Do Grade 11 marks matter for Ontario university admission?
They matter earlier than most students think and less than most students fear. Grade 11 marks are what an early or conditional offer is built on, because in December there is nothing else to read. Once your Grade 12 marks arrive they take over. The exceptions are specific rather than general — Waterloo reviews 3U/M grades for early offers to some programs, Toronto conditions offers on Grade 11 and Grade 12 together, and a handful of programs review named Grade 11 subjects.
Every answer below is what the university tells Ontario guidance counsellors, quoted from the OUAC guide for September 2026 entry. It isn’t published on their student pages. Rules like this change rarely; dates don’t — check any date here with the university. Where this comes from.
What each of the 23 universities says
Applicants may receive early offers of admission based on Grade 11 grades.
Early offers of admission may be based on final 3U/M and 4U/M grades, when available. All offers are conditional until we receive final 4U/M grades.
We use Grade 11 grades as part of the calculation for early offers, in combination with available Grade 12 grades.
We may extend early offers of admission based on exceptional Grade 11 academic grades, conditional upon the student meeting all requirements, as outlined in their offer.
We consider 3U/M grades from qualifying students for early offers of admission to open and limited enrollment programs, as long as they are registered in the required 4U/M courses.
All programs will make offers of admission using Grade 12 grades only.
Midwifery may review Grade 11 Biology, Chemistry and English grades for applicants to the Midwifery program if the mandatory Grade 12 prerequisite courses are in progress at the time of application.
Some applicants may receive conditional offers based on Grade 11 grades.
In general, we do not consider Grade 11 grades in admission decisions.
We will use Grade 11 grades in your average calculation early in the admission cycle so long as you are enrolled in the required number of Grade 12 prerequisites.
We will consider Grade 11 grades if grades in required Grade 12 courses are unavailable.
We offer conditional admission using Grade 11 grades.
Applicants must successfully complete Grade 12 prerequisites for their intended degree (at 75% or higher). www.rmc-cmr.ca/en/registrars-office/academic-prerequisites
Considered for early admission.
We release offers for Grades-Only programs starting in November based on final Grade 11 averages and registration in the required Grade 12 courses.
All offers based on Grade 11 final marks and Grade 12 course registration or interim results are conditional.
We will consider Grade 11 grades for early offers of admission.
We will use final Grade 11 U/M grades where midterm or final Grade 12 U/M grades are not available to fulfill required courses.
To fulfill conditions of an offer of admission, students must complete 6 Grade 12 and/or 4U/M courses, including required subjects.
Note: Students applying to a program that requires two 4U maths (e.g., Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Mathematics) must present a midterm or final grade in at least one 4U math course to be considered for admission.
We will use the top 6 completed 4U/M (or equivalent) courses, including subject requirements. Where six 4U/M courses are not available, we will use completed or in-progress 4U/M and completed 3U/M courses, as needed.
To fulfill the conditions of an offer of admission, students must complete six 4U/M courses (or equivalent), including required subjects.
We consider final Grade 11 grades in the first 2 rounds of admission and for automatic admission scholarships.
We will make conditional offers of admission based on available Grade 11 and Grade 12 grades, provided the OUAC record indicates enrollment in all required Grade 12 courses, including ENG4U. If a Grade 12 grade in a prerequisite subject is not available, we will use the grade in the corresponding Grade 11 course.
For the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, we always take Grade 11 results into consideration.
Applicants who are currently finishing high school in Ontario but completed Grade 11 outside the province are encouraged to apply by November 7 and follow the instructions on the Join U of T applicant portal to submit their Grade 11 results, along with any other required documents.
We may consider 3U/M grades for early offers to some programs.
Architecture: In early March, we will review both 3U/M and 4U/M grades to determine selection for the Architecture interview process. Grade 11 grades are used when we are missing a Grade 12 required course grade. | www.uwaterloo.ca/architecture/ future-undergraduate-students
Depending on the program, we may provide early offers based on a minimum of 80% in final Grade 11 U/M grades and registration in 6 Grade 12 U/M courses, including prerequisites.
We do not make offers based on Grade 11 grades for limited enrollment programs, such as Nursing, VABE and Concurrent Education.
We will consider students' overall Grade 11 performance.
We consider Grade 11 U/M grades for early offers for qualified students.
We use Grade 11 grades for early consideration for many programs.
All offers based on Grade 11 grades are conditional on Grade 12 final grades, including prerequisites and completion of the OSSD.
Other things students ask
- Do night school, summer school and online courses count for university admission?
- If you repeat a course, which mark do universities use?
- Does the order you rank programs on OUAC matter?
- What happens if you don't get into your first-choice program?
- Which Ontario universities require a supplementary application?
- Which Ontario universities give automatic entrance scholarships?
Policies decide whether a mark counts. Your average decides where it gets you.