Deferring an offer of admission

If you'd like to take time to pursue other activities before you start your studies at Waterloo, you can request to defer your admission for a year.

Please do not request a deferral unless you're sure you won't be attending Waterloo for the fall 2026 term. If your deferral is approved, you'll be removed from all of your classes and residence. 

Introduction

• You can request a deferral from the fall 2026 term to the fall 2027 term. Winter (January to April) and Spring (May to August) deferrals are not available. 
• All Waterloo undergraduate programs are eligible for a maximum of one-year deferral to fall 2027. 
  • For Pharmacy students, we'll defer to the appropriate term start.
• You may take high school courses for personal interest during the deferral period.
• You may not pursue college or university studies during the deferral period.
  • If you take post-secondary courses during your deferral period, your deferral is void.
  • If you take post-secondary courses without disclosing this, your application is considered academic fraud and you will not be able to pursue studies at Waterloo.
• Are you an international student? If you do not receive your study permit by the start of classes and are interested in a deferral to January, please email myapplication@uwaterloo for assistance.

Scholarships and entrance bursaries

• If you received a President’s Scholarship or Merit Scholarship for fall 2026, the scholarship will be held for you until you begin your first-year studies.
• If you're an Ontario student and you received an entrance bursary, you'll need to reapply when the application opens in February 2027.
• Consideration for other entrance scholarships and financial aid will be on an individual basis, as some awards are not eligible for deferral. For more information, contact Student Awards and Financial Aid.

International students

If you received the International Student Entrance Scholarship and defer your studies, your scholarship will be available to help pay your first- and second-term tuition fees next fall as long as you continue to meet the eligibility requirements.

• If your deferral is approved before August 1, you're eligible to have the residence deposit refunded.
• If your deferral is approved after August 1, your deposit will be applied to your student account once you move into residence in 2027.

To have your deposit refunded, you must log into the Housing Hub website, click "Cancel Housing Contract", and submit the cancellation form before August 1. Be sure to select ‘deferral’ as the reason. You'll use your userid@uwaterloo.ca email and password to log in.

Your deposit will be refunded back to the original payment source/method.

Common questions about deferrals

When will I find out about my deferral?

Each request will be considered on an individual basis. Deferrals will be approved as quickly as possible in July and August once all conditions outlined on an offer of admission have been met.

What happens when I want to start studying?

1. You will not be required to reapply through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC) next year. We’ll send you a new offer of admission in early 2027. You'll need to accept that by April 1, 2027 using the applicant portal. 
2. Follow the instructions in the deferral approval email we'll send you and accept your new Offer of Admission by the date indicated on the offer.

Please ensure the email address listed in your Waterloo portal account is one you'll check in February 2027. That is the address we'll send the instructions to. You can log into the portal during your deferral to update your email address if needed.

Can I defer for longer than one year?

For students with military service requirements, you could be eligible for a two-year deferral, pending documented proof of service. Email myapplication@uwaterloo.ca for more information.

For all other students, one year is the maximum deferral period. 

Are deferrals available in all programs?

• Deferrals are not allowed for Conditional Admission to Pharmacy (CAP). If you have questions, please contact pharmacy@uwaterloo.ca.
• The Doctor of Optometry (OD) program does not allow deferrals. If you have questions, please contact opt-admissions@uwaterloo.ca.
• The School of Pharmacy may, under very exceptional circumstances, consider deferring an offer of admission for the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program.
  • When submitting the deferral request form, please include the following information in the Explanation section. 
    • The reason(s) for requesting a deferral of admission to the PharmD program, and 
    • A breakdown of your plans, both academic and non-academic, during the deferral period (January 2027 to January 2028).
• Bachelor of Social Work (BSW):  Deferral requests for the BSW program may be considered under very exceptional circumstances. For further information, contact renison.socialwork@uwaterloo.ca.

Have you already paid your tuition fees?

Canadian students

• If you have a credit balance on Quest, it could be refunded in the third month of term provided there is a Canadian bank account on your Quest account. If there is no banking information on Quest, you will not be refunded, and the credit balance will be applied to future term fees. Please contact Student Financial Services at sfshelp.uwaterloo.ca with any questions or concerns.
• If your OSAP or government financial aid from your home province has been issued to the University of Waterloo, some or all of the credit balance on your student account may need to be repaid to the National Student Loan Service Centre (NSLSC).
• Any funding you receive should be repaid to the NSLSC. For assistance with this process, please contact Student Awards and Financial Aid.

International students

• If you have a credit balance on Quest, you can leave the credit balance on Quest and it will be applied to future term fees.
• You may, however, request a refund by contacting Student Financial Services to arrange an international refund. Note that if you paid
  • the $5,000 tuition deposit only, there will be no refund, all your term fees, your international refund will be reduced for the non-refundable tuition deposit of $5000.

Please contact Student Financial Services at sfshelp.uwaterloo.ca with any questions or concerns.

If you have some questions about deferring your Offer of Admission, please contact us at myapplication@uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4567, ext. 43106.