Looking for help?

We know that application deadlines can be a busy time, and we are here to provide support. 

Below, please find top tips and recommendations to help troubleshoot any issues you may experience. 

Plan ahead, and be aware of your application deadline. Make sure you are giving yourself plenty of time to submit your application, and don't wait until the last day.

If you have tried the recommendations below, and are still experiencing an issue please email support@educationplannerbc.ca, with a screenshot of the error on your screen prior to your application deadline.

Review our how-to guide How-to: Apply to learn more. 

The EducationPlannerBC application form does have an auto-save function but this may be disrupted at times due to browser, website, or internet connection issues. 

TOP TIP: changing your profile information or selecting a different term/program/campus may cause the application form questions and related answers to disappear/change. 

We recommend that you type any long answers or essays (i.e. personal profile questions) into a Notepad/Typepad file, or other text editor first (Word is not recommended), and save a local copy of your answers; then copy and paste your text into the EducationPlannerBC application form. EducationPlannerBC is unable to recover previous answers. 

This will ensure you do not lose any information as you proceed through your application. 

We recommend you try the following:

• Clear your web browser’s cache. This functionality can typically be found within the history settings of your browser under browser data.
• Try a different device (laptop or computer are recommended) or another browser.
• Ensure you are loading www.educationplannerbc.ca/apply. Some out-of-date links may be trying to load invalid pages. 

Ensure your account is confirmed, when you first created your EducationPlannerBC account a confirmation email was sent to your email. Applicants cannot be submitted unless your account is confirmed. If you haven’t confirmed your account, you will see a notice on your Profile. 

This is known as a pre-authorization. A pre-authorization means an amount has been placed on hold, but it was not actually charged to your card. These will expire/remove automatically typically within 3-10 business days. However, for some cards (specifically international cards) the hold can remain for more than 30 days. 

Applications are not submitted until you have received all of the following:

• A message on your screen from EducationPlannerBC confirming your application was submitted,
• A receipt and confirmation by email,
• A copy of your application under your “Submitted Applications” list when you log into your account.

Therefore, you will need to complete the payment step again, in some instances this may be while your pre-authorization hold remains.

If you want to discuss your pre-authorization hold, we recommend you contact your bank/credit card provider.

 EducationPlannerBC is unable to assist further with pre-authorization inquiries. Please do not send screenshots of banking apps or charges to EducationPlannerBC. 

Be aware of your application deadline and know applications are not submitted until you receive confirmation as stated above.

There are a few reasons why this may occur, please review the suggested recommendations below.

1. All institutions accept Visa and Mastercard credit cards. However, very few accept Debit Visa/Debit Mastercard, or American Express. Review the images on the payment page to determine available payment options for the institution you are applying to. 
2. Double check the expiry date on your card
3. Contact your bank/card provider to ensure nothing is preventing your transaction from going through.
4. Try a different accepted credit card.
5. Try a different device and/or browser. 

If you do not have an accepted credit card, you may be able to use a pre-paid credit card (Visa or Mastercard).

• Payment systems require an expiry date and CVV on the pre-paid card.
• There must be sufficient funds on the card to cover activation fees as well as your transaction.
• The card may need to be registered online before first use (each card has different policies - please review card requirements these before you purchase the prepaid card!).

Sometimes due to an increase of traffic leading up to an application deadline, users may experience minor delays on our website.

We recommend giving yourself lots of time to prepare your application, prior to the application deadline. 

Always make sure you are capturing any short or long-written answers in a notepad/typepad file and save it locally on your computer to avoid the potential of losing any work. EducationPlannerBC cannot recover lost responses. 

You can refresh your page, clear your browser's cache, try a different browser, or try again at a later time. 

Changing your applicant profile information (such as academic history) or selecting a different term/program/campus may cause the application form options, questions, or related answers to disappear/change. 

Try refreshing your page to resolve the issue you are experiencing. If you need additional support, please email support@educationplannerbc.ca. 

