Ontario College Online Application User Guide

1. Ontario College Online ApplicationUser Guide Your future starts here . . .

2. Step 1 – Research colleges and programs FIND A COLLEGE – view the map

3. FIND A COLLEGE – link to college websites Visit ontariocolleges.ca and click on the “Choose a College” button. Links to individual college websites

4. FIND A PROGRAM TOOL • ontariocolleges.ca/find Search by keyword Search by a college Link to college information

5. OTHER RESEARCH OPTIONS • College Information Program (CIP) • September 30 – November 1, look for events near you • Full schedule at: ontariocolleges.ca/cip • College Open Houses • held each fall and spring • see facebook.com/ontariocolleges.ca for upcoming events

6. Important Dates • Early October – Access the application at ontariocolleges.ca • November 26, 2013 – First date that 2014/15 application data is sent to colleges; earliest date that colleges may acknowledge applications. • February 1, 2014 – Equal Consideration Date - Applications received and paid for by this date are considered equally by the colleges • This is not a deadline for submitting applications. It is, however, critical to apply to highly competitive programs by this date. • Applications are still processed after this date, but areconsidered on a first-come, first-served basis by the colleges.

7. Important Dates • February 1, 2014 – Offer Date - First day that colleges MAY release offers of admission. - Not all offers are posted on this day. The colleges continually post offers of admission until programs are filled. • February 1, 2014 – Accept Offer Date- Earliest date that applicants may confirm an offer of admission. • May 1, 2014 - Applicants must confirm their acceptance of an offer of admission by this date.- Each college will determine the due date to confirm offers made after May 1. - Check your offer letter AND the expiry date of your offer of admission. • June 17, 2014 – Tuition Fee Payment- Earliest date that colleges may require payment of tuition fees.

8. Important Info Before You Apply • The application processing fee is $95 (non-refundable) • An application allows you up to 5 program choices, with no more than 3 at any one college • All program choices must start within the same academic year (August – July) • Your username is permanent • Your password must be between 8 and 14 characters in length • DO NOT create more than one account • The application works best in the following browsers: Internet Explorer 8+ Firefox 17+ Chrome 23+ Safari 5.1

9. Important Info Before You Apply • EMAIL ADDRESS • Provide a valid email address. - This allows ontariocolleges.ca to communicate with you for important information about your application, account activation and username / password recovery. • - The colleges to which you apply use this email address to communicate with you about your application and offers of admission. • Check your email regularly.- Update your email address if it changes. • Check your junk/spam mailboxes if you do not receive emails from ‘myaccount@ontariocolleges.ca’ and add to your safe senders list.

10. Important Info Before You Apply • PRIVACY STATEMENT • Review our complete Privacy Statement. It explains how we use the information provided as part of your college application. • A link to the Privacy Statement is located in the footer of the ontariocolleges.ca website and within the college application. • ACCOUNT INFORMATIONSome information is automatically added to your account based on the information provided during account creation. • INFORMATION YOU CANNOT CHANGE ON YOUR APPLICATION / ACCOUNT • Name, date of birth, username, basis of admission, OEN & academic data* • To make changes to this information, call the ontariocolleges.ca Customer Contact Centre • *to make changes to academic data, see your guidance counselor

11. What You Need to Know Before You Apply • OEN (Ontario Education Number) and Student Number (found on your report card or high school transcript) • Your complete home mailing address including postal code • In which city your high school is located(Don’t laugh! Larger cities have this issue. Is the school in ‘Toronto’ OR ‘Etobicoke’)

12. Your ontariocolleges.ca Account • Your ontariocolleges.ca account allows you to: • Apply to any of Ontario’s 28 public colleges • Review and update your college application • Request Ontario high school transcripts (from participating schools)(Note: current high school students have their transcripts sent automatically by their high schools) • Request Ontario college / university transcripts • View and accept offers of admission

13. Step 2 – Create an Account Go to ontariocolleges.ca New Users: If you have never applied through ontariocolleges.ca before, click the “Create an Account” button Returning to your application: If you have an existing account, click “Log In”

14. Create an Account Complete required fields Password ‘rules’ Passwords that DO NOT meet these requirements will not allow you to login.

15. Select a question from the pull-down list, or create your own If you do not agree to the Terms and Conditions you will be logged out of the college application.

16. Activate Your Account ! You cannot log in to your account without first activating it Click the link to activate your account. An activation email is also sent to the email on file. You only need to activate your account using one method (screen or email).

17. Successful Account Activation Click the link to access the login screen.Login using the username and password created during account sign up. If you forget, click to have your login info sent to your email address.

