Admission Glossary

A visual process in your Applicant Portal showing your application status from the submission of your application, through the review process to the final decision.

If the icon highlighted is green (with a checkbox), you have fulfilled that stage. The icon which is highlighted in blue indicates your application’s current status.

Indicates that the application has been submitted and payment has been received.

Refers to the list of documentation/materials required to review your file in the admission system. Note that document requirements may vary depending on the program to which you applied.

Applicants are responsible for monitoring the status of their application. When submitting documents, please do so in the precise manner described. Applicants failing to complete their files run the risk of file cancellation.

Please submit ONLY what has been requested. Do not submit, or ask others to submit, any other documents, including reference letters, personal statements, or extracurricular information. Additional, unrequested, documents may slow the processing of your file and will not increase your chances of admission.

*Consult the different checklist items in the next section below (section III).

Status describing when an application is under assessment. Your application appears to be complete and is in the queue for review.

No action is required of you. Nonetheless, it is a good idea to regularly check your file status on the Applicant Portal as additional documents may be requested following review.

Note: If an updated version of your documents or additional documentation is required, you will be notified by email. In the Applicant Portal, your application will move back to the “Provide supporting documents” status until the missing checklist item is submitted and showing as fulfilled.

This status refers to the process of receiving the official admission outcome once a decision has been made upon your application. The decision letter is available under this status.

Note: If your application is cancelled you will no longer see the status icons. The only status you will see is “Cancelled”.

*See decisions in more detail in the section below, Section II.

Once you accept your offer of admission, and pay the deposit, you will be required to fulfill the conditions of admission (if applicable) as also outlined in your decision letter.

Conditions of admission mean that admitted applicants must submit specific official documents. These requirements are displayed in the Applicant Portal, if applicable.

For more information about this section, consult the following link or access it from your offer of admission letter: https://www.mcgill.ca/accepted/nextsteps/finalmarks

For the majority of applicants: Following initial review, your application was deemed more competitive than those already refused but less competitive than those already admitted, placing your application in the pending status or “grey zone”. Gradually, during the review cycle, as we fill the spaces in each program, the “grey zone” will shrink, and the final admission threshold will be determined.

The pending status will show in your Applicant Portal and your application will remain as “In Review”.

No action is required of you. Nonetheless, it is a good idea to check your file status regularly on the Applicant Portal.

How do I know my “pending status” has changed? Once a decision is rendered on your application, you will receive an email and the application status in your Portal will be updated.

For applicants to B. Sc. Architecture:

Where the applicant’s academic requirements are within the general required range, a decision of ‘Reviewed-Decision Pending’ is made on the file until the majority of applications to Architecture are reviewed.

Your application was placed on a waiting list so that you may be considered if space becomes available. Applicants are admitted from the waitlist in order of merit.

You will be informed by email about the waiting list offer, where you will be directed to the Applicant Portal. 

If you receive a waiting list offer and would like to remain on the list, please accept the waiting list offer in the Applicant Portal by the deadline date in your waiting list offer.

1. Accepting the waiting list offer
   
   After accepting the waiting list offer, your application is flagged as waiting list and appears as “in review” status. This means, we have received your confirmation that you wish to remain on the waiting list; you will be advised if a space becomes available.
   
   While you are on a waiting list, there is little for you to do other than to check the Applicant Portal regularly for changes. See Estimated decision release dates for decision time-frames. Note that decisions may take longer for certain programs.
   
   Waiting list considerations:
   
   Note: Accepting a waiting list offer will not impact the outcome of any other application decision. As well, accepting an offer of admission will also not impact the eventual outcome of the waiting list.
   
   Many candidates ask: "What are my chances?" or "Where am I ranked on the list?" Our waiting lists are not ranked, and we cannot predict outcomes.
   
   While on the waiting list, please do not send or ask others to send extra documents to be added to your file, including expressions of interest to study at McGill. Such documents will not be part of the evaluation, will not be reviewed, and may slow the further processing of your file.
   
   Being admitted from a waiting list may begin at any time, and can continue throughout the months of June, July and August. Please consult your waiting list letter on the Applicant Portal for further information.
2. Refusing the waiting list offer
   
   If you refuse the waiting list offer, your application will show the message “Cancelled by applicant.” No further steps are required.

Great news! You have been admitted to the program. If you have applied to another program, that decision will arrive separately. Please consult the letter of admission on your Applicant Portal for additional specifications regarding your offer and the required next steps. Please note that this electronic letter of admission is the official version and no other will be issued.

The offer letter is available in the Portal as follows:

Important: Your admission offer is not considered to be confirmed until you accept the offer on your Portal and pay the deposit.

If you were admitted while you were completing your studies, you are expected to maintain a level of academic performance similar to what you were achieving at the time you were offered admission, and to earn your diploma and/or leaving credential.

While there is no fixed grade standing or percentage that you must attain in your final examinations, you are expected to continue to strive for excellent results. If grades fall significantly or should you fail a course or courses, you will likely be asked to explain the circumstances. Without a reasonable explanation for the grade fluctuation, you may be at risk of your offer being withdrawn.

Admitted applicants who accept their offer of admission will, if applicable, need to arrange for official final documents to be sent by your school or issuing institution(s) according to the details in your Applicant Portal (e.g. final official exam results; final official transcripts, proof of graduation, etc.).