There are a few reasons why this may occur, please review the suggested recommendations below. 

1. Double check that your EducationPlannerBC account has been confirmed. When you first created your EducationPlannerBC account a confirmation email was sent to your email. Applicants cannot be submitted unless your account is confirmed. If you haven’t confirmed your account, you will see a notice on your Profile.
2. Review your application, ensure you have completed each required question and have captured an appropriate response. Some questions may require more than one letter or word to properly save, and move forward within the application. 
3. Review your application to ensure you have not selected both an end date and ongoing for an activity. 
4. Click save on your application and try again later. Always ensure you have captured any long-written answers in a notepad/typepad file and save it locally on your computer. 

To create a new account:

• Go to www.educationplannerbc.ca/apply.
• Click the blue 'Sign Up for your EducationPlannerBC account'. 
• Fill in the required information on the page. You can choose to create an account using your email address or by linking your BC Services Card. 
  • If you are using your BC Services Card click 'Create with BC Services Card' and pair your BC Services Card app with the pairing code on your screen. 
    • Learn more about how to set up and use the BC Services Card app to access government services.
• Once your account has been created a 'Confirm Account' email will be sent to the email address you listed on the account. You must click the 'Confirm Your Account' button to verify the account (ensuring valid email contact information is sent with your application). You must confirm the account before you are able to submit an application. 
• Create and save your applications using this profile. Submit your applications with payment when you are ready to apply. 

TOP TIP: Ensure you are using your own personal email address to create your EducationPlannerBC account. Most email addresses assigned throughout high school are deactivated once you've graduated. 

EducationPlannerBC cannot change information on an application that has already been submitted. 

Once you select submit, the information is sent directly to the institution to be added to their student records system. Contact the school directly to make any changes to an application that has already been submitted. Contact details for B.C. public post-secondary institutions are listed here.

TOP TIP: Ensure the institution has your correct email address as they will be contacting you with further information about enrolment, registration, or additional documents. 

Each institution sets their own application open and close dates. These dates also may vary based on the program you are applying to. 

You can use the search database to explore programs you are interested in applying to or visit the institution's website directly.

Please refer to the institution's website or contact the Admissions/Registrar's Office directly for application deadlines and details. 

Applicants must save each section of the application form as they proceed through the questions.

The EducationPlannerBC application form does have an auto-save function but this may be disrupted at times due to browser, website, or internet connection issues. Additionally, the online application form has an automatic inactivity sensor, which after 5 minutes of inactivity on your account you will be automatically logged out of your account. 

TOP TIP: changing your profile information or selecting a different term/program/campus may cause the application form questions and related answers to disappear/change. 

We recommend that you type any long answers or essays (i.e. personal profile questions) into a Notepad/Typepad file, or other text editor first (Word is not recommended), and save a local copy of your answers; then copy and paste your text into the EducationPlannerBC application form. 

This will ensure you do not lose any information as you proceed through your application. 

The EducationPlannerBC application form requires the following information:

• Personal Information
  • Legal name, date of birth, language, citizenship, etc. 
• Contact Information
• Academic History
  • High school
  • Post-secondary institution
• Personal Education Number (optional, but recommended)

Once you have created your profile, you will be able to start filling out application(s) to post-secondary institution(s). 

When you get to the application step you will need to know the following information:

• Which program(s) you are applying for
• Term or Start date
• What application fee payment type you will need. Most institutions only accept Visa or Mastercard credit cards. Very few accept Debit Visa cards. 

B.C. high school transcripts can be ordered from the StudentTranscript Service for B.C. high school students here.

Please note: You cannot make changes to a submitted application. If you need to make changes to an existing application, please contact the Admissions/Registrar's Office directly.

A Personal Education Number (PEN) is a nine-digit number assigned to each student enrolled or registered with any, B.C. Early Learning program (Strong Start), Public or Independent school, B.C. Certified Offshore School, Yukon School, or public Post-Secondary institution. 