18. Step 3 – Applicant Home Screen / Dashboard Start your college application from this screen. MESSAGE CENTRE: Important information about your application is found here. Check regularly.

19. Personal Information Complete all required fields. Click ‘Save and Continue to Next Step’.

20. Contact Information Click to add your address

21. Second Consent • ADD SECOND CONSENT: • Authorize another individual access to your account/application • Maximum of 3 individuals at one time • Authorization can be added, changed or revoked at any time • All actions made by authorized individuals appear in activity history

22. Education Complete only the sections that apply to your education experience.

23. High School Education Use the drop down menus to complete all fields. Ontario high school students: use the ‘Find School’ drop down to add your high school.

24. All Applicants – enter the date you began high school Graduates / Former Students – Enter the date you completed/ left high school Important for current students ! Current Students – Click the radio button To allow us to match your grades to your application, your OEN, student number and name (as it appears on your school record) must be accurate. Click ‘Save’ when done. • CURRENT STUDENTS ONLY • Your high school will automatically forward your grades to ontariocolleges.ca.

25. Experience Add information in these sections ONLY if it relates to your area of study. Skip the sections that do not apply to you. Add Job Experience – previous or current paid employment Test Information – standardized test information that will be submitted to support your application. (e.g. GED, TOEFL, nursing, etc.) Other Activities – previous or current volunteer experience, association memberships, etc.

26. Select Programs Select the link for the dates you wish to begin your studies. Programs with start dates in: • September 2014• January 2015• May 2015 Selecting programs from BOTH application cycles will result in two applications and an additional application processing fee. ! Fees paid on duplicate applications are non-refundable.

27. Record your Account Number and Application Number. Received Date– is the date your application processing fee payment is received and processed. You may apply to a maximum of FIVE program choices with no more than THREE at any one college. List your programs in order of preference. You cannot create additional applications to apply to more programs. (sorry!)

28. ‘>’– search for programs at ONE college ‘>>’– search for program at ALL colleges

29. Enter ONE word of the program title or the program code. Click ‘Search’ Click ‘Select’ to add the program to your application Make sure you select the correct program start date

30. Review the information and complete any required fields. Click ‘Save’ to return to the program choice screen. If you have previously applied to, or attended this college, enter the dates. Otherwise, leave the default values. Entry Level 1 – the first semester of the first year of the program. Note: programs with January start dates are still Entry Level 1.

31. Manage Program Choices Click ‘Edit’ to change program information OR ‘Delete’ to remove the program from your application. Click ‘Search for a Program ’ to add additional programs Use the green arrows to reorder your program choices (if required). Click ‘Done Adding Choices’ to move to the next step.

32. Basis for Admission Review and answer the questions. Click ‘Save and Continue to Next Step’ when done. Current high school students: make sure ‘yes’ is selected for question 2.

33. Payment Summary Review your fees. Click ‘Process Payment’ to pay your application processing fee.

34. Secure Online Credit Card Payment Enter your credit card details. Cardholder Name – must appear exactly as on credit card. Credit Card Number – Numbers only. No spaces or hyphens. Expiry Date – Select the dates using the drop down menu. Click ‘Process Transaction’ to complete your payment.

35. Successful Payment Verification Payment is verified ‘on screen’ and confirmation is also sent to your email.

36. Declined Payment Notification • DECLINED PAYMENTA payment can be declined for a number of reasons: • Incorrect credit card number and/or expiry date. Confirm that the information you entered is accurate. • Insufficient credit limit.

37. Offers of Admission • OFFERS OF ADMISSION • Offers can only be viewed after they are posted by the colleges. • You may accept only ONE offer at a time. • You may accept only ONE offer in one 24-hour period. • A confirmation of your acceptance is sent to your email. • CHANGING AN ACCEPTED OFFER • If, after accepting an offer, you change your mind or receive another which you prefer, you may accept the new offer (before the expiry date). The new acceptance will cancel your previous one. Click ‘View Offers’ to view your offers of admission.

38. Need Help? • APPLICATION HELP: • Click ‘Live Help’ under ‘Contact Us’ at ontariocolleges.ca, to reach one of our Customer Contact Centre staff (real-time website feature) • Email the Customer Contact Centre at Ask-Us@ontariocolleges.ca • Call the Customer Contact Centre at 1 888 892 2228 • Find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ontariocolleges.ca) • Follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ontariocolleges) • TO CORRECT HIGH SCHOOL GRADES: • See your guidance counselor • OFFER OF ACCEPTANCE INFORMATION: • Contact the college(s) to which you applied