Does Ottawa give you an alternative offer if you miss your first choice?
For some programs, we may provide an alternative offer if we do not offer a student admission to a limited enrollment program, or if the student does not have the average or prerequisites for the requested program.
If we do not admit an applicant to a co-op program or the French Immersion stream, we will automatically consider them for the corresponding regular program.
University of Ottawa, quoted from the OUAC guide for guidance counsellors, September 2026 entry.
How that compares
Ottawa makes alternative offers for some programs only. Only 5 of the 23 Ontario universities that answer this do, so it is worth knowing before you assume the common rule applies.
10 universities consider you for an alternative automatically
Algoma, Brock, Carleton, Lakehead, Laurentian, Nipissing, Trent, Windsor, Laurier (Waterloo), York
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
This is what Ottawa tells Ontario guidance counsellors; it is not published on their student pages. Rules like this change rarely, but confirm anything you are about to act on.