Overview
8%
Acceptance Rate?Estimated from application and admission figures in Common University Data Ontario (CUDO) reports and university publications.
92%
Competitive Average?Based on 73 user submissions.
73
Student Reports?Admission results submitted anonymously by real applicants on Uniscope. Duplicate entries and statistical outliers are filtered automatically.
view student data600+
Estimated Enrollment?Approximate annual intake for this program, based on official university publications and CUDO reports.
90%
Cutoff?Based on admission results submitted by students on Uniscope — no applicants below this average were admitted. Submissions under this threshold are not accepted.
The competitive admission average for Ivey AEO at Western University is approximately 92% for 2026 applicants, with an acceptance rate of 8%. Based on 73 real student submissions on Uniscope, accepted applicants report a median admission average of 95% (minimum on record: 90%), students currently in the applicant pool show a median of 92.2%. The program is located in London, ON. It enrolls approximately 600 students annually.
Employment Outcomes
$80,936
Average base salary
89%
Employed within 3 months
$73,450
Median base salary
Reported by Ivey Business School for the Class of 2024.
?Ivey HBA Full-Time Employment Report, Class of 2024, published by Ivey Business School. Figures are base salary, excluding signing bonuses and other guaranteed pay. Salary reported by 71% of a graduating class of 594. Reported base salaries ranged from $30,000 to $236,000. 99% of those seeking work had an offer by six months. Average total compensation, including signing bonus and other guaranteed pay, was $84,575. Each business school sets its own methodology and reporting window, so these figures are not directly comparable between schools.View report
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, ON
University of Victoria
Victoria, BC
Wilfrid Laurier University
Waterloo, ON
Offer Timing
61 student-reported offers across 4 admissions cycles
main wave
In a typical year, half of all offers were out by Mar 6, and the busiest stretch was Mar 5 – Mar 11.
Pooled from 61 offers students reported for the 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25 and 2025–26 cycles, grouped by where each date falls in the admissions year rather than by calendar year. Individual reports run from Jan 16 to May 28. Release dates shift year to year — treat this as a guide, not a schedule.
Heard back already? Report the date your offer landed so next year's applicants know when to watch their inbox.
Application Guide
Below is how each part of the application is weighed. Grade thresholds gate who is reviewed; the rest of the file decides who receives an offer.
OUAC Application
ThresholdRequired to be considered. Submitting through OUAC unlocks review of your full file; it carries no direct weight toward an offer.
Top-6 Grade Average
50%The primary academic filter. Most accepted AEO students sit between 93–98%. English and at least one math course are required; your strongest six 4U/M grades are used.
AEO is conditional: you must maintain academic standing at Western in Years 1 and 2 to formally enter HBA.
Supplementary Application
35%A set of short-answer essays evaluated for depth of reasoning, self-awareness, and genuine community impact. Ivey explicitly discourages coached, performative responses.
Extracurricular Profile
15%Reviewed alongside your supplementary. Sustained, impactful involvement in a few activities outweighs a long list of surface-level participation.
Weight estimates are based on publicly available admissions guidance and community-reported outcomes. Exact weightings are not published.
Impact Over Participation
Ivey wants evidence of what changed because of your involvement: outcomes, decisions made, people led. Titles held without demonstrable impact are not enough.
Multidisciplinary Perspective
The 2+2 model is built on diverse cohorts. Students who bring a genuine non-business lens (science, arts, engineering) add disproportionate value to case discussions.
Business & Commercial Curiosity
You don't need work experience, but you should be able to connect your experiences to organizational decisions, trade-offs, or strategy in a natural way.
Self-Awareness & Ethical Reasoning
The case method requires navigating ambiguity and moral complexity. Ivey looks for applicants who can acknowledge failure, learn from it, and reason through grey areas.
Communication Under Pressure
HBA is 80% classroom debate. Essays that are clear, direct, and persuasive signal readiness for a format where you must defend a position daily.
