r/OntarioColleges

I’m looking for some advice or experiences from people who’ve been in a similar situation with OSAP.
For some background, I’ve attended a few different post-secondary programs over the past couple of years. I didn’t complete all of them, and I wasn’t academically successful in every semester. However, I’ve never received any notification that I was placed on OSAP academic probation or restriction.
I’m currently enrolled full-time in another program, but I’m considering either reducing my course load to part-time or withdrawing completely.
I recently received an offer for a different program at another college (dream program that’s been my goal this whole time), but I’m still deciding whether to attend the upcoming intake or wait until a later intake to give myself more time to prepare financially.
My biggest concern is how withdrawing or switching to part-time now could affect my ability to receive OSAP for my next program.
Has anyone been in a similar situation, especially with previous program changes or unsuccessful semesters?
Did OSAP place you on academic probation first, or did you end up receiving a restriction? And if you switched from full-time to part-time midway through a semester, how did that affect your funding?
I’m planning to speak with financial aid before making any decisions, but I’d appreciate hearing other people’s experiences! I’d also like to note that I’ve done a couple programs because the first one I knew I didn’t want to do as a career after experiencing it and then I thought about upgrading so I did pre-health but wasn’t really a fan of that and felt like I could upgrade at an adult day school for free but because I’ve been scared of the consequences of osap I switched into my current program.

Hey everyone,

I’m in my 40s and looking for some career advice from fellow recreation therapy professionals or anyone in the community support field.
For the past 10 years, I’ve worked in community support helping individuals with disabilities. I hold an Educational Support Certificate and Autism Certificates, as well as an older Business Diploma. Currently, I work as a Day Program Assistant for a truly wonderful organization. My day-to-day role is essentially recreation therapy, and I’ve absolutely fallen in love with this line of work.
Because I love it so much, I’m looking into upgrading my education. Since I already have a prior college diploma, I qualify for the online, 1-year Fast-Track Recreation Therapy program at Canadore College.

Here is my dilemma: I love my current company and have zero plans to leave them. Furthermore, I have absolutely no interest in working in hospitals or long-term care homes—I strictly want to stay in community-based day programs.
Given my 10 years of experience and current certificates, is spending the time and money to get the official Rec Therapy diploma worth it "just in case"? Will it open doors or give me leverage in the community/non-profit sector, or am I already qualified enough based on my heavy experience?
Would love to hear your thoughts, especially if you've done the Canadore program or work in Ontario! Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone, I just landed here last month as PR and I want to study here in Canada. I really want to pursue a career in the medical field, like Practical Nursing, but the admission requirements include Biology and Chemistry, which I didn’t take back in my country. What do you guys think? Do I still need to have my credentials evaluated by ICAS or WES? What can I do in this situation? Are there any courses you would recommend that don’t require a credential evaluation?

Should I transfer from an Ontario college degree program to a university?

I’m currently a first-year BScN student at an Ontario community college, and I’m already considering transferring. I graduated high school in June 2026 and chose my current college because it was close to home and the practical option, but I’m starting to feel like I made the wrong decision.
I’ve always wanted the traditional university experience. a bigger campus, residence, meeting lots of new people, school spirit, football games, school events, etc. not just partying but like I just want the normal fun and social parts of university and to actually feel like I’m experiencing student life.
My school honestly doesn’t really have much that feels fun or exciting to me. I know people will probably say to join clubs or look for events, but I don’t even have the motivation to put effort into finding those things because I already dislike being there so much.

A lot of the people in my class are also quite a bit older than me, like 22+, and many already have other degrees or have attended other universities. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with that, but I feel like they’re more focused on graduating and moving on with their careers. They may not care about school events, sports, going out, or building a social life in the same way I do, which makes it harder for me to find people who want the same university experience.

The problem is that I realistically can’t just transfer for second semester. I’m only working about once a week right now, so I wouldn’t really be able to afford moving out and paying for off-campus housing on my own. Realistically, I’d probably have to wait until second year. But that creates another issue because the first-year courses at my college and the first-year courses at universities don’t line up exactly. There’s a possibility that even if I transfer after first year, I’d have to retake some first-year nursing courses or essentially start from first year for certain classes, which makes me worried that everything I’m doing right now could end up not counting toward the degree.

ik school can’t be perfect but im also worried that like ill transfer and hate and wish i stayed back but like atp i wnna take the risk

I’ve been looking into transferring to Western, York, or Windsor, since those were schools I considered before. I’m just not sure whether transferring after first year is worth it if I potentially lose some of my credits.
My parents said wait till second sem to see if I adjust, but I’m worried about spending a whole year somewhere I already hate and then finding out I have to start over anyway.

For anyone who’s been in a similar situation:
how is student life at york western and windsor?
Has anyone transferred from a college BScN to a university nursing program?
How much of your first-year coursework actually transferred?
Did you have to retake courses or start from first year?
Should I give my current college more time or start pursuing transfer options now?
I don’t want to make an impulsive decision, but I also don’t want to spend my degree wishing I had gone somewhere else.

I am living outside Canada right now and I have a few OSSD credits left to finish, so I am looking at online private schools that let students complete the courses from outside Canada, I see a lot of schools saying they offer OSSD credits online but I want to hear from someone who has actually finished their final credits this way, mostly wondering how the course work goes, how the exams or final assessments work and how long it takes to get the credits on the transcript, I need the credits for my next school step so the transcript part matters too, has anyone here done their last OSSD credits through an online private school while living outside Canada?