How to Get Into U of T From Algeria: Bac, OUAC 105, Video

What U of T looks at from an Algerian applicant

U of T’s high school requirements by country page gives Algeria one line: “Baccalauréat d’Enseignement Secondaire.” No grade band, no subject list, and no published cut-off; “all applicants must also meet our English language requirements and any prerequisites for their chosen program area.” The one nearby figure U of T does publish is for the French bac: U of T Engineering’s out-of-Canada page says that for Baccalauréat applicants “grades of 14 or higher are recommended for admissions consideration.” That is a French-bac line, not an Algerian one, but it shows how a faculty that sees many /20 transcripts thinks: 14 is where consideration starts, not where offers are.

U of T’s required documents page asks for “full documentation (transcripts) for all secondary studies attempted,” uploaded through JOIN U of T (or the Engineering Applicant Portal), with official copies to finalise an offer. Documents “in a language other than English or French” need notarized translations, so a French relevé is fine as is and an Arabic-only bulletin needs a translator’s stamp. U of T decides on your bulletins in the spring and makes the bac a condition; the relevé de notes and attestation go in when ONEC issues them.

The grades and subjects by program

Supplemental dates are from U of T’s deadlines page and its supplemental applications list; confirm both before you plan around them. “Prerequisite” means the subject appears at 3e AS level on your transcript. The Algerian bac has no separate calculus course, so ask your lycée for a stamped programme of study in French showing the 3e AS mathématiques content and upload it beside the bulletins; it answers the question before an admissions officer asks it.

English: the bac does not exempt you

U of T’s English language requirements exempt applicants with four or more years in an English-medium school in a majority-English country and a few named qualifications. Algerian schooling in Arabic and French is not one of them. Minimums, checked September 2026:

• IELTS Academic: 6.5 overall, no band below 6.0.
• TOEFL iBT: for tests taken after January 21, 2026, 4.5 overall on the new scale with 4.5 in Writing and 4.0 in Speaking; earlier tests 89 with 22 in Writing and Speaking.
• Duolingo English Test: 120 overall with 120 in Production.
• CAEL: 70, no part below 60. PTE Academic: 65, no part below 60. Cambridge C1/C2: 180 with 170 in each component.

Scores must arrive by your document deadline: January 15 for Engineering, February 1 for everything else. Sit the test by November.

How and when to apply for Fall 2027 entry

Two routes, and U of T’s applications page says pick one: OUAC 105 if you are applying to any other Ontario university, or the U of T International Application ($196, non-refundable) if you live outside Canada, have never studied in Canada and apply only to U of T. “If you submit more than one, your second application will be canceled without a refund.” The OUAC 105 walkthrough is written for students in British Columbia but the form is the same one you fill in from Oran or Algiers.

The dates for Fall 2027 entry, from the deadlines page:

• November 7, 2026: recommended early application date, documents by December 1, for the earliest decision rounds.
• January 15, 2027: application deadline for most programs, and the Engineering document and Online Student Profile deadline.
• February 1, 2027: document deadline for Arts & Science, UTM and UTSC, and the supplemental deadline for Rotman, Computer Science and UTSC programs.
• January to late May 2027: decisions in rounds; deposits fall due between February and May, per U of T’s international student timeline; residence applications close March 31.

The part you control: the supplementals

Arts & Science has no supplemental; the file is your bulletins and the test, and for most Algerian applicants there is nothing to write. The programs that add something:

• Rotman Commerce: timed video responses and short written answers, recorded in Rotman’s own portal after you apply. Questions are not published; the Rotman Commerce supplemental application guide describes the format and the kind of question it asks.
• Engineering: the Online Student Profile, which U of T says exists “to evaluate extracurricular involvement” and warns “if you do not complete your Supplemental Application, your application will not be considered.” It includes a timed video; see the Engineering Online Student Profile guide.
• Computer Science (St. George): a written supplemental. UTSC Management: the Supplementary Application Form, covered in the UTSC Management BBA supplementary application guide.