Authentic Voice
Admissions readers review thousands of files. Essays that read as genuinely personal (specific stories, honest reflection) stand out from polished but hollow submissions.
- Use one specific story per prompt. Depth beats breadth every time.
- Structure answers around a decision you made: what was at stake, what you chose, what you would do differently.
- Avoid corporate language. Write the way you actually think and speak.
- Reference the people affected by your actions, not just the process you followed.
- Submit early; Ivey reviews files on a rolling basis and early applicants get more consideration time.
- ENG4U is required; a strong English mark also signals writing ability for the supplementary.
- If your average is below 93%, a truly exceptional supplementary can still earn an offer, but this is rare.
- Semester 1 marks matter. AEO decisions are often made before final grades are in.
- AEO is conditional on maintaining your average at Western. Don't coast after receiving the status.
- Two or three deep commitments (2+ years, leadership responsibility) are stronger than ten surface-level entries.
- Quantify impact where possible: team size, money raised, participants reached.
- Jobs, entrepreneurship, and independent projects count; they often show more initiative than school clubs.
- Tie your extracurriculars to your essays so the whole file tells a coherent story.
These are the most common reasons competitive applicants get rejected. Audit your application against every one.
- ✕Listing titles without describing outcomes or what changed because of your leadership
- ✕Using buzzwords and polished language that sounds coached rather than genuine
- ✕Treating AEO as a guaranteed HBA seat; weak first-year grades at Western will cost you your spot
- ✕Applying to Ivey purely for prestige without engaging with what the case method actually demands
- ✕Submitting in January or February when most competitive offers have already gone out
- ✕Writing about the same experience across multiple prompts instead of showing range
- ✕Ignoring the conditional nature of AEO and not maintaining grades in Years 1 and 2
- ✕Padding extracurriculars with last-minute additions that have no real depth or story behind them
There is no published cutoff, but community data shows most accepted students have a top-6 average above 93%. The lowest reported acceptance in our dataset is 86.4%; a very strong supplementary almost certainly offset those grades.
No. AEO is a conditional pre-admission status. You must first be admitted to Western, complete two years in a faculty of your choice, and maintain the required academic standing before you formally enter HBA in Year 3.
Yes. Ivey's model explicitly encourages students to spend their first two years in Arts, Science, Engineering, Music, or any other faculty. Your choice of Year 1–2 program should reflect genuine interest, not strategy.
Both matter, but the supplementary is what differentiates candidates who are academically similar. Ivey admissions has stated publicly that they are looking for character and reasoning ability, not just academic performance.
As early as possible. Ivey reviews files on a rolling basis starting in the fall. Students who apply in October or November typically receive decisions earlier and have more time to strengthen their file if they want to reapply.
Prerequisites
Student Reviews
Trent University
Peterborough, ON
Royal Military College of Canada
Kingston, ON
Carleton University
Ottawa, ON
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the competitive average for Ivey AEO at Western University?
The competitive admission average for Ivey AEO at Western University is approximately 92%. Applicants below this average are not automatically rejected, but admission becomes significantly less likely.
What average do you need to get into Ivey AEO at Western University?
Admitted students to Ivey AEO at Western University typically present averages around 92%; accepted applicants on Uniscope report a median admission average of 95%. Averages meaningfully below this make an offer less likely.
Is Ivey AEO at Western University hard to get into?
Ivey AEO at Western University is considered very competitive, with a competitive average near 92% and an acceptance rate of about 8%.
What is the acceptance rate for Ivey AEO?
The acceptance rate for Ivey AEO at Western University is approximately 8%.
What are the prerequisites for Ivey AEO?
Prerequisites for Ivey AEO include: English, ENG4U.
How many students are enrolled in Ivey AEO?
Ivey AEO at Western University enrolls approximately 600 students per year.
What salary do Ivey AEO graduates earn?
Ivey Business School reports average base salary of $80,936 for its Class of 2024. 89% of the class was employed within 3 months of graduation. Figures come from the school's own published employment report.