In the Applicant Portal, after accepting the offer of admission and paying the deposit, your official offer letter becomes available. You can download a copy of your letter by clicking on the view your letter link or the display button as showed in the Portal.

Important: If you are not a citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, you will initially receive an unofficial admission letter. After you accept your offer and pay the deposit, the admission letter will become official and will be the document used for immigration purposes.

Admitted students who have accepted their offer of admission have the option to defer admission for up to one academic year. Deferral requests are submitted through the Applicant Portal by clicking "Defer your application" under the conditions of admission. Note that you will be asked to provide a statement regarding your plans during the deferral period.

Requests for a deferral are reviewed and decided by the Admissions deferral team. While your request is in progress, a “deferral requested” status appears in your Applicant Portal.

If your deferral request is granted, you will be informed by email. Later the new deferred-to term will be created and a decision will be entered, which you will again need to accept. Note: A deferral request can only be made ONCE.

If the deferral request is refused, you will be informed by email and the status of your original application and term will remain active. 

You will be notified by email that a decision has been made. You can consult the refusal letter in the Portal as shown below:

Each year, McGill University receives a very large number of applications from excellent candidates for a limited number of spaces. This means that admission is highly competitive and regrettably we must refuse many motivated, high-achieving applicants.

Rest assured that our admission decisions have taken into account the various elements of your application including your level of academic achievement, results in specific prerequisite courses, and any additional submitted information.

Reasons for refusal include:

• Refused–Academic Requirements Not Met
  
  Admission decisions are based on demonstrated academic or (in the case of Music), performance based merit, including grades, test scores, auditions and other specific program requirements. Unfortunately, your results do not meet this year’s standards. Due to timing and limited space, it is not normally possible to reconsider refused applicants on repeated courses or improved final grades.
• Refused-Ltd Space Available
  
  McGill programs attract many more applicants than enrolment capacity. Accordingly, admission is very competitive, and we refuse some strong, motivated applicants like you each year.
  
  Alternately, you may have been on a waiting list, where spaces did not open up.
• Refused-Language Requirement Not Met
  
  We refused your application because you do not meet the English proficiency requirements for this program.
  
  Certain programs require proof of French proficiency which must be demonstrated by one of our accepted tests and results must meet the posted minimums.
  
  Please note that there may be factors in addition to your English proficiency which might have disqualified your application. Therefore, providing a higher English/French test score will not necessarily qualify you for admission.
• Refused-Missing Prerequisite
  
  You are missing academic prerequisites for your program. In many cases, math and science courses completed more than five years ago are considered to be out-of-date and are not accepted as prerequisites.
• Refused-Ineligible
  
  You may have presented inadequate academic credentials, such as having studied at a non-accredited school, not having completed all graduation requirements (e.g., not having completed the Chinese Huikao), completing applied, technical, or vocational high school diploma, or not having studies beyond the Quebec Secondary V diploma. 

• Offer Withdrawn
  
  Previously, McGill admitted you; we must now withdraw that offer.
  
  Some situations where an offer could be withdrawn:
  1. Your grades have fallen significantly, or you have several failures in key courses without an acceptable explanation;
  2. You have not provided the required final academic documentation to us in a timely manner;
  3. We have identified unexplained irregularities in, or omissions from your application.
  McGill reserves the right to withdraw or reinstate an offer or otherwise modify an admission decision without prior notice.
• Offer Withdrawn after Deadline
  
  The deadline to accept the offer of admission is indicated in your Applicant Portal and decision letter. Once the deadline to accept has passed, offers may be withdrawn. Accordingly, it is normally not possible for us to reinstate an offer of admission.
• Cancelled by University
  
  Your application for the program specified has been cancelled as it was either:
  1. Incomplete after the document submission deadline, or,
  2. You did not accept a waiting list offer.

The application checklist is a list of items/documents required to complete your application. Typically, a red ❌ appears next to an unreceived checklist item and a green check mark ✅ means the checklist item is received. It can take a few minutes to see the checklist status change after uploading documents.

Please submit ONLY what has been requested. Do not send or ask others to send additional documents (including references, personal statements or extracurricular information). This will slow the processing of your file and will not increase your chances of admission. Applicants failing to complete their files run the risk of file cancellation. 

When all required checklist items in your Applicant Portal show a green check mark ✅, your file status will show as “in review” and will be in the queue for admission review. 

Feature in the Applicant Portal allowing you to submit files and documents so they can be stored and processed within your application.

Note: If you are not asked to upload documents, this tool will not be available.

Most commonly used document formats are accepted. However, please note that ‘form fill PDF’ or password-protected documents cannot be accepted. If your source document is formatted this way, we recommend that you print to PDF and upload the new version.

It allows you to access the recommenders entered into the application to view submission statuses and interact with recommendation requests. This option is only available for programs requiring referees/recommenders.

Section in the Applicant Portal that allows applicants to make changes to your personal information.

What can be changed? Preferred language, mailing and permanent address, primary phone number and mobile phone number. After hitting the Submit button, changes will be implemented in your Applicant Portal.

Section in the Applicant Portal that allows the applicant to make changes to Portal access.

What can be changed? Email address and password.

Applicants who have submitted their application and paid  the application fee have the option to communicate directly with our teams by using the Applicant 'Get Help' form in their Applicant Portal.

Note: If you use this resource, please wait for a response from us. Do not submit your request more than once as receiving multiple requests may slow down our processing time.