If you attended an elementary, middle or high school in British Columbia since 1993, attended a B.C. Public Post-Secondary Institution since 1998, or wrote a provincial exam since 1986, you can find your PEN number from:

• School district office
• Recent documents, such as transcripts and report cards

You can also request your PEN from GetMyPEN. 

Based on information you provide within your applicant profile, a Personal Education Number (PEN) may be automatically validated by the PEN Registry. Once validated no changes can be made. The validation of a PEN is a process managed through the Ministry of Education and Child Care. For questions, or to get your PEN contact the PEN registry. 

Students who graduated from a B.C. high school should refer to the B.C. Student Transcripts Service in order to request high school transcripts. 

Each institution sets their own policy on receiving transcripts and additional required admission documents. As noted in the application confirmation email, once the institution reviews your initial application, they will contact you directly about next steps. 

If you have questions about your submitted application, please contact the school directly. 

Their Admissions/Registrar's Office can advise you about:

• The status of your submitted application, and next steps of the admission process
• Where, how, and when to submit transcripts and other supplementary documents
• How to make changes to your submitted application
• Your student number

When adding an item to your Academic History, if your high school or post-secondary institution is not listed in the EducationPlannerBC drop-down menu please select 'YES' for "Are you unable to find your school by name?".

You will then be able to enter your high school or post-secondary institution information manually. 

If you were homeschooled, when adding an item to your Academic History, click 'YES' for "Are you wanting to add a homeschool to your academic history?".

Then you will be prompted to fill out your attended start/end dates, and current or highest completed grade. Then click done to save this item. 

EducationPlannerBC is an online application service only and does not process applications. 

If you have questions about your submitted application(s), including a status update (next steps in admissions and enrolment) please direct them to the institution's Admissions/Registrar's Office. During busy times, admission processing can take several weeks. 

The Admissions/Registrar's Office can advise you about:

• The status of your submitted application 
• The next steps in the admission process
• Where to submit transcripts and other supplementary admission documents
• How to make changes to your submitted application
• Your student number

Note: Most institutions will contact you via email with updates or requests for further information. Please check your email including spam/junk folders for a message from the institution you applied to. 

Confirmation that your payment is successful, and your application is submitted is when you receive all of the following:

• a message on your screen confirming your application was submitted,
• a receipt and confirmation by email,
• a copy of your application under your "Submitted Applications" list when you log in to your account.

Review a pdf copy of your application within your account under “submitted applications”. 

Once you have successfully submitted your application that information is sent directly to the institution you were applying to. If you wish to make a change to your submitted application, please contact the institution directly. Contact details for B.C. public post-secondary institutions are listed here.

If an institution is listed as offline on EducationPlannerBC, this means that the institution is not currently accepting online applications through EducationPlannerBC. 

This may be due to:

• open dates and deadlines as defined by the institution (not accepting applications for any program between certain dates), or
• temporary outages for system updates

The reason why applications are closed is often stated in the "Information for applicants" section. 

We recommend that you:

• review dates and deadlines as listed on the institution's website, and/or
• contact the institution's Admissions/Registrar Office for more information on application open dates or deadlines for your program of choice. 

All institutions accept Visa and MasterCard credit cards. However, very few accept Debit Visa/Debit Mastercard, or American Express. 

Review the images on the payment page to determine accepted payment options.

What if I do not have an accepted form of payment?
If you do not have an accepted form of payment, you may be able to use a prepaid credit card; be sure that your prepaid card has an expiration date, and that the prepaid card will cover the application fee AND any activation fees on the prepaid card. 

Accounts must be confirmed before completing the payment step. Payment information must be entered and submitted within 5 minutes of loading the page. If your payment takes longer than 5 minutes to process, here are potential situations you may be encountering:

My credit card/bank shows a fee was charged, but my application is not showing as submitted. What does this mean?

