Alternate offers: which Ontario universities catch you if you miss your first choice

Updated August 22, 2026

At most Ontario universities a near-miss on your first choice is caught automatically — the university finds a program you do qualify for and offers that. At Queen's, Western, OCAD and Guelph-Humber it is not, and Western says the consequence plainly: list each program as a separate OUAC choice. Which universities catch you, how far the catch reaches, and what that means for how many choices to list.

Two kinds of university

At most Ontario universities, missing the average for your first choice is not the end of the application: the university looks for another program you do qualify for and offers that instead, without you asking. At 4, it is the end — OCAD, Queen's, Guelph-Humber, Western say plainly they do not make alternative offers, and Western adds the line that matters: “Students who wish to be considered for more than one program should list each program as a separate choice in their OUAC application.”

That sentence is the whole guide. If your reach school is one of the ones that catch you, one choice can do the work of two. If it is one that does not, the second choice has to be on the form, or there is no second choice.

• 10 universities consider you for an alternative automatically

  Algoma · Brock · Carleton · Lakehead · Laurentian · Nipissing · Trent · Windsor · Laurier (Waterloo) · York

• 5 universities make alternative offers for some programs only

  Ontario Tech · TMU · Ottawa · U of T (St. George) · Waterloo

• 4 universities do not make alternative offers at all

  OCAD · Queen's · Guelph-Humber · Western

• 1 university decides each of your choices separately instead

  McMaster

• 1 university drops you from co-op to the regular program, but no further

  Guelph

• 2 answers are worded too loosely to classify — read them in full below.

The ones that do not catch you

Queen’s

“We do not make alternative offers of admission.” Apply to Commerce and miss, and Queen’s does not move you to Arts. If you want Arts as the fallback, it is a separate OUAC choice with its own fee.

Western

“We do not extend alternative offers to other programs on Main Campus.” Main campus is the operative phrase: Western admits to faculties rather than programs, so a miss on Engineering is not converted into Science. List Science too, or nothing happens.

OCAD and Guelph-Humber

OCAD: “In general, we do not make alternative offers of admission.” Guelph-Humber: “We do not issue alternative offers.”

The ones that catch you, and how far they reach

Automatic, and reassessed as marks arrive

Windsor: “Alternative offers are automatic” from late March through mid-May, and “we automatically reassess applicants for their preferred program(s) as new grades are received as space permits” — the alternate offer is not the last word on your first choice. Nipissing, Lakehead, Algoma, Laurentian, York and Laurier all say they consider you automatically; Laurier adds a wait list for Business Administration, Health Sciences and Kinesiology, and students on it “will also receive an alternative offer.”

Carleton: early May, as close as it can get

“In early May, we will give an alternate offer of admission to Ontario high school students who are not eligible for their first choice,” and it “will attempt to give the student an alternate offer that is as close as possible to their original program selection.”

Guelph: named pairs, and co-op to regular

Guelph publishes the pairs: not admissible to co-op, considered for the regular program (except Engineering, which is co-op only); Criminal Justice and Public Policy → Justice and Legal Studies; Psychology → Sociology; Bio-Medical Science or Human Kinetics → Biological Science; Animal Biology → Zoology. If your fallback is not on that list, it is not automatic.

U of T: it depends on the faculty

Arts & Science lets Computer Science and Rotman Commerce applicants “express interest in an alternative admission category” in the JOIN U of T portal — you have to tick it. Engineering “will consider applicants consecutively for the 4 engineering programs they select on the Engineering applicant portal” and “will make only 1 offer of admission.” The Daniels Faculty: “No alternative offers.” Music offers alternatives within the Faculty.

McMaster: three choices, each decided on its own

“We encourage applicants to apply to up to 3 programs. We will consider each program choice simultaneously and communicate an admission decision for each program they select.” Not an alternate offer so much as three applications at once — which is why listing Life Sciences under Health Sciences at McMaster is standard advice.

Waterloo and Ottawa: sometimes, late

Waterloo “may consider students for an alternative, closely related program during the final round of decisions in May.” Ottawa: “For some programs, we may provide an alternative offer”; a miss on co-op or French Immersion is automatically considered for the regular stream. “May” and “some” are doing real work in both — neither is a promise.

How to build your OUAC list with this

1. 1
   For each target, find it in the list below. If it catches you, one choice may be enough. If it is Queen’s, Western, OCAD or Guelph-Humber, the fallback must be its own choice.
2. 2
   Where the catch is automatic, check what you would be caught into. Guelph and U of T publish the pairs; Carleton promises “as close as possible”; the others say “a program you qualify for.” That can be very different from what you wanted.
3. 3
   Ranking does not change any of this at most universities — the order you list programs in is a separate question. Whether OUAC ranking matters, by university.
4. 4
   Put your own number against each target’s range first. An alternate offer is the plan for a near miss, not for a reach. How the average is built, with the calculator.

Every university, verbatim

10 answers say the consideration is automatic. Saint Paul answers “Yes” and RMC describes its officer training plan; neither says whether it is automatic, so neither is classified.