No High School Diploma? Consider Confederation College's Mature Student Assessment

Want to pursue college, but don't have your secondary school diploma? Confederation College's MSA can help.

The Mature Student Assessment (MSA) is a college service offered to prospective students (19 years of age or older) who are interested in attending Confederation College for a post-secondary program and don't possess a secondary school diploma.

This means that if you didn't finish high school, you still may be eligible to pursue a college program at Confederation College.

What is the Mature Student Assessment?

The MSA is a sort of test, that takes about three hours to complete, written in conjunction with a student success advisor at Confederation College. The goal of the MSA is to get a sense of where your skills and knowledge are, and whether you'd be a good fit for a college program.

You won't be able to use a calculator, dictionary, or cell phone, but there are accessibility options available for those who require them.

Most students take the MSA in person, either at the Thunder Bay campus, or one of Confederation College's regional campuses. Alternatively, you can do the MSA online, over Zoom, assuming you have a camera, mic, and reliable internet.

Your student success advisor will contact you by phone or email with your results and recommendations within 48 hours of completing the assessment.

What sort of prep do I need to do before taking the MSA?

Students have the option to enroll in Academic Upgrading courses which will focus specifically on MSA content and prep. The preparatory courses are self paced, free for students, and you can start at any time. Learn more about Academic Upgrading here.

Further, Accuplacer provides support for MSA preparation. Please contact Student Success to request study materials.

How much does the MSA cost?

There's no cost to take the MSA at this time.

Does the MSA provide admission into all programs?

Not all programs accept the MSA as the only admission requirement. This means you need to read the admission requirements closely for your program of interest. Confederation College recommends that you consult with the Admissions Department to get a sense of the best pathway to your program of choice.

You'll find all the admission requirements on the Confederation College programs page Under "Admission Requirements," many of the programs will have "successful completion of the Mature Student Assessment" listed. If so, you're good to go! Otherwise, be sure to contact the Admissions Department.