Applications for most Alberta post secondary schools opens on the first Monday in October of a student's grade 12 year. Yes - that's 11 months before you would start attending that post secondary.
Some things to consider before applying:
- What are the required courses?
- University usually requires English 30-1 (MacEwan has a couple programs that are exceptions in that they accept English 30-2)
- NAIT, Concordia, Norquest will have different English requirements depending on the program. Some may only require English 20-2.
- What is the competitive average for your chosen program?
- U of A competitive Average
- MacEwan competitive Average
- King's University is non-competitive
- What do they mean by competitive and non-competitive entrance?
- Competitive Entrance has a window for applying. Students need to meet a minimum requirement. However, the minimum requirement is usually not enough as the institution takes the applicants with the highest marks.
- Non-Competitive Entrance has an application start date. They accept any and all students who meet the requirements until the program is full. Some programs at NAIT fill in the first couple of days. Other programs are accepting students right up until the program starts.
- Can you afford Post Secondary?
- University degree tuition is over $5000 per year, plus books and other fees. If you need to live away from home, expect $20,000 per year once residence or off campus housing and other living expenses are factored in.
- NAIT and colleges are less, but not a lot less. The main benefit is that diplomas and certificates are shorter than degrees. Expect $4500 in tuition and up to $2000 in books and supplies; that's per year. College certificates and diplomas are usually only a year or two. Degrees are usually 4 years. Kings University offers three year degrees in some programs.
- Do Summer School courses count?
- Yes and no. Any course on the official student transcript could be used for entrance. However, summer school courses taken after grade 12 will not appear on the student's transcript in time to use for the September start date.
- Each application costs $50 to $120. However, applying during an open house can reduce or eliminate this fee.
Apply Alberta
ApplyAlberta is an online application and transcript transfer system that anyone can use to apply to undergraduate programs at one or more of Alberta's post-secondary institutions.
To set up an account and to start applying takes time. You will need your myPass account, your Alberta Student Number, and a credit card (to pay for the registrations).
The system is a work in progress. Currently, once you start an application to a specific institution, any changes you make to your general ApplyAlberta Account are not synched. For example; a student applies to the University of Alberta on October 1st. They do not get conditional acceptance at this time. As the semester continues, the student completes a course and receives a course change. The student will need to update the Apply Alberta information AND any applications that have already been started. Click here for ApplyAlberta.
Athletes and Post Secondary
Romero Alumni have played for University and College teams. We have had track athletes make the University of Alberta team. Our cross country runners have run for MacEwan and Lakeland College. A recent alumni has been invited to the University of Calgary for a volleyball tryout. Romero student athletes have also made college teams for soccer, basketball, and volleyball. There may be others as well. Talk to your coaches about what level of team you have the skill set for. There may be scholarship opportunities for student athletes.
Bigger Universities will compete in the higher caliber USport (formerly CIS - Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Smaller universities and bigger colleges will play ACAC - Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference. The smallest colleges might play in the PAC- Prairie Athletic Conference.