How to Get Into U of T From Nigeria: B2 Floor, Video Profile
If you are applying to the University of Toronto from Nigeria, U of T reads your West African Senior School Certificate (WASSCE or NECO) with a hard floor for Engineering of B2 in every prerequisite subject, waives the English test for four years of English-medium schooling in Nigeria, closes the OUAC application on January 15, 2027, and, for Rotman Commerce and Engineering, puts you in front of a camera for timed video responses that Arts and Science never asks for.
What U of T looks at from a Nigerian applicant
U of T’s international high school requirements by country lists Nigeria’s minimum admission requirement as the “West African Examinations Council Senior School Certificate,” with a pointer to the Engineering faculty for its own rules. That is the WASSCE. The NECO SSCE is the same certificate from a different council; U of T names only WAEC, so if NECO is your only result, ask admissions to confirm in writing. JAMB and the UTME are not on any U of T page and are irrelevant.
The general rule for every international applicant, from the international high school requirements page: you must present a senior-level English course, and “Calculus, AP Calculus (AB or BC) or one semester of college/university calculus is required for most math, science, computer science and commerce programs.” That is the WASSCE trap: General Mathematics is not a calculus course, and U of T does not publish how it treats Further Mathematics against that requirement. For Computer Science, the sciences, Rotman Commerce or Engineering, take Further Mathematics and ask admissions in writing whether it satisfies the prerequisite. Keep the reply.
The grades that get offers
U of T does not publish a WASSCE cut-off for Arts and Science (checked September 2026). Engineering does, on its out-of-country applicants page: candidates “with a final or predicted result below B2 in any of the prerequisite subjects will not be considered for admission.” The Engineering prerequisites are senior-level Mathematics (including Calculus), Physics, Chemistry and English. B2 is the floor, not the offer; applicants who have been through it describe Engineering and Rotman offers sitting on A1 and B2 grades across the board, and U of T does not publish anything that contradicts that.
| Program | What U of T asks for | WASSCE subjects to have |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering (all programs, incl. EngSci) | Math incl. calculus, Physics, Chemistry, English; no prerequisite below B2; Engineering Supplemental Application | Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, English Language, all A1 or B2 |
| Rotman Commerce | English and calculus; Rotman Commerce Supplemental Application (written + video) | Mathematics, Further Mathematics, English Language, Economics |
| Computer Science (St. George) | English and calculus; a supplemental application due February 1 (see deadlines) | Mathematics, Further Mathematics, English Language, Physics |
| Humanities / Social Sciences | English; no supplemental | English Language, Literature in English, Government, Economics, History |
Cambridge A Level or IGCSE holders are assessed under U of T’s British-patterned requirements instead; if your school gives you both, decide which curriculum is your basis of admission.
English: Nigeria is on U of T’s exemption list
U of T’s English language requirements page exempts applicants who have “completed/are completing four or more years of full-time study in an English language school located in a country where the dominant language is English,” and its published list of those countries includes Nigeria. Four consecutive years at an English-medium Nigerian secondary school clears it. Your WASSCE English Language grade still matters as the required senior English course, but a C6 or B3 in it is not what waives the test; the years are.
If you need a test, the minimums are IELTS Academic 6.5 with no band below 6.0; TOEFL iBT, on the new scale from January 21, 2026, 4.5 overall with 4.5 in Writing and 4.0 in Speaking (earlier tests: 89 total with 22 in Speaking and Writing); Duolingo 120 overall with 120 in Production; CAEL 70 with no part below 60; PTE Academic 65 with no part below 60; Cambridge C1 or C2 at 180 with 170 in each component. Scores must arrive by your program’s document deadline.
How and when to apply for Fall 2027 entry
International applicants apply through OUAC (the 105 application for anyone not currently in an Ontario high school), then receive a JOINid and finish in the Join U of T portal, where documents and supplementals live (international students page). The OUAC 105 walkthrough is written for BC students, but it is the same form. From U of T’s dates and deadlines page for the 2027 cycle (confirm each before you plan around it):
- November 7, 2026: recommended date to have the OUAC application in for early consideration.
- December 1, 2026: early-consideration document deadline; Engineering guarantees a response by April 30 to files complete by this date; Rotman’s early deadline.
- January 15, 2027: OUAC application deadline for most programs; Engineering’s final document and Supplemental Application deadline.
- February 1, 2027: document deadline for Arts and Science, Rotman Commerce, UTSC and UTM; supplemental deadline for Architecture, Computer Science, Commerce, Kinesiology and Music; Rotman’s final Supplemental deadline is 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
- January to late May 2027: decisions released on a rolling basis. Engineering asks admitted applicants to respond on OUAC by May 1.
The WASSCE calendar means your file is predicted grades plus SS3 interim results, with the offer conditional on the August result. Engineering’s page asks a WAEC applicant for the full transcript with interim results, the school’s predicted results, and, if the exam is already written, a letter with your WAEC examination number and scratch card serial number and PIN so U of T can check the result online through the WAEC verification service; buy the PIN yourself and do not let its five uses get burned on relatives checking the result for fun.
The part you control: the supplementals
Arts and Science at St. George, UTM and most UTSC programs have no supplemental. Your file is the transcript, and there is nothing to rehearse. The programs that do ask for more:
- Rotman Commerce. The Rotman Commerce Supplemental Application is “short written and video responses,” opened in the Join U of T portal after OUAC, with unlimited practice sessions. Rotman recommends applying by November 7, 2026, with an early deadline of December 1, 2026 and a final deadline of February 1, 2027. The questions are not published; the Rotman supplemental application questions guide describes the format and gives practice prompts written to it.
