University applications in Ontario increased by 33 percent of the province’s high schools

Ontario Tech University has had the biggest jump in applications from any university in the province for the fall 2022 semester, revealing what experts say is a growing interest in STEM and healthcare professions.

Preliminary figures from the Ontario University Application Center showed that Ontario Tech enrollment applications from high school students in Ontario increased by 33.4 percent compared to numbers from January 2021. In raw numbers, the institution received a total of 10,317 applications against the deadline of January 13, compared to 7,734 applications in 2021.

“Students’ interest has shifted over the last number of years with an increasing number of students choosing STEM and health care professions,” said Steve Orsini, president and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities. Ontario Tech University could not be reached for comment.

Last year, universities across the province saw an increase in applications from students hoping to enroll in health-related fields, with nursing programs alone seeing a jump of 73 percent for the 2021 academic year as COVID-19 cases continue increased.

Meanwhile, the biggest drop in Ontario was from the troubled Laurentian University in Greater Sudbury, which dropped applications from high school students by 43.5 percent.

Last February, the Northern Ontario School announced that it was facing imminent bankruptcy and a decrease in applications was expected.

“My feeling is that the decline is largely based on uncertainty,” said Glen Jones, former dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. “How much faith do you want to place in an institution that is apparently currently going through a tremendous struggle?”

Ontario’s Supreme Court of Justice issued a ruling on January 26 on the court battle between the insolvent university and the provincial auditor – general, Bonnie Lysyk, that the school does not have to hand over privileged information to the Ontario legislature. Lysyk is conducting an investigation to find out why the university declared bankruptcy.

Ontario’s new French-language university, Université de l’Ontario français, saw the second largest drop in applications by 26.3 percent, receiving only 14 applications compared to 19 applications from Ontario the previous year. Including applications from outside the province and overseas, the university received a total of 47 applications in 2021.

According to Jones, the small university positions itself differently from larger universities, attracting individuals who are looking for specialized French-language education that may already have undergraduate degrees.

Despite the small number of applicants, the institution is able to stay afloat thanks to the federal and provincial governments’ commitment to spend $ 126 million over eight years for the university.

But it is unlikely to be a reputational issue. According to Jones, the small university positions itself differently from larger universities, attracting individuals looking for specialized French language training who may already have undergraduate degrees.

Overall, applications to universities in Ontario saw an increase of 8.4 percent this year compared to the same period in 2021, with students applying on average to more institutions than before. OUAC received a total of 511,893 university applications by the January 2022 deadline, compared to 472,238 applications last year.

The number of applicants also increased by 1.6 percent, with a total of 91,241 students applying this year, up from 89,818 the previous year. The data suggests that applicants apply to more universities than usual, according to Jones.

“In the context of COVID, you have this group of individuals who have spent so much of their high school experience online and want to move on with their lives. “So they apply carefully and try to ensure that there is a space for themselves,” Jones said.

Several universities across the province have also seen a noticeable jump in applications, including the University of Guelph with 22.1 percent, Trent with 16.7 percent and OCAD with 15.9 percent.

Final admission numbers for the fall semester will be announced in the spring, which will include figures for out-of-province and international students and when students confirm which post-secondary school they will attend.

Numbers are likely to shift, according to Jones.

“It’s all preliminary and these figures will change,” Jones said. “It all depends on how it works out and what COVID looks like in the autumn and what kind of environment we go to.

“Hopefully it’s an exciting time in the context of what has been a sad past few years.”