), they are asked to please contact Student Connect at uab.ca/ask following the submission of their application and ask that the missing course(s) be added to their application. The same applies to students who have reached the maximum number of self-reported courses in the UAlberta application.
We are carefully planning for a return to campus where the majority of courses, approximately 80%, will be offered in-person. Additional information can be found here.
University of Calgary
Diploma Exams: All grades, as reported by the reporting authority in the country, province or territory will be used, with or without a final examination.
Quarterly system: As a result of COVID 19, we recognize that school boards/education systems have taken a variety of approaches to the high school semester structure (quad-semester, octo-semester, regular semester). To ensure a consistent and equitable process across the different semester structures being used this year, the University of Calgary will accept transcripts for admission evaluation following traditional semester timelines:
Grade 11 as soon as you apply
February for any courses completed between September and January
July for courses completed between February and June.
Students in a non-semestered or linear school will be able to submit interim/predicted grades as per our regular processes.
English Language Proficiency: The following online test options are accepted: TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition, IELTS Indicator, Duolingo (temporary until Winter 2022) and CAEL online to meet the UCalgary ELP requirements.
University of Lethbridge
For admission purposes, Alberta Education diploma exams are not required for the 2020-21 school year. The University of Lethbridge will accept the final grades as presented on the Alberta Education transcript regardless of whether students have written the diploma exams.
University of Regina
University of Regina is optimistic that the Fall 2021 term will allow for a carefully staged reopening of our campuses, with increased options for in-person classes, activities, and services. While it is difficult at this time to predict the exact level of in-person teaching and learning, our goal for the Fall term is to welcome as many people back to campus as we can safely accommodate. We are viewing the Fall term as a transitional one, characterized by a significant increase in on-campus activity that will transition us towards resuming near-normal operations in the following term, Winter 2022.
University of Victoria
UVic will accept an approved course mark without a diploma exam for the 2020-2021 school year, if a student decides not to take the exam.
General Admission Information
The following admissions information is generalized. Steps 1, 2 and 3 are applicable to all post secondary institutions, and many institutions offer registration and loans workshops. Check the website of your institution for information. This information will help walk you through the process of applying for your program and the following steps.
