Transfer Credits in Ontario: Using ONTransfer to Move from College to University

If you’re in an Ontario college diploma and thinking, “Maybe I do want a degree after all,” transfer can save you both time and tuition. It can also waste a year if you guess instead of planning.

The main tool in Ontario is ONTransfer, run by ONCAT. It’s basically the map: you plug in your college program and see which universities usually take it, and for how much credit. This guide walks through how students actually use that map, where universities can still say “no,” and what to watch for with OSAP while you move.

Where ONTransfer fits in (and what it can’t decide)

ONTransfer doesn’t sit in some secret office deciding your credits. It does something simpler and really useful:

• It collects official pathways and course matches that colleges, universities, and Indigenous Institutes have agreed to share.
• It lets you search those matches in two main ways:
  • By program – “I’m in a two-year Business diploma, where could that lead?”
  • By course – “I took BUS 100, does anyone treat it like one of their intro econ/commerce courses?”

Across Ontario, there are thousands of these pathways and hundreds of thousands of possible combinations. Tens of thousands of students use them every year.

But:

• ONTransfer is showing what’s usually possible, not your personal guarantee.
• The real decision arrives later, in your offer of admission and official transfer-credit assessment.

So the mindset shift is:

Use ONTransfer to pick smart targets. Rely on the university’s written assessment to know exactly what you’ve earned.

A realistic transfer plan (what most students actually do)

You don’t have to follow this in perfect order, but this is roughly what works.

1. Start with ONTransfer, not random Reddit posts

Open ONTransfer’s Transfer Guide and look at your options from two angles:

• Program-to-Program:
  • Put in your current diploma and see which degrees usually accept it.
  • Pay attention to:
    • How many years of advanced standing you might get
    • Whether the school uses “block credit” for the whole diploma
    • Any minimum GPA or “good standing” notes in the pathway
• Course-to-Course:
  • Search specific courses you’ve taken or will take.
  • Check whether they show up as known equivalents at your target universities.
  • Note any minimum grade listed for that equivalency.

Write down 2–3 universities that keep popping up as good matches, not just the one with the prettiest campus.

2. Look up the “rules behind the rules” on each university site

Every university has its own small print. Two ideas matter most:

• Residency – how much of the degree you must complete at that university
• Maximum transfer credit – the most they’ll award from previous study, even if you’ve done more

When you read their transfer-credit or academic regulations pages, you’ll usually see something like:

• A minimum number of credits that must be earned at the new university (often a big chunk of the final 2 years)
• A cap on transfer credits (“up to X credits” or “no more than two years of advanced standing”)

The question you’re really answering is:

“If I choose this school, how many years do I still have left?”

If the policy page is dense, email the transfer credit office with your current program name, college, and rough GPA and ask them to sanity-check what you’re reading.

3. Be honest about your grades (they matter more than people think)

Most transfer pathways are built on two ideas:

• Your courses are similar enough, and
• You passed them with at least a certain minimum grade

Patterns you’ll see (exact cut-offs vary):

• General/non-degree courses: usually need at least around C / 60%
• Degree-level or core courses: often need B / 70% or higher to count as the direct equivalent
• Very old or very low-grade courses: might be refused even if ONTransfer shows a match

If transfer is the plan, treat your first-year diploma courses like they’re your audition for university. Hitting the minimum is okay; being clearly above it is better when someone is looking at your file and there are limited spots.

4. Apply the right way and give them what they need

Most college students heading to university use OUAC 105 (the transfer/mature applicant route), but always follow the instructions on your target school’s site.

In practice, the flow is:

1. You apply to the degree program.
2. You (hopefully) receive an offer of admission.
3. You send in:
   • Official transcripts from your college
   • Any course outlines/syllabi the university asks for
4. The university does a transfer-credit assessment and tells you:
   • Which courses or blocks transferred
   • How many credits/years you’ve been given
   • What conditions (if any) apply).

Until you get that last piece in writing, you’re guessing. Don’t plan your degree length or OSAP around guesses.

