Applications at Oshawa’s Ontario Tech leading province for second straight year

Admission applications for Ontario Tech University has jumped to nearly 12,800 for the 2023-2024 school year, a 19.4 per cent increase from the previous year.

The increase in applications led all of Ontario for the second straight year, following a 33.2 per cent jump in 2022.

As well, the number of Ontario high school applicants confirming offers of admission to Ontario Tech for the coming school year has risen above 2,000 for the first time, representing an 11.7 per cent increase in confirmations over the previous recruitment cycle. This metric dramatically outpaces the provincial university system’s year-over-year average, which declined overall by 1.2 per cent.

The new data extends a clear Ontario Tech trend over the past three recruitment cycles, with high school confirmations increasing by more than 40 per cent since 2020.

The increases in applications and confirmations are remarkable achievements at a time of relatively flat growth in the overall provincial university system, said university President Dr. Steven Murphy.

“Ontario Tech’s application and confirmation numbers over the past several academic cycles offer compelling evidence regarding the strength of our great degree programs and our ever-growing brand awareness,” he said. “Our reputation for high-quality teaching from outstanding faculty, and our embedded experiential workplace learning opportunities are clearly resonating with prospective students.”

Ontario Tech’s year-over-year percentage increase in non-secondary school and out-of-province confirmations also leads the system at 19.7 per cent, with the overall Ontario university system declining 0.7 per cent.

Data from the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre also show Ontario Tech continuing to rank among the highest in the province in year-over-year percentage increase for high school students indicating it as their top university choice (up 17.6 per cent).

Some of the most popular programs among future students at the Oshawa school this year included Engineering, Business, Computer Science and Health Sciences.