Deferral of Admission

If you are thinking about delaying the start of your studies, you may want to consider requesting a deferral to hold your spot. 

A deferral of admission may be an option if you choose to delay your studies for a full year. If approved, you will put your Offer of Admission on hold to enable you to join us in the future with ease. Please note, not all programs are eligible for a deferral.  A Deferral of Admission will only be granted once. You cannot defer your Offer of Admission if you are planning to attend another institution during the deferral period, you will need to reapply.

How to apply for a deferral:
The deferral request form will be available mid-June in our Student Portal. The deadline to submit a deferral request is August 31 annually.

Before submitting a deferral request, ensure that you meet all of the following requirements and that your program is eligible for deferral:

  1. You are requesting to defer for one year (e.g., Fall 2026 to Fall 2027).
  2. You have met all of your admission conditions on time.
  3. You accepted your Offer of Admission on time.
  4. You paid your non-refundable confirmation deposit on time.
  5. Your Letter of Acceptance/ Offer of Admission has not expired.
  6. You are not currently registered in courses at Lakehead University.

If you meet all the requirements, please continue and submit a Deferral Request Form once available. 

Deferral FAQ:

When will I know if my request for a deferral was approved? 
Deferral requests will be reviewed after final grades are received. Typically students will be notified if their deferral request has been approved by the end of October. Once we reach a decision, we will inform you via email. 

My request for a deferral was approved. When will I receive my new Letter of Acceptance/ Offer of Admission? 
You can expect to receive communications from Lakehead in December requesting that you confirm acceptance of your deferred offer of admission. After confirming your acceptance, your new Letter of Acceptance will be available for you to download in the Student Portal within 10 business days. 

Why was my request for a deferral denied?
You did not satisfy all of the above requirements at the time of your deferral application or you are requesting to defer to another semester within the same calendar year (e.g., 2026 winter to 2027 fall). If you need to amend from a winter/spring start to fall, refer to the section on how to amend your offer. Note, all deferral decisions are final.

How can I amend my application to be considered for an alternate semester within the same calendar year?

  1. Log into your OUAC application
  2. Select "Edit My Application" OR within the "My Choices" section select the edit icon (top right)
  3. Within My Choices you can edit the details of a program you have applied to by selecting the edit icon (bottom right)
  4. If you already have an offer of admission/accepted an offer, you will need to withdraw your choice.
  5. Under Program Details, alter the expected date of enrolment to the desired date of enrolment (i.e. 2025 Fall (September)) and click "Save Program"
  6. A pop-up screen will confirm changes and indicate "All changes have been saved".

When you are done making changes, go to "Review and Payment" to verify your changes. Your edits will appear in the Review Summary. If your edits have been made correctly, continue to the Declaration and select "I Verify and Agree".

What programs are ineligible for deferral?

Consecutive Education (primary/junior and intermediate/senior) programs are not eligible for deferral.

If you received an offer to the Juris Doctor, please connect with the Faculty of Law to determine whether your deferral request will be considered.

If you received an offer to the One-Year Social Work or Year Three Social Work programs, do not complete this deferral process. Please connect with the School of Social Work to determine whether your deferral request will be considered.

 

Is there a cost to request a deferral?

Yes, a $50 processing fee is required to request a deferral of admission.