• This is known as a pre-authorization hold. This hold will automatically expire/remove, but we are not able to determine timelines.
• Some cards (specifically international cards) may show a pre-authorization hold for 30 or more days. In order to submit your application, you will need to complete the payment step again, in some instances this may be while your pre-authorization hold still remains.
  • Confirmation that your payment is successful, and your application submitted is when you receive all of the following: 
    • a message on your screen confirming your application was submitted,  
    • a receipt and confirmation by email, 
    • a copy of your application under your "Submitted Applications" list when you log in to your account. 
• Applications are not submitted until you receive confirmation as stated above. 
• All payments are made directly to the institution you are applying to, no fees are paid to EducationPlannerBC. If you want to discuss your pre-authorization hold, we recommend you contact your bank/credit card provider.

My card keeps saying it is declined, why is that?

• Your bank/card provider may be preventing the transaction from going through or you may have reached your daily limit. Please contact your bank/card provider to discuss this further.
• The billing address you entered does not match the address associated with the credit card you are using. Some institutions do not require billing information. However, if billing information is requested on the payment page, it is required. 
  • Ensure the billing address you type in matches what your credit card provider has on file for that account. 
  • Please remove any extra characters including hyphens (-). 
  • Add street address only, not city and province/state.
  • In rare cases, you may need to remove apartment numbers from the address field. 
  • Canadian postal codes may need to be all capitalized or the space between characters added/removed (this varies depending on the bank). 

What can I expect when I'm at the payment step?

• Once you click 'Submit' it may take a few moments to complete your fee payment transaction. DO NOT close your browser while the payment is processing as this may interrupt payment completion. 

When your fee payment is complete and your application is submitted, you will receive each of the following: 

• a message on the screen, AND
• a receipt and confirmation by email (to the email listed for the account) AND
• a listing, including the application number on your Submitted Applications list.

If you are unable to pay your application fee due to payment options available to you, please contact the institution you are applying to directly. No fees are paid to EducationPlannerBC. 

Contact details for B.C. institutions can be found by finding the institution's name here. 

What is financial assistance? 

Financial assistance includes different types of financial support that you can access to help with the costs of pursuing post-secondary education. 

You can find a number of local scholarships, bursaries, and awards through your high school counsellor, community, post-secondary institution, and StudentAid BC. 

What is StudentAid BC?

StudentAid BC is a government program that helps British Columbia students with the cost of post-secondary education. The program connects students to both federal and provincial student financial assistance, and eligibility is based on financial need. 

You can apply for the following types of student financial assistance through StudentAidBC:

• Student Grants: awarded based on the student's financial need to help cover educational expenses like tuition fees, textbooks, and living costs. Grants provided by StudentAid BC do not need to be repaid. 
• Student Loans: repayable financial assistance. 
• Other student financial assistance: programs include specific supports for low-and middle-income students, former youth in care, students who have a permanent disability, or a persistent or prolonged disability, and borrowers who need help with repayment. 

Other types of student financial assistance to explore.

• Scholarships: awarded to students for outstanding scholastic achievement, community & leadership involvement and/or sports accomplishments. 
• Bursary: funds are used to support students who need financial assistance and have satisfactory academic achievement. 
• Awards: recognize significant contribution in various area(s) of expertise. Tend to acknowledge the contributions that are made by students and many have a monetary value. 

Your High School Counsellor or the Financial Aid and Awards Department at the Post-Secondary institution you wish to apply to are great resources to explore financial assistance options. 

To explore more about financial assistance, visit our financial resources page. 

If you are trying to submit your application and cannot see the payment page that may mean your account has not been confirmed. 

When you first created your account, you would have received an email from mailer@educationplannerbc.ca with the subject "Confirm Your EducationPlannerBC Account".

If you cannot locate that email in your inbox you will need to request the email again by hovering over your email in the top right corner and click 'Update Email'. Always be sure to check your junk/spam folder. 

Once you have confirmed your account you will be able to review, pay, and submit your application.

