Supplementary applications: which Ontario programs want more than marks, and when

Updated August 22, 2026

One in nine. These programs will not consider you on marks alone, however high, and most of their forms close before the January 15 OUAC deadline — some in early December. Miss one and the average does not matter. Which programs, what each asks for, and where to find the date, below.

What “supplementary” actually means

For 89% of Ontario programmes, the application is your marks. The OUAC form, six Grade 12 courses, done. For the other 11%, the university wants something the transcript cannot show — a portfolio for architecture or design, an audition for music, a written questionnaire for a business school, a video response for a health programme, an admission information form that asks what you did outside class. Without it you are not considered, however high the average.

That is the first thing to understand: a supplementary application is not a tiebreaker for borderline students. It is a requirement. A 98 with no portfolio is a non-applicant.

Why the dates are the whole problem

The OUAC deadline is January 15. Supplementary applications are run by the university, not by OUAC, and most of them close before that date — because the university needs your OUAC reference number first, then time to read portfolios and schedule auditions before offers go out. Some close in early December. A student who thinks “January 15” and starts a portfolio over the winter break has already missed it.

The kinds of extra step, and how many programmes ask for each

• 46Portfolioprograms that need a portfolio
• 42Auditionprograms that need an audition
• 40Interviewprograms that need an interview
• 24Test or assessmentprograms that need a test or assessment
• 22Admission Information Formprograms that need an Admission Information Form
• 17Videoprograms that need a video

A further 63 programmes say a supplementary form is required without naming what kind in their listing; the programme page links to the university’s own description.

Where they cluster

Supplementary requirements are concentrated at a few campuses — the ones with architecture, fine arts, music and competitive business or health faculties:

• McMaster University36 programs
• University of Waterloo23 programs
• University of Ottawa22 programs
• York University20 programs
• OCAD University17 programs
• University of Toronto — St. George10 programs
• Toronto Metropolitan University9 programs
• Western University8 programs

Reading the flag on a programme page

“Supplementary application required”

Taken from the programme’s own published admission criteria on OUInfo. Where the listing names the form, the kind is shown; where it only says one is required, the page says that and links out.

“No Supplementary Application Form required”

Some listings say this explicitly — U of T Scarborough’s, for instance. Those programmes are marks-only and are not flagged, and the flag logic was fixed once after ten of them were wrongly marked as requiring a form. If a programme page here says marks only and the university’s page says otherwise, the university is right; tell us.

“Admission by selection” is a different thing

That phrase means the average alone does not decide it — but it does not always mean there is a form. McMaster nursing is “admission by selection” with a minimum of 85% for consideration; the selection is on the average and the pool, not on a submission. Read the criteria line on the page.

What to do this month

1. 1
   Open the tracker, filter by the kind you would be submitting, and star every target that carries the flag.
2. 2
   For each starred programme, open the university’s own page from the programme page and find the closing date. Put it in your phone with a reminder four weeks before.
3. 3
   If it is a portfolio: start now. Laurentian’s architecture school wants a minimum of ten pieces and a 500–1000 word statement, and says “you will not be considered for admission unless you submit one.” Carleton’s says one portfolio covers all three of its streams. Six weeks is not generous.
4. 4
   If it is an audition or interview: the dates are usually in February, but the registration for them closes much earlier. The date that matters is the one to register by.
5. 5
   Apply on OUAC before you start the supplementary. Most universities need your OUAC reference number to open the form — which is why “I’ll do OUAC in January” quietly kills a December supplementary.

52 of the flagged programmes also publish a range of 85% or higher — the form and the marks both have to be there.