Recently I applied to teacher’s college and initially I was extremely excited about this new chapter in my life. However, once I actually sat down and tried to start working on my applications, I felt completely lost. All of my excitement was gone and had been replaced with anxiety. I didn’t know where to go or what was needed for each of the different schools I was applying to. If you are considering applying to teacher’s college in the future, then this article will hopefully be helpful for you. I wish someone would have been able to help me like I am hoping to do for anyone reading this.
The process of applying can be extremely stressful, especially if you are in the same situation as I was and don’t even know what website to apply to. The application process is similar to that of when you would have applied to your undergraduate program in high school. You have to apply through the OUAC website, but finding where to go and what each school requires can be a long and confusing experience. The problem I had with this is that I didn’t understand how they expect us to remember how we applied from four to five years ago (depending on the length of your program and other factors). I graduated high school in 2016, so attempting to apply to teacher’s college back at the beginning of November was difficult for me since I hadn’t even looked at the OUAC website in over 4 years. Luckily for all of you, I can tell you exactly where to go as well as some other helpful tips.
Once you’re on the OUAC website (ouac.on.ca), you are going to want to click on the application for TEAS (Teacher’s Ed). Once you’re on this page, there will be a bunch of different links and information that will probably overwhelm you as it overwhelmed me. There are two things you are going to want to focus on doing here. First is the section that lists all the schools that offer the BEd (Bachelor of Education) program so that you can see the different requirements for each. Knowing where you want to apply and what they all require is going to be important. The second thing that you are going to want to do once you have looked over the expectations for each university is to log in to OUAC or make an account with OUAC and log in. Once you are logged in (using the login link on the right side), there will be links available and the application process should present itself in clear sight to you as long as you are within the right time frame to apply. One thing I should warn you of, however, is the cost. I was shocked at how much applications can cost, it is certainly a hefty price so have your credit card out and remember to take deep breaths, it will be worth it! Once you have followed the step-by-step instructions, the website prompts you through, and after paying an arm and a leg for it, the application process is almost finished!
Within the next few days, you will likely receive an email from the different schools that you applied to or you will get a letter in the mail. Here, they will ask you to complete the last few steps of the application process. Each school is different, some will require different documents and experience profiles, others may not need anything extra. The steps that they lay out for you in these emails or letters are pretty straightforward and easy to follow. Once you complete the required documents for each of the schools, you’re finished! Now all that is left to do is wait until February when they begin to send out the acceptances. It can feel like forever when waiting, but it will all be worth it in the end.
One final tip I have is to not be afraid to contact the academic advisors at Laurier or whatever school you are currently enrolled at. They have some great resources that can help you and they may even be able to walk you through the process, likely better than I have. They will also be able to tell you what schools you have higher chances of getting into and what your grades will allow you to do going forward. This isn’t just for a BEd though, contact the academic advising staff at your school for help with any graduate program questions or concerns. This is, quite literally, what they have been hired to do. Their job is to help students succeed even when their time at that school is coming to an end. They will be able to give you PDF handouts and online resources that will likely ease some of your stress and confusion. I can’t recommend reaching out to academic advising enough.
Applying to teacher’s college or any graduate program is extremely stressful if you don’t know what you need or where to apply. I hope that this article was helpful to someone stressed out about taking the next steps towards their goals. I wish everyone the best of luck with their applications. Don’t worry, it isn’t so scary once you get the ball rolling.