What if something happened that affected your marks?
Every university has a route for this and almost none of them advertise it. The mechanism differs — a form, a counsellor letter, a petition to a committee — but the common thread is that it has to be documented and it has to be raised, not assumed.
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 22 universities says
The Assistant Registrar makes special consideration on an individual basis. We encourage students to submit a petition form to the Academic Regulations and Petitions Committee to apply for special consideration.
Accessibility policy: https://brocku.ca/health-wellness-accessibility/sas
Students must submit requests by mid-April 2026.
Students who experience special circumstances that we should consider when we evaluate their application should submit a letter to Admissions Services outlining their circumstances.
We give equal consideration to students with an identified disability when Individual Education Plans were in use in their high school program. Students with additional extenuating circumstances that impact their admissibility should contact Admissions for consideration.
Applicants can discuss special consideration and circumstances with the Office of Admissions at: admissions@laurentian.ca.
Students with extenuating circumstances may submit a request for a special consideration form. https://admissions.mcmaster.ca/manage/login?realm=&r=/portal/ extenuatingcircumstances
We evaluate extenuating circumstances on a case-by-case basis.
We are committed to diversity, equity and accessibility and have reserved spaces in our undergraduate programs for students from groups including, but not limited to: o persons with disabilities, o economically disadvantaged individuals, o Franco-Ontarians, o Indigenous persons, o visible minorities, o LGBTQ+ individuals and o those from northern, remote and rural areas.
Contact the Admissions Office at admissions@nipissingu.ca or ext. 4600.
We make every effort to help facilitate the application process for applicants who require special consideration or assistance.
Email admissions@ocadu.ca for further details.
Students with an extenuating circumstance must fill out our extenuating circumstances form: www.ontariotechu.ca/admissions.
Indigenous Admissions Consideration: www.ontariotechu.ca/indigenousadmissions
If a student is applying from high school to a first-year, first-entry, full-time program for fall admission and there are factors that clearly demonstrate significant extenuating circumstances, beyond their control, that have affected their academic performance over the past 2 years, they will need to complete an online form and attach supporting documentation by March 31, 2026.
Indigenous and first-generation applicants may request consideration under the Indigenous Admission Pathway or the First-Generation Admission Pathway. We must receive requests by March 31, 2026.
QBridge: Academically competitive applicants to Queen's undergraduate programs who do not meet our English-language proficiency requirements will be automatically evaluated for our QBridge pathways. https://qsoe.educ.queensu.ca/programs/qbridge
We encourage applicants who want to be considered for certain careers, such as pilots and air crew, to submit their application in September, right after Labour Day.
Case-by-case evaluation.
Applicants may submit a Special Consideration Form and attach related documentation (e.g., letter from a physician, guidance counsellor or social worker). www.torontomu.ca/admissions/undergraduate/ applications-related-forms/special-consideration
We will evaluate applications on an individual basis.
Applicants with extenuating circumstances may submit an Extenuating Circumstances Supplementary Application Form, found on their myTrent portal.
We encourage students who believe their admission average does not reflect their true academic ability due to a disability to submit the Supplemental Information Form for Students with Disabilities (SIF-D). | https://wellness.uoguelph.ca/accessibility
We encourage all students to submit the SPF in support of their application. www.uoguelph.ca/admission/undergraduate/apply/docs
Deadline for SIF-D and SPF: April 1, 2026
We consider SIF-D and SPF submissions in May for students whose admission averages fall within a discretionary range of the final cut-off (up to 5%).
Students may choose to complete an SP to tell us about factors that may have impacted their grades. We encourage them to complete a profile if their average is within a discretionary range of the determined cut-off (within 5%).
Supplementary Information Form for Students with Disabilities (SIF-D): If a student identifies as a student with disabilities and their admission average does not meet the cut-off for the program they applied to, we may consider their SIF-D if their average is within a discretionary range of the determined cut-off (within 5%).
The SP and SIF-D are due April 1, 2026 (past).
www.guelphhumber.ca/admission/supplementary-info
Eligible candidates can complete a Declaration of Personal Experience, which will be included in their admission file and which we may consider in the evaluation of their admission application. www2.uottawa.ca/study/undergraduate-studies/ declaration-personal-experience
For other special circumstances, students should submit all supporting documentation through uoDoc in uoZone.
Applicants can access the Request for Special Consideration Form from the JOIN U of T application website after they submit their application. They must complete the form and upload the specified supporting documentation. https://uoft.me/special-considerations
Students with significant circumstances that affected their marks and who were not accommodated through their school or relevant services can request special consideration for admission. www.uwaterloo.ca/future/applicants/special-consideration Summer/Night School, Virtual/e-learning, Private School and Correspondence Courses
We accept all approved courses through schools accredited by the Ministry of Education.
Once students have applied, we may ask them to identify courses they took or are taking outside of regular day school and to explain why. Taking required courses in summer school could negatively affect a student's application to some programs. www.uwaterloo.ca/future/admissions/repeated-courses
Western's Special Consideration Profile provides an opportunity for students to share any extenuating circumstances that have adversely affected their grades: https://welcome.uwo.ca/forms.
We encourage students with disabilities to contact Accessible Education: http://accessibleeducation.uwo.ca.
If recent or present circumstances have impacted a student's ability to achieve a strong academic standing, they may submit a Special Case or Extenuating Circumstances Form. It is the student's decision to disclose any supporting details.
The Special Case or Extenuating Circumstances Form is due April 25, 2026, by 11:59 pm (ET).
Students can complete an additional information form to tell us about any extenuating circumstances, health condition or diagnosed disability that may have affected their academic performance. | https://futurestudents.yorku.ca/requirements/ extenuating-circumstances
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?
- 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?
Policies decide whether a mark counts. Your average decides where it gets you.