The video is where Algerian applicants lose ground, and it is rarely about English level. It is about answering an unseen question out loud, on a clock, in a third language, and finishing on time. That is rehearsable. AcceptMe puts you on camera with a fresh question, 30 seconds to think, 90 seconds to answer, then a transcript with the coach’s notes, so you can hear yourself run past the time or bury the point in the last ten seconds. Do six before the real one. The written Rotman and Computer Science answers go through the essay coach the same way.

Money: tuition, scholarships, proof of funds

U of T’s 2026-27 tuition fee schedules list international tuition for students entering in 2026 of $66,110 for Arts & Science (including UTM and UTSC) and $72,860 for Applied Science & Engineering, in Canadian dollars, and give planned 2027-28 figures “for information only” of $68,750 and $75,770. Commerce and Computer Science charge the Arts & Science rate in first year and a higher rate from second year ($75,150 for Commerce and $69,030 for Computer Science in 2026-27). Incidental fees, residence and $1,000 to $2,000 of books, per U of T’s fees page, come on top. Final 2027-28 fees are approved in spring 2027.

Scholarships an Algerian applicant can get, from U of T’s international scholarships page:

• Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship: tuition, books, incidental fees and residence for four years, about 37 a year. Your school nominates you by October 9, 2026; you apply to U of T by October 16, 2026 and submit the scholarship application by November 6, 2026, per the Pearson page. Ask your lycée director in September.
• University of Toronto Scholars Program and the President’s Scholars of Excellence (about 150 a year): automatic, on the admission average.
• Arts & Science Global Scholarship: full international tuition for four years, automatic consideration on merit and need.

For the permit, IRCC’s proof of financial support page requires $23,448 for one year of living costs for applications on or after September 1, 2026, plus first-year tuition and travel. The dinar transfer paperwork is the slow part; start it when you apply.

The study permit

IRCC’s 2026 cap notice sets 155,000 new arrivals nationally and gives Ontario 104,780 allocation spaces, the largest share. You need an Ontario Provincial Attestation Letter, issued through U of T after you accept and pay the deposit, submitted with the permit application per IRCC’s PAL page. Apply the week the PAL lands: letter of acceptance, PAL, passport, proof of funds and a letter of explanation online, then biometrics ($85, within 30 days of the letter) at the VFS Global centre in Algiers listed on IRCC’s visa application centre finder. Algeria was never a Student Direct Stream country, so that stream’s closure in November 2024 changed nothing here. IRCC publishes no Algeria approval rate; clear funds and a study plan that matches the program you were admitted to are what officers read for.

A worked video answer, written to the format

Practice question written to the Engineering Online Student Profile format, not a real U of T prompt: “Describe a time you had to change your approach partway through a project. What did you do differently, and what came of it?” Rayan, bac Maths-Techniques, moyenne 16.9/20, from Annaba. Spoken in about 85 seconds.

Timing note: the scene is set in under 20 seconds, the turn comes near the 35-second mark, and the last line lands before the clock does. Rehearse with a 30-second prep and a 90-second answer and you arrive at the real recording with room to spare. The video answer length guide explains why stopping early beats being cut off.

Mistakes Algerian applicants make

• Submitting both applications. OUAC 105 or the U of T International Application, never both.
• Missing the Engineering profile. Without it the application is not considered. Due January 15, recommended December 1.
• Reading the deadline as the document deadline. Engineering documents and the test score are due January 15; the others February 1. A late IELTS moves you to a later round.
• Translating a video answer from French in your head. Prepare stories in English, out loud, on a clock; the format punishes silent translation more than accent.
• Learning about Pearson in January. Nomination closes October 9, 2026 and requires an admission application by October 16.

Where to go next

The same bac is read differently at the other two schools: the UBC admission guide for Algerian applicants covers a school that does not list Algeria at all and reads a Personal Profile for every degree, and the McGill admission guide for Algerian applicants covers grades-only admission, the CAQ and the Quebec tuition exemption Algeria has a quota for. For how applicants with other credentials, including the French bac, are read at all three, the by-country guide to Canadian university admissions for international applicants is the index. If you want more practice questions in the Rotman style, the university video interview question bank has them. Then record one on AcceptMe tonight and read the transcript back before you record another.