There are a number of options available for upgrading or completing high school/secondary school courses in B.C.

• Your local school district may offer courses in-class, summer, or online/distance learning (availability and delivery type depends on the district). Please contact them directly. 
• Universities and colleges throughout B.C. offer "Adult Upgrading" or "Adult Basic Education" whether you want to do one or two courses, or earn your high school graduation. Use the EducationPlannerBC Search tool to find which schools offer such programs. Use the filter on the left for Credentials >High School Equivalency to find details regarding admission, start dates, and more. Contact the institution directly for more information.
• Please visit Adult Upgrading - Province of British Columbia to learn more about upgrading options in B.C. 

Don't forget to explore the StudentAidBC website to learn how to apply for the Adult Upgrading Grant.

You can submit as many applications to institutions through the EducationPlannerBC platform as you would like.

Some (but not all) institutions will allow you to apply for two programs using the same application. Other institutions require you to submit a second application if applying for multiple programs at the same campus. Please review 'Information for applicants' before completing your application. 

If you have specific questions about programs, including the application or admissions process, please refer to the website of the institution that you are applying to. To find this information, search the name of your institution in the Search database.

Fees are charged for each application and paid directly to the school. No fees are charged or paid to EducationPlannerBC. 

Note: EducationPlannerBC is a planning and application-for-admissions service only. After your application has been accepted, you will be instructed by the institution on how to register for specific courses. Each institution has different ways to enroll in individual courses outside of a degree program. 

Contact information to the 25 public post-secondary institution's listed on the EducationPlannerBC website can be found here.

My List allows you to compare and decided between thousands of programs offered at B.C. post-secondary institutions. In order to add and compare you must have an active EducationPlannerBC account. 

With the My List function you can compare quick program facts such as location, credentials, length, and so much more. You can learn more about My List here. 

To reset or recover your EducationPlannerBC account please follow these steps:

1. Go to the Apply website: www.educationplannerbc.ca/apply
2. Click on Login to your EducationPlannerBC Account.
3. Click on Forgot your password? Type your email address into the box and click Reset Password. An email will be sent to the email address provided with further instructions on how to recover your account.

• If you do not receive an email with your new password within 15 minutes:
  • Check your Spam or Junk folders for an email from mailer@educationplannerbc.ca.
  • Send an email to mailer@educationplannerbc.ca so your email system can recognize our email address as OK, then request the password reset email again.
  • Verify that your email address is correct within your account.
  • If you received an 'Invalid' message, try clearing the cache on your web browser or try an alternate browser or device, and try again to Reset Password. Copy and paste the new link into a browser. 

4. Please follow the single-use link in the email to reset your password. The new password must be at least 8 characters in length, and include:

• At least one lower case letter
• At least one upper case letter
• At least one number
• At least one special character

5. After successfully logging into your account, you can review and update the following information anytime in the top right corner under your Username:

• Update Password
• Update Email Account

Application Form questions have changed: 

EducationPlannerBC implements changes and updates to the profile form as necessary to ensure applicants have a seamless journey through the application process. 

If you return to your "Profile" and are not able to proceed forward with your application, you may be requested to complete sections of your application that may now have missing information. This may occur if a question has been added or if the wording of a question has changed slightly since the last time you logged into your account. 

Each section of your "Profile" will turn green when you have successfully completed and saved your answers, and you will be able to move forward with an in progress application or submit a new application. 

Your account is not confirmed:

When you created your EducationPlannerBC account, you received an email from mailer@educationplannerbc.ca, with the subject line "EducationPlannerBC: Confirm Your Account".

You need to click on the 'Confirm Account' link in the email to verify your identity and email address. Applications cannot be submitted unless your account is confirmed. 

If you are experiencing and issue with the confirmation link, please check out the FAQ "Why am I receiving an error message on my account page". 

