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FALL
Application portals open – Late September/ October
High school students can begin applying for early admission to post-secondary institutions in Nova Scotia. (For NSCC, students can apply beginning in September of their Grade 11 year).
Open houses – Late October/November
Post-secondary institutions begin holding open houses after Thanksgiving in October (some will hold multiple throughout the year) to give students a chance to visit the campus and find out additional information.
Offers of admission – Varies; can begin in October
Most post-secondary institutions send offers of admission on a rolling basis beginning around October with the condition that final grades meet the criteria for admission. For example, if you apply to a specific program at a particular school in November you could receive an offer of admission in December. NSCC begins to release offers of admission to students in November of their Grade 12 year. Programs accept students on a first applied, first qualified basis so applying early is advised – especially for competitive and limited enrollment programs.
Awards – November/December
The application process opens for awards/scholarships at most universities. (Entrance scholarships don’t require an application, but awards do). Applications open at NSCC in March.
WINTER
Admission Deadline – Varies; can be as early as February
While less competitive programs such as general arts may accept applications up until the end of August, many schools have competitive programs (such as Nursing, Medical Science and Social Work) with earlier deadlines; you should confirm the deadline of the specific program(s) you are interested in at each institution.
Entrance Scholarship Consideration – Feb. 28/March 1
At most universities, you must apply for admission to an undergraduate program by this deadline if you want to be considered for an entrance scholarship. (Note: some schools have an earlier deadline of mid-February, notably Dalhousie and SMU currently do).
Application for residence – Varies
If you need a space in residence, you need to apply. The date when residence applications open varies by school (some open in September while others don’t open until the winter). Be sure to check this deadline at each school you’re applying to. Please note: some schools offer guaranteed residence spots to students coming from high school, but in order to be guaranteed one of these spots you must apply by a certain deadline (usually early to mid-May) and have accepted your offer of admission by that time. Check with the specific school you’re interested in for these specific deadlines.
SPRING
Scholarships and awards announced – Early Spring
Scholarships and awards will be offered to students who meet the criteria or who have been selected to receive them. Students are usually given a month to six weeks to consider the offer and accept or decline. (Students need to have accepted an offer of admission to the school to be able to accept a scholarship or award).
Student assistance application – May
The online application portal for the Nova Scotia Student Assistance Program (student loans) opens in May and is administered by the NS Government. Only one application is required to be considered for both provincial and federal loans. Applying gives students access to loans and non-repayable grants.
Registration for classes begins – Late Spring/Early Summer
Incoming students can begin to register for their classes (some classes will fill up more quickly than others), before you are able to register you must have accepted your offer of admission and provided your deposit.
SUMMER
Final transcript – End of school year/Summer
Applicants who provide their Nova Scotia student ID on their application and consent for their transcripts to be retrieved electronically, do not need to submit any additional information unless explicitly asked to.
Application deadline – Late Summer
Most post-secondary institutions accept domestic applications right up until a week or a few weeks before classes begin in September. This does not apply to competitive programs or those with limited enrollment such as Nursing and Social Work, for example.