Things I’ve Learned about University Applications as a Parent

My eldest just clicked accept on his university program, and it has been a wild ride. I thought I would share the things that I learned, as a parent who is not from Ontario, helping my kid navigate this momentous change:

1. Grade 11 marks do matter, but mostly for early admissions. If your grades aren’t what you hoped they would be, you can get them up for grade 12 and it shouldn’t change anything except maybe when you receive an offer. 

2. English marks matter. It’s the only course you are required to submit in your top six – the others can be electives, personal interest, etc. If you have to focus somewhere, this could be important. If your teacher is a hard marker… be prepared to work hard.

3. There’s 500 000 undergrad spots in Ontario, and U of Guelph had an admission average (across all programs) of 70%. You don’t need to get straight A’s to go to university. 

4. It’s okay to narrow post-secondary options by lots of means. Small town or big city? Near, medium or far from home? Is residence appealing, or would you rather cook your own food? Do you want to stay at home (if it’s an option) or would you want to move out (if it’s an option)? 

5. No school, university or OUAC (the online site which manages Ontario applications) will speak to the parent, seemingly no matter what. So parents – get ready to coach your kiddo to check their emails and to follow up with any inquiries from their schools of choice.

6. Supplemental materials are the new college admission essay, it seems, re-worked to circumvent the use of AI. Try to convince your kids it’s okay to prep for any supplemental materials they may need to submit (and may you have more luck on this front than I did). This could include practicing interview-style questions and answers, and it could also look like practicing creative-problem-solving-type questions (like Google-interview questions). I’d suggest doing this practice both verbally and on whatever software your kiddo might need to use. Sometimes they are live interviews, sometimes videos are required to be submitted, and sometimes answers are typed directly into a window that is proctored remotely.

7. If you want a specific program, you should apply to it EVERYWHERE. My son told me that every single one of his friends is going into engineering. Apparently, they all applied to Eng at every school, and they all got in somewhere. While the big, prestigious schools currently have averages of 97 or 98% in your top 6 grade twelve credits, smaller schools can be much more accessible. If your kiddo wants a particular program, you might need to be flexible on location.

8. In my family of profs, there’s a feeling that where you do your undergrad doesn’t matter as much as how you do it: Did you connect with the professors in your field? Did you attend tutorials and office hours? Professors write references for jobs and for graduate programs; engaging with them matters.

9. Engineering is incredibly popular right now, and I think it’s worth noting a few things:

• Engineering has a special dispensation to charge higher tuition than other programs. 
• Most high school students have little to no idea what an engineer actually does. It’s worth investigating! 
• I think that engineering is so popular because it’s a high-status,“professional” degree – you might be able to get a job as an engineer straight out of your undergraduate degree. I understand the appeal of that! 
• Engineering programs are often very academically intense and very fast paced (some programs require students to take 6 or 7 courses in a single semester). An engineer I know told me “it’s not about being smart or even about being good at school. Engineering is like trying to drink from a firehose: it’s a question of whether or not you can survive the onslaught (of information & pressure).” So consider: is this the path for you, or do you prefer to learn under less pressure?

10. Parents, brace yourself. My kid had some great options and it was still heartbreaking to watch him agonize. This is a really big decision for a young person (and for their family!). It’s okay to narrow choices down as you move along; hopefully that reduces overwhelm.

11. Finally, and most importantly, any school is a good school. In Canada we are truly fortunate that all Canadian universities are just fine, especially for undergrad! Any accredited post secondary programs should be just fine! And it’s always possible to transfer if your kiddo wants to explore that down the road.