Application numbers to The University of Western Ontario from high school students are on a par with last year (just under 32,000), although there’s been a spike in applicants from mature, transfer and out-of-province students.
Across the province, high school students are applying to Ontario universities in near record numbers, pushing Western into the top three for most preferred universities – behind Toronto and Ryerson.
York University, which was third last year, has seen a nearly 15 per cent drop in first-choice applications, while overall submission decreased almost 11 per cent. These numbers have been attributed to the ongoing strike by teaching assistants and contract faculty.
Lori Gribbon, Director, Undergraduate Recruitment and Admissions, says numerous factors play into the increase in the number of mature, transfer and out-of-province applications to Western.
“There may be a significant number of previous Ontario high school grads that have gone back and upgraded their marks and are now trying to obtain admission,” she says, adding the university has also been working hard on recruitment efforts.
“The effects of the economy are such that a number of people are simply going back to school,” she adds.
The Council of Ontario Universities says 84,300 university applications were received this year by its application centre, a 1.1-per-cent increase over the record set in 2008 and a 42-per-cent increase over the 59,197 that applied in 2000.
The only year in which the total was higher was the ‘double cohort’ year of 2003 when 102,618 applied following the cancellation of Grade 13, causing two grades to graduate in the same year.
“People increasingly see the importance of a university degree to building a successful career in the knowledge economy, particularly when economic conditions are challenging,” says Peter George, Chair of the Council of Ontario Universities and President of McMaster University.
“We will need to continue working closely with the Ontario government to ensure that we can accommodate the students and provide them with a high quality learning experience at a time when university budgets are under stress.”
The area where Western has experienced a spike in applications is the category of non-secondary school applicants, which includes former high school students, mature, transfer and out of province students, which saw a 7.9-per-cent jump from last year (4,356 to 4,701 applications).
Across the province there was a 9.9-per-cent increase in these applicants to 21,128, even though this group does not have to comply with the same January deadline as Ontario high school students. If the trend continues, according to the COU, the non-secondary applicants this year will ultimately exceed the record total of 44,165 in 2008.
So far, about 3,500 of the 21,128 applicants in this category are Ontario high school students, who have taken a year out before going back to school. This appears to be a trend as many of these students take a few courses in their year out so they can increase their chances of getting into the program and university they most want.
As well, during economic slow-downs in the past, there have typically been increases in the proportion of people wishing to attend university.