How to Get Into U of T From Vietnam: Grades, Videos, OUAC

What U of T looks at from a Vietnamese applicant

U of T’s high school requirements by country page lists the Vietnam credential as “Bang Tot Nghiep Trung Hoc Pho Thong” and nothing more: no minimum average, no subject-by-subject note. The general rules on the international high school requirements page do the work instead. “All applicants are required to present a senior/Grade 12 English course for admission consideration. Other prerequisite courses must be presented at the senior/Grade 12 equivalent level,” and “conditional offers of admission will be made based on your previous year’s grades and your in-term/mid-term results, if available.” In practice: Grade 11 yearly averages, first-semester Grade 12 marks, and the Grade 12 subjects that match the program.

U of T Engineering’s own out-of-country page is more specific, and it applies to how the rest of the university treats documents too: the Vietnamese diploma, plus “secondary school transcripts, showing all years of study including current interim results,” as official, notarized English translations, and prerequisites completed within five years of the start date. Note the word notarized: U of T wants it, and UBC refuses it, so you will be ordering two different sets of copies.

The graduation exam is not an admission input. U of T reads the school transcript (học bạ) and conditions the offer on the diploma, which since 2025 the Ministry awards half on the exam and half on your Grade 10 to 12 results. Because U of T decides between January and May and the exam sits in late June, the offer is always made before the exam score exists. The exam confirms; it does not compete.

The grades and subjects that get offers

U of T publishes no averages for Vietnamese grades, and no faculty prints a cut-off. What it does publish is the prerequisite list, and the Grade 12 English rule that catches Vietnamese applicants more than any other. For Fall 2027 entry, checked September 2026:

Two mismatches to handle. First, calculus: Vietnamese Grade 12 Toán covers derivatives and integrals and is read as the calculus prerequisite; have the translation call it “Mathematics.” Second, English: U of T’s rule is a “senior/Grade 12 English course,” and the Vietnamese subject Tiếng Anh is a foreign-language course. U of T does not say on its site whether it accepts Tiếng Anh 12 as that course; some Vietnamese applicants add an Ontario ENG4U through an accredited online provider to remove the doubt. Ask U of T admissions in writing in Grade 11, and keep the reply.

IB, A-level and offshore Ontario or BC school students are read on that curriculum (IB English A at 4 also clears the English test). The Ontario top-six average guide applies to the Ontario offshore schools in Vietnam, not to the Vietnamese transcript.

English: tested, not waived

U of T’s English language requirements exempt only “four or more years of full-time study in a recognized Canadian school (in Canada) that teaches in English” or the equivalent in a listed English-dominant country. Vietnam is not listed. The minimums, checked September 2026:

• IELTS Academic: 6.5 overall, no band below 6.0.
• TOEFL iBT: on the new six-point scale (tests from January 21, 2026) 4.5 overall with 4.5 in Writing and 4.0 in Speaking; older scores 89 with 22 in Speaking and Writing.
• Duolingo English Test: 120 overall with 120 in Production.
• PTE Academic: 65 overall, no part below 60. CAEL: 70, no part below 60.
• Cambridge C1 or C2: 180 overall, at least 170 per component.

Scores must arrive “no later than your deadline for submitting supporting documentation,” February 1, 2027 for most programs.

How and when to apply for Fall 2027

U of T’s applications page gives Vietnamese applicants two doors. Use the OUAC 105 if you are applying to any other Ontario university as well. Use the U of T International Application ($196, non-refundable) only if you reside outside Canada, have never studied in Canada, and are applying to no other Ontario university. Most add Waterloo or McMaster and so use OUAC 105; the OUAC 105 walkthrough is written for BC students but the form is the same. Dates from U of T’s important application dates page, to be confirmed there:

• November 7, 2026: recommended early application date; documents by December 1 if you use it.
• January 15, 2027: application deadline for most programs, and the Engineering supplemental deadline.
• February 1, 2027: documents for everyone else, and the Rotman Commerce, Computer Science and Architecture supplementals.
• January to late May 2027: decisions in rounds. Engineering guarantees a response by April 30 to applicants complete by December 1.
• May 1, 2027: respond to an Engineering offer; the March 31 residence deadline comes first.

The Join U of T portal lists your documents after you apply; the international timeline says the attestation letter comes “after you accept your offer of admission and pay the admission deposit.” Order the notarized translated transcript in November and again in February.

