Conestoga College
Deferral Guide
Canadian Education For Your Future.
Updated March 2022
Conestoga College
Def e r r a l G ui d e
? I want to defer my program to another intake. What is the frst thing I need to know?
• A deferral refers only to a move from one specifc program to the same program and same campus in a future intake.
• If you want to change your program or withdraw your application altogether, this is NOT a deferral.
• Deferral requests must be made through the OCAS Admissions Portal. The International Admissions team cannot defer
an application in response to an email request.
Please note: Once a deferral is requested, your OCAS application is locked, and no further changes or updates can be made.
? Can I defer the same program multiple times?
Efective May 2022, students are permitted to make ONE (1) deferral within the same application after which the application
will be closed, and a new application will be required.
? How do I know if a deferral is possible for my specifc program?
• First semester tuition fees must be paid and received by the College. If the tuition has been refunded, or only a deposit is
on account, the deferral request will not be granted
• The same program choice is available and open for the next available intake or the intake of choice. For example:
Project Management (Fall 2021) to Project Management (Jan 2022).
• The next step is to confrm the same program availability for the next intake or the future intake of your choice. To do this,
please go to the International website and click HERE to confrm the program is open.
• When checking the future intake availability of the program being deferred to, please be sure to apply the correct flters
for Start Dates, Availability and “Open” programs in your search.
If the above criteria are met, a new ofer and receipt may be issued, pending program availability.
Steps to submit your Deferral Request
Withdraw the current ofer in your OCAS portal and select ‘yes’
1 to defer. Please be sure this is what you’d like to do, because
once the deferral request is submitted, the application is
locked to any further changes.
2 Once you have selected ‘yes’ to defer and provided a
withdrawal reason, you may click ‘continue’.
On the next screen, you may upload supporting
documentation for your deferral request. An example is a visa
3 rejection. Then, you can select your preferred intake to start
your studies and provide any additional information. Once
completed, click ‘Save’ to submit your deferral request for
review and processing.
? Can I request a deferral if I haven’t paid any fees?
Without fees on your Conestoga account, a deferral is not possible.
Instead, if the status of the application is at the ACCEPTED status, you are required to WITHDRAW the current acceptance
in the OCAS portal, and add a new choice (or same program for future intake) for consideration.
Remember, the maximum number of program choices per application is three (3), so if you already have included three
(3) program selections on your OCAS application, a new application (and application fee) will be required.
? Can I request a deferral on a conditional ofer?
No, all conditions of the ofer letter must be met before requesting a deferral. If a deferral request is submitted without all
conditions being met, the request will not be granted.
?
Can I defer if I have already registered for (and taking online classes) the current semester?
No, deferral requests received from registered students cannot be processed without a withdrawal. If you are
registered and taking classes online, please reach out to the admissions team who can guide you through the process at
internationaladmissions@conestogac.on.ca.
? What if the application already has the maximum three (3) program choices selected – how do I
request the deferral?
• If the application already has three (3) program choices selected (which is the maximum per initial application that
OCAS allows) AND you have fees on account, (a true deferral) you must withdraw your OCAS ofer and select “yes” to the
deferral request.
Our Admissions team will review and process your request as soon as possible. Again, be sure to check if the future
program choice is available.
• If the application already has three (3) program choices selected (which is the maximum per initial application that
OCAS allows) BUT you have no fees on account, a brand-new application will be required.
A new application fee will also be required.
The existing application must frst be closed before a new application can be submitted for consideration. Please email the
International Admissions team at internationaladmissions@conestogac.on.ca to let us know that you wish to submit a new
application and are requesting the current application be closed.
? What if the program is not available for the next intake and I want to choose a diferent program
that is available in the next intake?
• If the deferred program choice is not available (for example: Bachelor of Design is only ofered in September intake,
but you want to start classes in January), you can select a new choice from the open list of programs HERE.
• In order to add a new program choice, you must frst withdraw current ofer, reply “NO” to DEFERRAL and add the new
program choice.
If the application already has three (3) program choices selected (which is the maximum per initial application that
OCAS allows), a brand-new application will be required. A new application fee will also be required.
• Once you have made your new program choice, please follow the steps outlined above.