If you are not receiving expected emails from EducationPlannerBC here are some things to check:

1. Verify your email: Verify that your account email address is correct. Please log in to your EducationPlannerBC account if you can; select 'Update Email' from the menu at the top-right and follow directions on that page to change and save the corrected email address. Any previous messages are not re-sent at this time.

2. Check if your inbox is full: Verify that your email account has sufficient storage space to receive our replies. If your account does not have sufficient storage space, you will not be able to receive new emails and we may not be able to contact you. Please note: EducationPlannerBC communicates via email. 

3. Spam filtering: Email systems use multiple levels of spam filtering. Please try each of the following steps, in order:

• Search all folders (especially Spam/Junk folders) for an email from mailer@educationplannerbc.ca.
• If it is not found anywhere in your email history and folders: 
  • Send an email (blank or with the word "Hello" in the body of the email) to mailer@educationplannerbc.ca so your email system can recognize our email address as OK
  • Request the email again (password recovery, confirm account email, receipt/confirmation email).

The EducationPlannerBC Support team is available during business hours (Pacific time), Monday to Friday, except statutory holidays. We typically reply within 1-2 business days, in the order that messages are received. Please only send one inquiry per issue. 

If you have any further questions please email us from the email associated with your account to support@educationplannerbc.ca.

The following errors may occur depending on your web browser, data, or other factors:

• A page you are trying to access won't load properly.
• Unable to save a completed section of your Profile.
• You are receiving an error message when visiting https://apply.educationplannerbc.ca/.
• You receive an invalid error when clicking on your 'confirm account' or 'password recovery' link.

We recommend you try all the following steps:

• Clear your web browser's cache.
• Use a different device or a different browser. 
• Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge are recommended browsers. Internet Explorer is not recommended and will cause errors.
• Ensure you have an up-to-date version of any browser you use. 
• Javascript must be enabled. Please check your browser settings. 
• Ensure you are trying to load www.educationplannerbc.ca/apply. 

If you receive an invalid error when clicking on your 'confirm account' link or 'password recovery' link here are some troubleshooting tips:

• Have you already used the link from this email? These links are one-time use only. You may need to request a new Confirm Account or Password Reset email.
• Some email programs or browsers introduce an error with this link. Please "copy link" from the Confirm Account email and paste the link into a different web browser.  A success page should be presented when this link is correctly reached.

If you are unable to resolve the issue, after trying the above steps, please report the issue to support@educationplannerbc.ca, and include all of the following information:

1. description of the issue you are experiencing and where in the form you are experiencing it, including screenshots.
2.  what device you are using  (e.g. laptop, mobile phone, tablet, etc.)
3.  location (what city/country are you in?)
4.  operating system and version (e.g. Windows 11 or MacOS 10.15.6)
5. browser name and version (e.g. Firefox 78.0.2 or Chrome 84.0.4147) 
6. if you are using data, Wi-Fi, or a wired network

Please note the following when uploading documents to an application form.

1. File uploads are presently limited to 10MB per file.  
2. Accepted file types are: PDF, TIFF, JPG and PNG.
3. Please also ensure that the filename includes only characters from a standard English keyboard/character set.
4. There should be no extra periods in the filename, only before the file extension (for example, my.resume.2020.pdf will not work, but myresume2020.pdf).

The system may take a few minutes to upload the file. If you receive an error "Pending or Rejected Documents as Part of Application", please review the message and wait a minute or so, then refresh the page in your web browser. 

The message will most likely say: "Your file had not been scanned yet, and applications can only be submitted once all files have been successfully scanned. Please refresh the page in a couple of minutes.".

Common troubleshooting tips if you're receiving loading errors on files which should be accepted:

• Delete the uploaded item
• Refresh the page, and/or clear your web browser's cache
• Upload the file again, and save that section of the application once complete

If the issue persists please email us at support@educationplannerbc.ca with a screenshot of the error you see on your screen, what browser you are using, and what device you are using.

The EducationPlannerBC application and user accounts will be unavailable due to regular monthly maintenance every second to last Thursday of each month from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.