5. Read the fine print before you hit “Accept”

Two students can both get offers and end up in very different situations. Before you accept, compare:

• Residency:
  • How many credits must you earn at the new university to graduate there?
  • Does this basically lock you into two or three more years?
• Max transfer credit:
  • Is the school giving you all the credit you expected from ONTransfer?
  • Is there a cap that cuts you off, even though you finished a longer diploma?
• Bridges and missing prereqs:
  • Does the pathway include a short “bridge” semester?
  • Are there courses you’ll have to backfill because your diploma didn’t cover them?

Sometimes the “slightly less famous” university wins because it lets you walk in closer to third year instead of repeating a ton of content.

Keeping OSAP happy while you move

OSAP itself doesn’t hate transfers. It just cares that:

• You’re in an eligible full-time program
• Your study periods line up with what’s in their system
• You keep up satisfactory academic progress

A few basics:

• You file a new full-time OSAP application every academic year, even when you change schools.
• OSAP’s general deadlines for full-time students:
  • Application: no later than 60 days before the end of your study period
  • Required documents and reviews: no later than 40 days before the end.
• Your college and your new university both need to update your status (end date / start date) so OSAP doesn’t think you’ve just vanished mid-year.

Before you drop courses, take a gap term, or switch to part-time, it’s worth a quick email or visit to the financial aid office to ask, “What will this do to my OSAP now and next year?”

Alex’s transfer: two-year Business diploma → BCom (composite story)

Alex finished a two-year Business diploma at an Ontario college. Halfway through second year, they started wondering if a BCom would open more doors.

Using ONTransfer

• Alex runs a Program-to-Program search: Business diploma → BCom/Business degree.
• Two universities show up within commuting distance:
  • University A: will usually take the full diploma as a block and grant the equivalent of two years of credit if your GPA hits their minimum; there’s also a one-semester bridge.
  • University B: offers less credit (about 1.5 years), but the admissions bar is a bit lower and there’s no formal bridge.

Checking policy pages

• University A requires a solid GPA and has a clear “2+2” map: two years at college + two at university.
• University B gives a bit less credit and has a stricter residency requirement, meaning more time on their campus.

Thinking about OSAP and money

• Alex checks OSAP timelines: college ends in April; university starts in September.
• They confirm that:
  • They can apply for OSAP at the new school as a transfer
  • The bridge semester at University A qualifies as part of a full-time study period

In the end, Alex chooses University A. The expectations are a bit tougher, but the total time to a BCom is shorter and the credit offer is clearer. ONTransfer showed the options; the university’s assessment and rules turned it into a real plan.

A few extra notes for international students

If you’re already in Ontario on a study permit and thinking about a transfer:

• PGWP rules matter:
  • Check that both your college program and your target university program are at eligible DLIs and campuses for the Post-Graduation Work Permit. Always confirm on the current IRCC site.
• Mind the gaps:
  • Ask your international office what happens if there’s a gap between your college and university start dates.
• Keep proof of full-time study:
  • Transcripts, letters, and enrolment confirmations can all matter later if you’re applying for work permits or other immigration programs.

ONTransfer is about credits; your status and work rights come from IRCC and your school’s international office.

Quick answers to common transfer questions

Will all my diploma credits transfer?
No. It depends on how closely your diploma lines up with the degree, your grades, and the university’s own caps and residency rules. ONTransfer shows patterns; your official assessment after admission shows your personal result.

Does my GPA move with me?
Usually not. At many universities, your new GPA is built from courses you take there. Transfer credits often show as pass/fail or as generic equivalents. Check your university’s policy if you’re relying on a specific GPA for grad school later.

Is ONTransfer only for college → university?
No. ONTransfer also covers college-to-college, university-to-university, and pathways involving Indigenous Institutes. College → university is just one of the most common routes.

What if there’s no published pathway for my exact combo?
That doesn’t automatically mean “no credit.” You can:

• Use Course-to-Course search to check individual matches
• Ask the target faculty if they’ll do a case-by-case assessment with your transcripts and syllabi

It just means the process may be more manual and slower.

The big picture in one sentence

ONTransfer helps you avoid guessing—but the real win comes from pairing it with each university’s rules, your actual grades, and an honest OSAP/money plan before you hit “accept.”