Queen's University

How Queen's actually handles things

From the OUAC’s Guidance Dialogues Resource Guide (Spring 2026), which OUAC publishes for guidance counsellors rather than students. Read the original. Policies change — confirm anything you’re about to act on.

If you repeat a course

Which mark they use when you take a course twice.

We use the grade from the most recent attempt to calculate the admission average.

Summer school, night school, e-learning and private school

Whether courses taken outside your regular day school are treated the same.

We accept all courses completed at Ministry-inspected and -approved schools.

Your Grade 11 marks

Whether they look at Grade 11, and when.

We will consider Grade 11 grades if grades in required Grade 12 courses are unavailable. Supplemental Application

A high school transcript is just 1 piece of information we use when making an admission decision. Each applicant to Queen's has a To-Do List specific to them, detailing exactly what we need to complete their application. Students can see their To-Do List (and the due dates) on their SOLUS Student Centre. We will send students SOLUS access information after they apply.

Applicants to Commerce, Nursing and Health Sciences must submit the Supplementary Application by February 15, 2026 (past).

The Music program requires a personal audition, interview and theory test. Ranking on OUAC Application

We do not consider OUAC ranking when we make offers of admission. Tuition Deposit

International fee-paying offer holders are required to pay a nonrefundable tuition deposit of $2,500 to secure their seat and receive the documentation required for their study permit application. First-year Course Selection Process

Automatic entrance scholarships

Money you get for your average without applying for it.

We award entrance scholarships of $7,000 based on academic excellence to students who are in the top 3% of the competitive admission average for each first-entry undergraduate degree program.

International Admission Awards: Awards of up to $100,000 over 4 years are available for international students entering their first year of an undergraduate degree on a study permit. www.queensu.ca/registrar/financial-aid/ specific-students/international

Scholarship deadlines

The application deadline for MAAs is December 8. Students must first apply to Queen's through the OUAC and obtain a Queen's NetID to access the online Queen's Financial Aid and Awards (FAA) Profile and the MAA application.

We recommend that students apply by November 15 (past), to access the MAA application and FAA Profile by the December 8 deadline.

A practice MAA application (PDF) is available to assist students in preparing their responses in advance of the deadline.

Bursaries

The recommended deadline to submit the Financial Aid and Awards Profile was February 15, 2026 (past).

Students who are citizens or permanent residents (landed immigrants), or protected persons are eligible for bursaries.

By submitting a Queen's Financial Aid and Awards Profile, students will automatically be considered for most of the awards included in our financial aid package, including the Major Access Award ($40,000 - $72,000 over 4 years of study), the Commitment Bursary and named admission bursaries.

Financial Aid and Awards will accept Financial Aid and Awards Profile submissions past the recommended deadline into mid-July.

Special consideration

If something happened that affected your marks.

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

Deferring your offer

Taking a year before you start.

Applicants with extenuating circumstances who accept an offer of admission may request a deferral of admission to that program for a period of 1 year.

We consider requests based on final grades and the reason provided by the student. If we grant a student a deferral, they may not attend another postsecondary institution during their deferral year. The deferral application will open in the summer.

AP and IB

AP: We may grant transfer credit for AP exams completed to a maximum of 18.0 units.

IB: Applicants completing the full IB diploma are eligible for admission based on their Ontario percentage grades or IB predicted scores. We will consider all IB applicants, including those completing certificates, for transfer credit for Higher Level courses, to a maximum of 18.0 units. www.queensu.ca/admission/applying/transfer-credits

Changing programs

Program Prerequisite updates for 2025/2026: o Sciences (QS): ENG4U; MCV4U; 2 of SBI4U, SCH4U or SPH4U; and 2 additional 4U or 4M courses. o Life Sciences (QL): ENG4U, MCV4U, SBI4U, SCH4U and 2 additional 4U or 4M courses. o Kinesiology (QK) & Concurrent Education/Kinesiology (QKF): ENG4U, MCV4U, SBI4U and 3 additional 4U or 4M courses. o Health Sciences (QH): ENG4U (minimum grade of 80%); SBI4U; SCH4U; MHF4U or MCV4U; and 2 additional 4U or 4M courses.

Transfer credit

First-year students who have taken courses during high school that may be eligible for transfer credit must apply for credit no later than the end of the fall term of their first year.

Students who complete AP or IB courses will automatically be assessed during the summer for transfer credit if they authorize for their official results to be released to Queen's.

English proficiency

Applicants who attended a school where English was the primary language of instruction for 3 consecutive years immediately prior to their attendance at Queen's are generally not required to submit a test of English proficiency.

Students required to submit standardized English-language test scores may submit: o CAEL (70 overall with no band below 60) o Cambridge English (minimum 175 with no component below 170) o Duolingo English Test (120 overall) o IELTS (6.5 overall with no band below 6.0) o LanguageCert Academic (minimum band score of 70 with no individual score below 65) o PTE (60 overall) o TOEFL (88 overall, 20 writing, 20 speaking, 20 reading, 20 listening)

Alternatively, students who earn a final grade of A- or higher in the 12-week English for Academic Purposes program offered by the Queen's School of English will receive an English proficiency exam waiver. www.queensu.ca/admission/applicants/english-proficiency