REVIEW OF Ontario Virtual School BY Alum, David Shenouda

(5) Overall Experience

Ontario Virtual School was great. Being able to tackle courses on my own time, at my own pace, felt great. It was not stressful, and I learned everything that a regular day school would teach in a semester, in just two months. I took the MCV4U Calculus course with Ontario Virtual School, and I feel like it has been a great experience for me, since I could dwell on any concepts I did not understand well for longer, or I could have skimmed past concepts that I understood well already. I ended up finishing this MCV4U Calculus course with a 96% average, which is my highest grade I have ever gotten in any course in high school, which I feel I would not have been able to achieve without OVS.

(5) School Leadership

There wasn’t much to say in terms of leadership at Ontario Virtual School, since it’s an online school. However, the leadership was easy to reach out to if I ever had any problems. My teacher responded quickly and worked hard to get things done. I only have positive things to say about the leadership—they knew when to step in, but for the most part, stayed out of the way, which I honestly preferred. Overall, the leadership was great.

(5) Teaching

The teaching at Ontario Virtual School was amazing overall. The way it works is that there are pre-recorded lessons I could watch, followed by a questionnaire or quiz at the end, along with a workbook to practice questions. I had a teacher who was always there if I needed help with anything; she was consistently helpful, responded on time, and always marked assignments promptly. Sometimes I’d finish a test and get it back within an hour! When I completed my final exam for the MCV4U1 Calculus course, she had it fully marked and my final report card ready within just four hours. It was a very seamless process. Great teachers.

(5) Academics

The academics were great. Ontario Virtual School is completely focused on learning. It cuts out the middleman and allows you to work on your courses without any unnecessary interruptions. You can also go at your own pace, with the option to request your final report card in as little as 20 days or take up to 365 days to complete a course. Working at my own pace helped me truly learn, rather than just rushing to meet deadlines. It significantly reduced my stress and boosted my productivity. The course was challenging enough, and I felt supported throughout my entire time at Ontario Virtual School. Taking my calculus course with OVS instead of at my regular day school was a great decision—it was a truly enjoyable experience.

(5) School Life

OVS is an online school, so there isn’t a traditional school life; there’s no physical campus, which I actually preferred. I loved being able to focus solely on my studies and spend as little time as possible on anything unnecessary. I would log onto the website whenever I needed to, complete the video lessons, ask my teacher for help if I needed it, and do the tests on my own schedule. I’m not a very social person, so not having a typical school environment was perfect for me. I never really liked the social scene at my day school, so being able to focus on my studies and personal growth at OVS was exactly what I needed.

(5) Admissions

Getting admission to Ontario Virtual School was incredibly easy! All I had to do was sign up, pay the tuition, and I was instantly able to start my courses. There was no complicated application process or long wait times. It was super straightforward and accessible, especially great for someone eager to get started right away. I really appreciated the freedom to begin learning at my own pace the moment I enrolled. Overall, it was a simple, hassle-free process with no issues or annoyances at all.

(5) University placement and counselling

I only took one course through Ontario Virtual School, so I didn’t need much academic guidance since my day school was already supporting me with university planning. That said, my experience with OVS was really smooth and positive. The flexibility to work on my own time made a huge difference, I was able to study when I felt most focused and motivated. Because of that, I ended up scoring a 96% in the course! That grade definitely helped strengthen my university applications, and I’m proud to say I’ve been admitted to Software Engineering at Ontario Tech University. For students who are independent and want to boost their grades or stay on track, I’d definitely recommend OVS. The self-paced format really worked for me and contributed to my success.