Ontario universities are seeing the largest percentage drop in international applicants in a decade, while the number of Ontario high school students wanting to study in their home province grew at a rate not seen in years.
According to recently released data from the , there are 8.4 per cent fewer undergraduate applicants from outside Ontario high schools hoping to gain admission this fall. Applications聽鈥 students can submit to multiple universities or programs 鈥 have also declined by 11 per cent.
While mature, transfer and out-of-province candidates are included in this “all other applicants” (AOA) group of 58,773, the drop is almost entirely due to a waning interest from international students, according to OUAC鈥檚 executive director Heather Lane.
OUAC publishes statistics four times a year, but its April figures聽鈥 which come after the bulk of undergraduate applications have been submitted聽鈥斅燼re an indication of where student interest lies (most applications are to commerce and business administration) and offer the first comprehensive look at enrolment trends.
There is reason for some optimism domestically: Ontario high school applicants (OSSS) are up five per cent, with the total number of 100,537 approaching the peak seen during the 2003 double cohort, when both the final group of Grade 13 students and the first Grade 12 graduates entered post-secondary at the same time. Total applications are also up 4.4 per cent.
Still, post-secondary institutions are heading into the next academic year with a mix of caution and concern, as financial pressures 鈥 driven by years of government underfunding and a prolonged tuition freeze 鈥 have been worsened by a cap on international students. Institutions are projecting multimillion-dollar deficits and have announced layoffs and program closures, in part due to declining international enrolment.
鈥淲hat this data makes clear is that during this critical time for Ontario鈥檚 economy, universities are facing a significant funding crunch requiring urgent action to ensure sustainable funding to build the workforce, research and innovation the economy needs to help withstand the impacts from U.S. tariffs,鈥 said Steve Orsini, president and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities.
Orsini, who noted Ontario’s universities are expecting to lose nearly $1 billion in revenue over two years, added that universities 鈥渉ave acted responsibly 鈥 growing international student enrolment modestly over time, representing less than 19 per cent of all students, and ensuring students receive strong academic and wraparound supports.”
According to OUAC data, French-language and bilingual schools 鈥 Universit茅 de Hearst in northern Ontario, Universit茅 de l鈥橭ntario fran莽ais (UOF) in 海角社区官网and the University of Ottawa聽鈥 have seen the steepest percentage declines in out-of-province, mature and transfer applications, with drops of 59.4, 55.9 and 24.4 per cent, respectively. However, actual numbers for Hearst and UOF 鈥 both relatively new institutions 鈥 remain small. Hearst received just 28 “all other” applications, while UOF saw the largest percentage growth in interest from Ontario secondary students, with regional applications up 26.9 per cent to 33 applications.
OCAD University, Toronto鈥檚 art and design institution, saw a notable 25.2 per cent increase in Ontario high school applicants and was the only university that didn鈥檛 experience a drop in out-of-province applications. This, according to a spokesperson, was due to a change in policy that allows students to apply to more than one program.
Huron University, an affiliate of Western in London, Ont., is seeing a third straight year of some of the strongest growth in student interest within the province, with Ontario high school applications up 23.3 per cent.
President Barry Craig said Huron has been following a multi-year plan to increase enrolment, nearing its goal of 750 new students聽鈥 a 200 per cent increase from eight years ago. Huron increased its marketing and outreach聽鈥 Craig himself visits more than 80 high schools a year聽鈥 and promoted its small class sizes, internships and聽. But, said Craig, this聽growth hasn鈥檛 come at the cost of standards: The minimum average for offers this fall is 90 per cent.
Huron’s聽out-of-province, mature and transfer applications, on the other hand, have dropped by 12.5 per cent.聽
鈥淭hree years ago, like all the other universities, we would have seen international students and their higher tuition offsetting the flat funding on the domestic side, and now of course that’s disappeared,鈥 said Craig, who noted half of Huron’s domestic students are not provincially funded.
“That makes things quite challenging,” not just at Huron but at all universities, he said.
Meanwhile, the University of Guelph-Humber in northwest 海角社区官网was the only university to see a double-digit (10.1 per cent) drop in聽Ontario high school聽applications. Its out-of-province, mature and transfer applications were also down by 28.7 per cent. Spokesperson Caroline Grech said the dip was anticipated and follows the school鈥檚 decision to pause fall intake of new students in its Community Social Services program.
Northern Ontario鈥檚 Algoma University, which also has a campus in Brampton, had the next highest drop in Ontario high school applications (9.3 per cent). “It’s important to understand that an application does not equate to a confirmed enrolment at a particular university,鈥 said Jenna Mannone, Algoma鈥檚 director of strategic communications. 鈥淪tudents in their final year of high school often apply to multiple institutions before making a final decision.
“The more meaningful metric is the number of confirmed students: those who have formally accepted an offer of admission,鈥 Mannone added, noting Algoma had 10 per cent more domestic students in 2024-25.聽
Universities have until the end of May to tell Ontario high school students who applied by deadline if they鈥檝e been accepted, rejected or waitlisted for this fall. Deadlines for other applicants can vary by university, and some international students apply directly to schools rather than through OUAC鈥檚 centralized service. OUAC publishes confirmation data in June.聽
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