Applications for Fall 2025 are open!

A few things to know about our application timeline:

• Applications typically open on the 1 of July and close around the 1st week of November for applicants to be eligible for financial assistance or scholarships.
• Rolling applications will be accepted between mid-November and early May, with the conditions highlighted in the third section of this page titled “What if I miss the application season/deadline?”
• You will need to register for an account to start the application process
• We highly recommend you use a personal gmail/yahoo/outlook/hotmail email to setup your account, not a school affiliated email account
• When you have registered for an account, the system will send you a confirmation email
• Once your account is confirmed, you can get started!
• In order to access the National Committee of Canada application, you will need to supply some information to ensure your eligibility, so click "start" and provide the info requested (name, birthdate, country of residence, and citizenship)
• The application(s) you are eligible to complete will become available after you have completed the eligibility criteria
• For most people applying from Canada, only the UWC NCC application will become available.  If more than one application is available to you based on your citizenship and residency, please note that you may only apply through one national committee and submitting an application to more than one national committee will result in disqualification. 
• By clicking on the green "Apply Now" button on the right you will be able to start your application.
• If you get re-routed away from the section you are working on, click "Home" or "View My List" to get back to the application entry page.
• Once the application is open, you will see the list of tasks that need to be completed before you can submit it.
• You can complete the tasks in any order and come back to them at any time up until you hit "Submit".
• Save your work as you go!
• When you fill out the information about your recommenders, they will receive an email with instructions about logging into the system and supplying your reference.  You need 3 recommendations (one from your principal or someone in a leadership role at your current school and two other recommendations) in order for your submission to be complete.
• Once you have submitted your application, no further changes are possible.

Want to better understand this process? Join us at a virtual information session this Fall!

Student Webinar Wednesday Schedule Fall 2024 Coming Soon.

Educator and Parent Fall 2024 Coming Soon.

 

Here is some general info about the application:

The application link is: https://apply.uwc.org

You need to complete every section of the application.

If you have questions about applying that aren’t answered on this website, please contact the UWC National Committee of Canada at apply@ca.uwc.org.

Please note, when completing each section, if you have entered even a partial answer, the status will show up as "Complete".  Don't worry - even if a section says "Complete", you can go back and edit your application at any point up until submission.

Before you submit, review your entire application. Submission will be possible only when all sections are completed, including the upload of your transcript(s) and your recommendations are received.  Your deadline to complete all application sections is the 6th day of November, 2024 at 11:59 pm PDT. Your 3 recommenders will also have until the 6th day of November, 2024 at 11:59 pm PDT to submit their forms on your behalf. (Don't leave this for the last minute! We recommend giving them at the very minimum, two weeks notice to complete their recommendations)  

Applications will be carefully reviewed by selection teams to determine eligibility and suitability for UWC. From the initial pool of applicants, a shortlist of candidates is chosen for personal interviews with regional selection teams.  Candidates who go forward in the process following interviews will be asked to declare their school preferences and in most cases will undergo a financial assessment to determine what a reasonable contribution towards the cost of UWC would be for them.  Candidates who are awarded regional scholarships (Alberta, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Yukon) do not undergo a financial assessment.

What if I miss the application season/deadline?

Rolling applications will be accepted between mid November and early May with the following conditions:

• Students who apply after the November deadline will not be eligible for significant financial assistance or any scholarships. (Whatever financial aid we have left, if any)
• Students who apply after the November deadline will still undergo a rigorous selection process.
• Students who apply after the November deadline MUST NOT have applied through the initial application process or any other national committee.
• Students who apply after the initial November deadline do so with the understanding that available places at UWC will be limited.

Selection

Regional, National, Indigenous, and Refugee selection teams review applications starting in late October.  Candidates selected to attend an interview in their province or territory will usually be notified in early November.  In most regions, shortlisted candidates meet with members of the regional chapter/selection team in-person or virtually.  Applicants not selected to attend an interview will be notified by the NCC in late November. 

Following in-person interviews in Late November/December, regional selection teams recommend finalists to the Matching and Nominations Committee of the NCC.

Matching and Nominations

Candidates who are recommended by their regional team to be considered for a place at UWC will usually be contacted by the NCC in late December to late January.  The nominated recipients of provincial/territorial scholarship awards will be notified and their nominations will be submitted to the UWC they will attend. All other finalist candidates will be asked to provide their school preferences, their health information, as well as the information needed to conduct a financial assessment during this stage. (If they are opting to apply for financial aid.)

All applicants applying through the UWC National Committee of Canada who are not nominated for a provincial/territorial government funded scholarship are means-tested based on income, taxes, and living expenses. This means that low-income families pay nothing, middle-income families pay a small but fair amount, and high-income families pay a rising proportion of their fees. Not all situations are alike, and we work with families to ensure that the amount requested is fair and affordable: our objective is to ensure that no family should have to turn down UWC because they can’t afford it.

The nominations process itself is complex. When finding a place for a student at a UWC, positions have varying deadlines and parameters. Further, some depend on external funding, and many places are dependent on filling other places for reasons such as funding or gender balance. In practice, there can be over a month between our first and last offers. Timing does not reflect the merit of the applicant

Once the NCC matches a student with a place at a UWC school and the details of the offer are finalized, a nominations agreement is prepared and signed by the NCC and the nominee’s family.  The NCC sends a formal nomination package to the UWC school and the final decision is in their hands.  At this point, nominations are usually confirmed by the Colleges within 4-8 weeks, but admission is not final until the school has indicated their acceptance.

Admissions

Once a UWC confirms the nomination from the NCC, the student is notified and the registration and admission process begins.  Visa requirements and study permit processes vary from country to country, so this part of the process is different for each UWC.  It can take up to 3 months to apply to study outside Canada so it is important to follow-up on the instructions provided by the school.  Often a visit is required to the closest embassy or consulate for the country you’ll attend UWC in and some paperwork may need to be signed by a lawyer or notary.

We recommend that if you are hoping to attend a UWC outside of Canada that you have an updated passport that will not expire during your dates of study before you begin the nominations paperwork.

National Committees try to get to know every student and prepare them thoroughly for what awaits them at their school or college so that they are ready for and equipped to make the most of their UWC experience.

At this point in the process the NCC pairs incoming students with current or recent Canadian students at the school they’ll be attending.  This can be helpful in navigating these unfamiliar waters and preparing for life at UWC.

Life at UWC

While you are a student at UWC, your parents/guardians and the NCC receive term reports from your school so we are kept up to date with your progress and experience.  We love to hear how you are doing, and we welcome you to be in touch with us any time.  The NCC can provide support to students and their parents during the two-year school/college experience.

Life after UWC

National Committees play a big role in facilitating alumni engagement with UWC. This is a growing function of the NCC and we hope to increasingly serve the decades’ worth of UWC alumni from and in Canada.  We are keen to be an ‘alumni hub’, and become the go-to place for Canadian alumni to engage with UWC.  We also know alumni play a key role in strengthening and sustaining the work of our national committee. Alumni already form the backbone of the NCC – having lived through the UWC experience; they are our ideal advocates, mentors, and examples of how to “live-the-mission”.