Post-Secondary Institutions

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.  

2020-2021 Post Secondary COVID-Related Information and Updates

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.

College Board SAT Plans for the remainder of 2020: https://pages.collegeboard.org/sat-covid-19-updates?SFMC_cid=EM299996-&rid=52697627

2020-21 SAT Administrations
Students can now register for 2020-21 international SAT® administrations. In 2020, the SAT will be offered internationally in August, September, October, and December. And the SAT Subject Tests™, including Subject Tests with Listening, will be offered internationally in November. Students can view dates and reserve their place today.

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.

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 November 2020 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 November 2020 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).

Queen's University

November Diploma Exams

We recently received an update that the Alberta November Diploma exams have become 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.

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.

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.

Quarterly System: Updating Courses and Marks

Many high schools are moving to a quarterly term system this year. The University of Alberta has adjusted its admissions processes to automatically capture quarterly term information for applications from Alberta, Ontario, and BC. Please email counsellor@ualberta.ca if you have specific questions or concerns.

Students studying in a quarterly high school system can submit updated courses and final marks to the U of A for reevaluation during the month of January. Quarterly students from BC, AB, and ON will find the Course and Mark Update form automatically uploaded in their Launchpad portal.   Students not studying in a quarterly system will have the opportunity to submit updated courses and final marks to the U of A for reevaluation starting February 15, 2021.

Self Reporting Courses:

If your student 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.

University of Calgary

Information Sessions

Find information on U of C through Choose UCalgary Webinars as well as our Faculty Information Night webinars. To pre-register for these events, please click here.

You can still visit the U of C Virtual Open House .  It will be available until March 1, 2021.

Our Campus Tour program is also running again with all COVID-19 protocols in place. For students who are unable to join us for an in-person tour, we are also offering a full virtual live campus tour once a month! To view upcoming tour times, click here.

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 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. 

Step 1:  Requirements

Students must meet minimum academic requirements for all programs at all institutions.  In addition, some institutions have competitive grade-average requirements for some or all programs.  The competitive average varies each year, depending on the applicant pool.  You should be able to view the final average range from the previous year on your institution's website.   Report the subjects you are taking and your mark or anticipated mark for both Grade 11 and Grade 12 courses in Apply Alberta; but once your application is submitted, updates must be made at your institutions site- they will no longer look at Apply Alberta information.  If applying to BC, report all courses taken in Grades 9 - 12.  

Requirements vary widely from institution to institution and from program to program, so you need to start your research early to know what will be required for your field of interest.  For most universities, direct-entry programs require five core academic courses, varying by program.

Step 2: Admission

Apply early.  Some institutions/programs are first applied, first qualified, first accepted.  Students can apply in their Grade 12 year, using final Grade 11 marks as well as any completed Grade 12 marks.  Updated marks can be submitted as they become available - directly to your university or college.  Often, students who do not yet meet eligibility requirements will be reassessed once they submit new final marks.  Many applications for post secondary study open on October 1 each year.

Admission decisions are based on the information available at the time that the application is reviewed. Conditional Offers of Admission may be issued in anticipation of fulfillment of the admission requirements by the appropriate deadline.  The Conditions are that you will complete the required courses.  Once all conditions have been met, the registrar's office will issue confirmation that you now meet requirements.

Step 3: Accepting the Offer

Most students receive their admission offer, conditional or otherwise, in the spring.  Students with highly competitive marks could receive an admission offer as early as October.  You must be vigilant about checking your email and your post secondary account/portal.  Students will need to accept their offer of admission and, in many cases, pay a tuition deposit by the given deadline.  

Step 4: Attend a Workshop

Most universities and colleges will offer workshops to assist students with registration, and many have student loan workshops as well.  Once again, keep yourself informed and take advantage of these opportunities to ease your transition to post secondary. 

Reporting Your Marks

When you are completing your ApplyAlberta form online, please ensure that you list all of the high school courses that are prerequisites for your program, whether they are courses that you have taken, are taking, or are planning to take.  Your institution will not start processing your applicarion for a program unless they know that you are planning to meet prerequisites, so this step is critical.  Please note that Grade 11 marks are also critical - some universities, such as the University of Calgary, will grant you admission based on your Grade 11 marks, as reported on your Detailed Academic Report, which they can access once you apply to them.

When you go to update your marks, you must update the marks on the website of your institution.  Post secondary schools upload your application from Apply Alberta only once, so if you update your marks only in ApplyAlberta, your college or university will not get that updated information, which may cost you admission to your program.  

• Check your institution's website and our calendar for application acceptance dates and application deadline dates. For non competitive programs, early application is advised, to secure a seat in the program.  See note above re: competitive programs.
•  Most university applications are now completed online.  You will be applying for public Alberta Post Secondary Institutions through ApplyAlberta.
• Once you have applied, it is VERY important to stay on top of your application.  Your institution will contact you periodically to request information.  If you fail to send the information by the deadline given in the request, your application WILL be cancelled.  Institutions may contact you by mail, email, or by posting requests on their student portal.  Read all documentation sent to you carefully and be sure that you sign up for a student portal if requested to do so.  
• If you plan to apply for residence, do so as soon as you have confirmation that your application for admission haas been received.  Check with your institution to find out if the residence application fee is refundable.  

Alberta Post-Secondary Institution Links

Other Canadian Post-Secondary Resources

• www.canadian-universities.net
• https://www.cst.org/en/resources/helping-your-teen-prepare-post-secondary-education
• https://campusmentalhealth.ca/resources/resource-finder/
• https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/education.html

U.S. Post-Secondary Institutions

• Colleges and Universities in the U.S. - www.50states.com
• Common Application for over 300 colleges and universities in the U.S. - www.commonapp.org
• This site enables students to register and prepare for SATs - www.collegeboard.com
• USA School Search - https://www.internationalstudent.com/school-search/usa/