The part you control: two timed videos

Arts & Science decides on grades. Rotman and Engineering do not, entirely. Rotman’s supplemental application page describes “short written and video responses” on Kira Talent, with unlimited practice sessions on the interface, a $52 fee paid with the OUAC application, early consideration December 1, 2026 and a final deadline of February 1, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Engineering’s Personal Profile FAQ says it “consists of three randomly-selected, timed video questions,” takes about 30 minutes, and cannot be redone: once you press Start Interview you finish it in one sitting. Neither page publishes the questions. The Rotman supplemental application questions guide and the Engineering Online Student Profile questions guide cover the format in recent cycles and the practice questions written to it.

For a student educated in Vietnamese, the timed video is the widest gap in the file: IELTS speaking has predictable topics and a nodding examiner; Kira has neither. A practice question written to the Engineering format, not a real prompt:

• Describe something you built, fixed or organised that did not work the first time. What did you change?Prep 60 seconds, answer 90 seconds

One object, one wrong guess, one measurement, one lesson, and it ends before the clock. No memorised script, which Kira exposes within ten seconds. AcceptMe puts you on camera with a fresh question, 30 seconds to think and 90 seconds to answer, then hands you a transcript with the coach’s notes, so you find out what your English sounds like under a timer before Rotman or Engineering does. The video interview answer length guide is worth reading first: students under a clock tend to stop at 40 seconds with 50 left. The UTSC Management BBA supplementary application guide covers that campus’s separate written piece.

Money: tuition, living costs, the Pearson

U of T’s 2026-27 tuition fee schedule sets international undergraduate tuition for students entering in 2026 at $66,110 for Arts & Science (including UTM and UTSC) and $72,860 for Applied Science & Engineering, with Rotman Commerce and Computer Science paying the Arts & Science rate in first year and a higher program fee from second year ($75,150 and $69,030 respectively in 2026-27 for earlier cohorts). The same report lists 2027-28 first-year rates of $68,750 and $75,770; treat those as yours until the spring 2027 schedule confirms them. Incidental fees, UHIP and Toronto rent come on top.

The one scholarship that changes everything is the Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship: “tuition, books, incidental fees and full residence support for four years.” Your school nominates one student, by October 9, 2026; you apply to U of T by October 16, 2026 and submit the scholarship application by November 6, 2026. That is three months before the regular deadline, which is why Vietnamese schools with strong candidates usually miss it: nobody asked in September. U of T also prohibits generative AI in award applications. The scholarship essays and interviews guide covers how to write an application that has to survive that rule.

The study permit

Ontario received 104,780 application spaces for 2026 under IRCC’s cap notice (155,000 new arrivals nationally), and U of T issues the provincial attestation letter only after you accept and pay the deposit. The letter must be filed with the permit application, and it is valid only in the calendar year it was issued. Proof of funds for a single student outside Quebec is $23,448 for living costs from September 1, 2026, plus first-year tuition and travel, with a plan for the rest of the degree.

The Student Direct Stream closed on November 8, 2024; everyone now applies through the regular stream. IRCC data reported by ApplyBoard put approvals for Vietnamese applicants at 64% in 2024, above a national rate IRCC said had fallen to 42% by mid-2025. Accept in April, pay the deposit, and apply the week the PAL arrives, with funds that have been in the account for months.

Mistakes applicants from Vietnam make

• Not settling the Grade 12 English question in Grade 11. Ask U of T whether Tiếng Anh 12 counts; do not find out in February.
• Applying to Rotman or Engineering as if they were Arts & Science, and discovering the video after the deadline for early consideration.
• Reciting a memorised IELTS-style answer on Kira. The questions are random precisely so that does not work.
• Missing the Pearson nomination because October felt too early to talk to the school about Canada.
• Waiting for the July exam result before booking biometrics and filing the permit.

Where to go next

The same học bạ is read three ways: the UBC admission guide for Vietnamese students covers the 8.0 floor UBC has quoted and the mandatory Personal Profile, and the McGill admission guide for Vietnamese students covers a file decided on grades and a Quebec CAQ that comes before the permit. The by-country guide to Canadian university admissions for international applicants indexes every other curriculum. If you are new to the whole idea of a timed video, the video interview practice guide sets up the first week. Then get on camera with AcceptMe and hear what 90 seconds actually sounds like.