Does the order you rank programs on OUAC matter?
For 19 of the 21 universities that answer this, no — your ranking is invisible to the admission decision, and they assess you for every program you applied to regardless of order. Two say otherwise, and both are explicit about it. Carleton states plainly that the rank of your choices is important and considers your highest-ranked Carleton program first. Brock considers your highest Brock choice first and works down in the order you listed. uOttawa ignores ranking for admission but may use it for waitlists.
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 21 universities says
Not taken into consideration.
When a student indicates more than 1 Brock program on their application, we will consider the highest choice listed for Brock first.
If a student is not eligible for their first choice, we will consider subsequent choices in the order of preference indicated.
Applicants may hold an offer of admission to only 1 Brock program at a time.
The rank of your program choices is important. Your highest ranked program at Carleton will be considered first, but all program choices will be assessed. If you qualify for your first choice, you will receive an offer of admission for that program.
Your offer of admission will include information on the status of your other program choices. If you are eligible for another choice, and if there is space available in that program, you can be given an offer of admission. If a program becomes full, you will not receive an offer of admission, even if you were previously eligible.
We will assess students for admission to all programs they apply to, regardless of ranking on the OUAC application. Qualified students may receive offers to all programs they apply to.
We do not consider program ranking in the OUAC application.
No effect on admission.
We do not use application ranking for admission decisions. We make an admission decision for every application choice.
We consider all applicants and applications equally, regardless of the ordered choice on the OUAC application.
We do not take ranking into consideration. We will consider students for all programs they have applied to at the University.
We do not consider OUAC ranking when we make offers of admission.
We do not consider the order of choices in the admission process.
We do not consider application ranking when making offers of admission.
We do not consider rankings on the OUAC application.
High school applicants will be considered for admission to all programs they apply to.
We do not consider ranking on the OUAC application.
No impact on admission but could be considered for students on a waitlist.
Typically, we do not consider ranking on the OUAC application.
For the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, applicant choice may be a factor as part of a broad-based admission approach. Should you rank us at a lower OUAC choice, your application could be disadvantaged.
We do not review application ranking when making admission decisions. Students will receive an admission decision for every Waterloo program they apply to.
We do not consider ranking for admission purposes.
We consider students equally for all programs that they apply to.
We will review all applications regardless of OUAC ranking.
We do not assess a student based on choice relative to other university selections.
We assess students on academic merit and requirements. They will receive a decision on all programs they apply to.
Program choice ranking does not factor into admission decisions.
We encourage students to rank their choices honestly.
Other things students ask
- Do night school, summer school and online courses count for university admission?
- Do Grade 11 marks matter for Ontario university admission?
- If you repeat a course, which mark do universities use?
- 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.