Admission
Applying to UCC

Applying to Boarding

Thank you for your interest in boarding at Upper Canada College. Our vibrant and diverse boarding community is an exceptional opportunity for students from around the globe to benefit from the gold standard education program (IB) and myriad extracurricular opportunities. Students also benefit from studying in one of the most multicultural cities in the world.

List of 4 items.

  • Level

    Year 8
    Year 9
    Year 10
    Year 11
  • Birth Year

    2009
    2008/2007*
    2007/2006*
    2006/2005*
  • 2022 Intake

    0-2
    8-12
    8-12
    8-12
  • Deadline

    April 15, 2022 (most spaces filled by February/March).
* Students are entering an accelerated program and various criteria are used to establish entry-level placement. Please see the Guide to Upper School Grade Placement for more info and contact the office with any questions. No students are admitted directly into Year 12. Candidates who live a commutable distance from the school are generally not eligible for the boarding program.

How to Apply

List of 9 items.

  • Step 1 – Explore UCC

    Before you start an application, we encourage you to learn more about our programs, take a virtual tour and connect with us online to get a feel for school life. Start your exploration now.
  • Step 2 – Login to or Create your UCC Application Account

    To start your application for 2023 entry, you must first login to or create your UCC application account. If this is your first time applying, you will need to create an account. Please ensure that when you create the account, you use the candidate’s legal name as it appears on his birth certificate or passport.

    If the system recognizes your email address during account creation, your email address will be highlighted in red after you press "Submit". If this occurs, or you created an account previously and do not remember the account information, click on "Forgot Login?" You will then be prompted to enter your email address and request both your username and password. After submitting this request, please check your email inbox for two emails containing your username and instructions for logging in. Creation of more than one account per family may lead to a delay in the processing of applications and/or documents.

    Only the candidate's parents are legally authorized to create an account and submit an application. Agents wishing to submit an application on behalf of a parent should contact the Office of Admission at admission@ucc.on.ca before creating an account.
  • Step 3 – Submit an Application Form and Pay the Application Fee

    Once you’ve logged in or created an account, click on the application form button to start filling out the form. You can save your work and return to complete and submit it at any time -- please allow 30 minutes to an hour in total to complete the form. Please ensure that all form fields are complete before submitting as the application information cannot be edited once submitted. Please allow two days for processing the application form and payment.

    The deadline to apply is April 23, 2021 although spaces fill up quickly so we encourage families to apply as early as possible. The application fee schedule is as follows:
    • $200 until Nov. 1, 2020
    • $250 Nov. 1, 2020 to Apr. 23, 2021
  • Step 4 – Submit Birth Verification and Final Report Cards

    Once your form has been processed, you can log back in to upload PDF copies of the following documents:
    • Final (June) 2018-2019 school reports
    • Final (June) 2019-2020 school reports*
    • Passport open to the photo and name page
    Images of multiple pages should be merged into a single file before uploading using an app such as Adobe Scan.

    * We understand that due to COVID-19, final reports from the 2019-2020 school year may be incomplete or unavailable. In that event, please submit the first term report from the 2019-2020 school year.
  • Step 5 – Complete your Entrance Test: SSAT

    The Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) is a standardized entrance test used by many independent schools. It measures the basic verbal, quantitative, and reading skills students develop over time — skills that are needed for successful performance at UCC. There is no minimum test score required. Test results are used in conjunction with other information gained during the admission process to round out our understanding of the applicant’s abilities.

    All applicants are required to register for and write the SSAT as early as possible beginning in September. Applicants in Canada and the U.S. should visit About the SSAT to learn more about the test and testing options, including SSAT At Home. Applicants writing the test from outside Canada and the U.S. should visit SSAT Options for Other Countries. We do not endorse any test preparation courses. We do suggest applicants use the resources available through the SSAT Practice Portal to practice before writing the test.

    To register, you must first create a student account with SSAT. 
    Please include UCC as a score recipient (test centre code 7858) when you register for any test. We will only accept test results directly from the SSAT organization. To add UCC as a score recipient after you've registered, follow these SSAT instructions for sending scores.

    If you experience issues registering for or completing the SSAT test please let us know by emailing admission@ucc.on.ca.


    Additional testing requirement for international students applying to Year 10 or 11:
    International students applying for Year 10 or Year 11 for whom English is not their primary language of instruction must also submit results from one of the following tests:
      • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
      • International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
    This will provide the admission committee with a clear sense of the student’s English language proficiency. International students who have been studying in a primarily English-language school for three (3) years or more are exempt from this requirement.

    Please follow these instructions when registering for a language test in order to have the test results sent directly to Upper Canada College:

    TOEFL: use school code 5295
    IELTS: nominate Upper Canada College as a test result recipient when you register for the test, or email admission@ucc.on.ca with your Test Report Form number once you receive the results.
    Duolingo: choose Upper Canada College from a list of Secondary Schools.
  • Step 6 – Apply for Financial Assistance

    UCC committed more than $5 million in financial assistance for the 2021-2022 year to ensure the College remains affordable for our families. Assistance is available to Canadian citizens starting in Year 5, so we encourage all interested and eligible applicants to apply.

    Financial assistance is awarded on the basis of family need as established by a third-party organization, Apple Financial Services. Financial assistance decisions are separate from admission decisions. Awards range from $5,000 to full tuition.

    A small percentage of financial assistance (less than two per cent) is dedicated to one-time merit-based Entrance Scholarships, awarded to top candidates based on the strength of their admission applications. No additional application is required.

    The Day deadline to apply for needs-based financial assistance is December 31, 2022. The Boarding deadline to apply for needs-based financial assistance is February 1, 2023. Visit Tuition and Financial Assistance to learn more and apply.
  • Step 7 – Submit a Current Report Card

    All applicants will also need to submit a current school report once that item is activated on the checklist. Generally a mid-term report is issued by schools in November or December. Please upload a current report as soon as the checklist upload becomes available.

    Please do not submit any additional documents unless requested.
  • Step 8 – Await your Interview

    Selected candidates will be contacted to arrange an interview via video meeting. Candidates are selected for interviews based on a review of required documents. In some cases test results will be required before eligibility for an interview is determined. Interviews take place from October through mid-April.

    The interview is about 45 minutes in total. Before spending time with the applicant, one of our Admission Counsellors will meet briefly with parents. While this is happening, the applicant will be asked to complete a short writing sample. The writing exercise has two purposes: it is intended to give the applicant an opportunity to express himself creatively, and to give us a snapshot of his ability to express himself thoughtfully and creatively. The writing sample is not graded.

    After the Admission Counsellor has met with the parents, he/she will interview the applicant. The interview is meant to give insight into the applicant and family’s personalities, interests and values. It is also an opportunity for parents to gain a deeper insight into who we are and what we do at UCC.

    We request that at least one parent participate in the interview process.
  • Step 9 – Receive your Decision

    Boarding applications are reviewed on a rolling basis with the first round of offers being made in December.
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