- Engineering. The Engineering Supplemental Application includes “three timed video responses that will help us get to know you as a person,” a written personal statement (optional), program ranking, an applicant timeline and an extracurricular list with references who can be contacted. Recommended by December 1, final January 15. The Engineering Online Student Profile questions guide covers what the video asks for.
- Computer Science, Architecture, Kinesiology, Music, UTSC Management. Supplementals due February 1 on the deadlines page; check your program’s own page for the format.
The video is the unfamiliar part. It is not an oral exam; in Engineering’s words there is “no right answer.” It checks that the person on the transcript can think for a minute and talk plainly, and the habits that hurt are a memorised opening, formal register, and a conclusion that restates the question. 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, which is the closest thing to the real format you can get before the real format.
Question: Tell us about a time something you built or planned did not work, and what you did next. Timing: about 30 seconds to think, up to 90 seconds on camera.
Answer (about 85 seconds): In SS2 I built an inverter from a kit for my grandmother’s shop, because NEPA gives her maybe four hours a day. It worked on the bench and died the second night. I assumed the battery, bought a new one with money I did not really have, and it died again. That was the moment I stopped guessing. I borrowed a multimeter from my physics teacher and measured every stage, and the fault was the charge controller cutting out at a voltage lower than the datasheet said, because the kit had a different part than the manual. I re-set the threshold, and it has run since March. What I took from it is embarrassing and useful: I had replaced the expensive part before measuring anything. Now I measure first. That is the habit I would bring to a design team.
One event, a wrong first move admitted, a specific diagnosis, a dated result, and a last sentence about what changed in him. Nothing about passion for engineering. For how long 90 seconds of speech is, the video interview answer length guide has the word counts.
Money: tuition, the Pearson scholarship, proof of funds
U of T’s tuition explorer gives a first-year international Arts and Science student (which includes the Commerce, Computer Science, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences admission streams) a 2026-27 program fee of C$66,110, plus C$2,100 in incidental fees and C$948 for UHIP health insurance, C$69,158 in total. The 2026-27 tuition fee report puts international Engineering at C$72,860 for 2026-27 and projects C$75,770 for students entering in 2027, with Arts and Science entrants in 2027 projected at C$68,750. Commerce and Computer Science charge the Arts and Science rate in first year and a higher program fee in upper years (C$75,150 for Commerce upper years in 2026-27). Toronto rent is on top of all of it.
The Lester B. Pearson International Student Scholarship covers tuition, books, incidental fees and residence for four years for about 37 students a year. You cannot apply on your own: your school nominates one student, the school must be registered with U of T by October 9, 2026, you must apply for admission by October 16, 2026, and the scholarship application closes November 6, 2026. If your principal has never heard of it, raise it in July. Beyond Pearson, there is no need-based aid for internationals on the scale of UBC’s International Scholars Program.
IRCC’s financial support page requires a single applicant outside Quebec to show C$23,448 in living funds for applications on or after September 1, 2026, plus first-year tuition and return transport, using bank statements, a GIC, a paid tuition receipt, a loan or a sponsor letter. Moving the money out of Nigeria runs through your bank on Form A under the Central Bank’s tuition remittance rules (from June 2026, up to US$25,000 a semester paid directly to the university); begin it the day you accept.
The study permit
After you accept, U of T requests an Ontario Provincial Attestation Letter for you; IRCC returns applications that arrive without one, and the letter is only valid in the calendar year it is issued (PAL page). Ontario had 104,780 attestation spaces under the 2026 cap; 2027 allocations are published late in the year.
For Nigerian applicants there is no express lane: the Nigeria Student Express and the Student Direct Stream closed on November 8, 2024 (IRCC notice). IRCC’s own 2023 note put approvals for applicants residing in Africa at 39% (question period note); analyses of IRCC data for the first months of 2026 put Nigerian approvals nearer one in four, with the two usual grounds being insufficient funds and doubt that the applicant will leave Canada at the end. So: file the week you accept, over-document the money, write a letter of explanation naming the program and a plan after it, add a custodianship declaration if you will be under 17, and lead with any award letter.
Mistakes applicants from Nigeria make
- Applying to Engineering with a B3 or C4 in a prerequisite. The B2 floor is published and applied to predicted grades too.
- No calculus evidence for CS, Commerce or the sciences. General Mathematics alone leaves the calculus requirement unanswered; take Further Mathematics and ask.
- Sending JAMB, post-UTME or a Nigerian university admission letter. Not read.
- Leaving the Rotman or Engineering video to the last week. The portal opens after OUAC; early consideration is December 1.
- Booking IELTS you do not need. Four years of English-medium school in Nigeria is on the exemption list.
Where to go next
The same WASSCE goes west and east: the guide to UBC admission from Nigeria covers the Personal Profile UBC reads from every applicant, and the guide to McGill admission from Nigeria explains a school where the transcript is the whole file. The by-country guide to Canadian university admissions for international applicants has the hub table. If your first video answer came out as a speech, the video interview practice guide is the drill. Then take two runs on AcceptMe and read the transcript before Rotman or Engineering does.
Keep reading
- How to Get Into UBC From Nigeria: WASSCE, English, Profile What UBC asks of WASSCE and NECO applicants for Fall 2027: B2/B3 history, prerequisites, English exemption, the Personal Profile, tuition and the permit.
- How to Get Into McGill From Nigeria: Grades, CAQ, Money How McGill reads a WASSCE transcript for Fall 2027: the B+ floor, prerequisites, the English exemption, scholarships, locked tuition and the CAQ.
- Rotman Commerce Supplemental Application: Questions and Tips Rotman Commerce supplemental application format, a sample pre- shared video answer and fifteen practice questions for the random video and written parts.