Incoming students: fall 2021 term information

While it is impossible to know exactly how the pandemic will evolve, we are looking forward to September with tremendous optimism that much of our vibrant on-campus experience will be able to safely resume.

As long as public health restrictions allow, we will be greatly increasing the number of on-campus classes, focusing especially on the hands-on, community-engaged and problem-based learning that McMaster is known for. Ultimately, we want as many students as possible to have the opportunity to attend in-person learning activities in the fall. First day of classes is set for Tuesday, September 7, 2021.

More information in the Provost’s letter.

Due to physical space constraints, residences will be open to first-year undergraduate students only.

Dining halls in residences will be open to residents, but the mode of food service may be adjusted based on current public health measures (i.e., reduced density or takeout service).

Residence capacity and eligibility are still being determined. Incoming first-year undergraduate students will hear more in early May.

More information in the Provost’s letter.

Information about eligibility criteria for residence, rates for room and meal plans, and instructions on how to apply will be available on the Housing website as soon as it is available.

All incoming first-year students will automatically be admitted to the Archway Program. If you have accepted your offer to McMaster for September 2021, you will have access to Archway! Archway will begin reaching out via email in early June.

Enrolment appointment dates will be listed on our website and in your Mosaic Student Center.

Tuition fees for Canadian citizens will remain frozen for this year in keeping with government policy. Tuition for international students will vary by program and faculty.

From mid-July to August, the Admissions team will clear offer conditions as information is made available.  If you successfully meet all the requirements, an email will be sent to you to confirm this.

To be considered for a deferral, you must accept your offer on OUAC by June 1st and meet all the offer conditions by the listed deadlines. Once you have an unconditional offer, please submit your deferral request via the deferral tile on MOSAIC starting mid-July.

Offer conditions typically need to be met by June 30th, which means summer school courses are too late to use to fulfill your offer conditions. If you are in this situation, please contact us via live chat to discuss options.

If your courses will be delivered online for the fall 2021 term, please indicate online learning as the method of instruction.

Students should indicate living away from home if they will be moving to Hamilton and/or living outside of the family home.  Where the family home is within 30km, the student is expected to live at home. Where the family home is within 30km the student is expected to live at home, but if not, they’ll need to upload an OSAP Request for Review to Adjust Living Allowance.

Students who have already signed a lease for the fall/winter terms and have financial need should take advantage of all resources available such as the Canada Emergency Student Benefit, OSAP, McMaster General Bursary and other aid and awards.

The deferral of the scholarship is automatic with the approval of a deferral of admission.

Students studying at less than a 60% course load or 40% for students with permanent disabilities are encouraged to apply for OSAP for Part-Time Students. The application for 21-22 will be available on the OSAP website soon.

Some of the implications may be:

• You do not demonstrate financial need to be considered for bursaries, work programs, academic grants etc.
• You would need to complete a Continuation of Interest Free Status application if studying full-time, so that your loans do not accumulate interest or go into repayment.
• You would miss out on grants available through the federal and provincial government.
• You accumulate less debt.

Every OSAP assessment includes one of two living allowances.

1. At home (living with parents)
2. Away from home (living outside of parental home)

Dependent students with parents who live within 30km of the university are automatically assessed with the ‘at home’ living allowance regardless of what is noted on the OSAP application.

If your parents live within 30km of the university and you are ‘living away from home’, you’ll need to submit an OSAP Request for Review to Adjust Living Allowance along with supporting documentation such as a lease or rental agreement.

The value of your entrance award may change depending on your final admission average. In mid-July you can check the  ‘View Updated Information’ section in Mosaic for final scholarship information. In August, the value of your award will be listed as ‘Pending Aid’ in Mosaic.  It will be applied to your account after the add/drop date in September. You can deduct value of your award from your total outstanding balance when making a payment to McMaster.

Almost all of the services students normally receive continue to be available. Here are just a few:

• The library has invested in a new service that makes more than 800,000 books from the collection available online along with ongoing subscriptions to journals and other resources for students
• For this fall’s entering class the Archway Program is putting every student into a small group of students along with a staff mentor to help guide them and keep them involved throughout the year
• Faculties have developed special programs to help students get ready for online learning, including the Ember program in Engineering, the DeGroote StartUp Experience and the Student Transition Education Programming in Social Sciences (STEPSS)
• Supervision for research projects, upper-year thesis projects and graduate work continue
• For health professional students, requisite experiences in clinical education, such as simulation, must be arranged and clinical placements must be organized and supervised
• Health and mental health services continue to be available to all students
• Career services continue to run online programming to help students prepare for their careers, as well as co-op and career counsellors within faculties
• Academic advising offices within Faculties will continue to offer personalized guidance to all students for their academic success
• The Equity and Accessibility Office is ready to help with online programs and confidential services and support
• Emergency financial support, along with scholarships and bursaries, are all part of the financial services available to students
• Free student access to computer programs like Microsoft Office and Teams and access to professional research related software

While most university-delivered services are continuing to provide services online (for example, the Student Wellness Centre), supplementary fees will be adjusted appropriately for any service where access has been reduced due to the Covid-19 situation.

Fee amounts charged by student union/associations are the responsibility of those organizations and are not controlled by the university.

We have created a payment plan to help stagger the financial commitment of tuition and fees throughout the academic year. Learn about other financial support.