A Few Questions

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

<p>A few months ago I found this website and after reading it I have come to a realization. I'm a junior in high school and this is my last year to really pull up my marks and get into a good university. Let me give you a little background info first. </p>

<p>In 8th grade I switched from a large public school in America to a small private school in Canada. Honestly, I regret this decision, but I realize that I need to make the best of what I have now. At my old school, I was a top achiever, being ranked 3rd out of a class of about 80. However, when I came to my new school, my old style of winging tests and not studying obviously failed.</p>

<p>In 8th grade, at my new school, I got an average of 79% and did not get honor roll.</p>

<p>In 9th grade, I did achieve honor roll, however I don't have my exact average so I am going to assume that it was 80% which would be a 3.0</p>

<p>In 10grade, I also got honor roll, and I again don't have my exact average so I will again assume it is 80% which would be a 3.0. (Please take into account that honor roll is between 80-84% at my school, so there is the possibility that I got over a 3.0 both years)</p>

<p>Now, in 11th grade first term I got an 83% average. I am going to assume it is a 3.0 just for the first time. If I am able to pull off 4.0's in the next two terms I will get 3.66 as my GPA. I believe this will be rounded off to 3.7? </p>

<p>So basically, according to this the overall GPA for these three years would be a 3.2. Now I have a few questions.</p>

<p>First of all, what is the difference between a weighted and unweighted GPA?</p>

<p>Second, my school does not have any + or - marks, just the letter marks (A, B, C, F). Will universities take this into account?</p>

<p>Third, my school does not offer any honor courses and only offers two AP classes which are only offered in grade 12. They are AP Lit and AP Calculus. I will be taking part in both next year.</p>

<p>Fourth, is there any way for me to make my application stronger? I do sports, I am in jazz band, I volunteer at 2 of the local hospitals. My school does not offer many extra curricular activities other than sports. So most of the stuff I do will have to be out of school.</p>

<p>Fifth, this year they made jazz band an actual course and I got a mark of 66%. I talked to my teacher and my counselor because I don't want this mark to bring down my GPA. My teacher recommended continuing with jazz band, however just taking it is an extra curricular, since practices are outside of actual school times this is allowed. However, my counselor says that this will not count for my GPA and I am better off keeping the course since it will look good for colleges. So, my question for you is, is it better to keep the course with the low mark and will it count as my GPA, or should I just take it as an extracurricular activity?</p>

<p>Sixth, I am writing the SAT's in June and I have been told this is my best chance to get into a better college. Many university students have told me that it is either the SAT's or your grades that are going to get me into university. First of all, is this true? Since my grades are not spectacular should I be going crazy over studying for the SAT's right now? Also, what is the best way? Using the SAT guide books, flash cards, reading in general? </p>

<p>Seventh, as I mentioned earlier my school does not offer many AP's and no honor courses. However, the province of British Columbia has many distributed learning courses which I can take. For example, this website:
LearnNowBC</a> - Course Finder
basically, lets me do any course I want through distributed learning. Now my question for you is, would it be worth me taking AP classes through distributed learning right now while I do the grade 11 versions of the class, or should I focus on improving my marks instead? This is probably a bad question, but is it possible to redo classes that you have done in the past? Or, at least could I redo classes that I do not do well in this year? Like if I were to get 80% in some class could I redo the class in summer school and get a higher mark like 90%+?</p>

<p>Eight, my friend currently attends a public school here in British Columbia and they have a significantly easier time to get good marks. At my school I work reasonably, complete all my homework and assignments, participate in class, go reasonably well on tests, and get averages around 80%. However, at his school as long as you come to class and complete your homework you get 80% and if you do reasonably well the teacher brings your mark over 90%. I don't want to sound like a complainer, but how do I compete with this? My friend got an 86% in math and he could not do most of the math we do in our school and we are in the same level of math class.</p>

<p>Ninth, my sister has been attending the University of Washington for the last four years and has just recently been accepted at the University of Washington Medical School. I would like to know if I will have any advantage, even if small, of getting into the University of Washington since my sister goes there?</p>

<p>Last, my real dream school is the University of British Columbia. However, I have been told by many people that the University of Washington is significantly better and I will have a lot more opportunity there. I have also been told that if I wanted to do my undergrad at UBC, but then let's say I wanted to apply to medical school in America I would have a much lower chance than someone who went to university in America. Is this true? Any advice on which I should choose? Also, is there a UBC section on this forum, I have been unable to find it. </p>

<p>Thanks for reading through this post. It is winter vacation now and I really have a chance to change the way things have been going and look towards my future. I really appreciate any advice and responses to the questions I have asked.</p>

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<p>

In the US system there are AP (Advanced Placement) / IB (International Baccalaureate) classes you can choose to take. They’re more advanced courses said to correspond to university level courses (though this is greatly disputed, especially on CC ;)), and as such they’re worth more than regular and honors classes. For example, an A in regular biology is worth a 4.0 whereas an A in AP or IB Biology is a 5.0. Different schools have different grading systems, but generally that’s how it goes. Unweighted GPA is what your grades would be without the boost, and of course weighted factors in the boost from AP courses.

There are a lot of high schools in the US that don’t have those marks, either. Some systems give higher or lower marks depending on the plus or minus (for example, an A+ is a 4.25, an A- is a 3.75 and a normal A is a 4.0). Universities factor in what type of system you have, but for the most part it’s not hugely significant.

I don’t understand the question. x)

Generally I’m against these types of questions - really, it depends on you. Find something you like and stick with it, don’t go crazy signing up for random EC’s because you think it’ll look good on applications. This’ll work against you, especially now that you’re in 11th grade. I would focus on grades and SAT scores, as EC’s are usually secondary factors in consideration.

If you decide to keep it, the low mark would cancel out the idea of it looking good on your application. Will it be on your record as an incomplete or would it just vanish completely? I would drop it - why was it low (mind you, I’ve got no clue about the Canadian system.. I don’t know if a 66 is considered low or not).

Untrue. Universities factor in both SAT’s and grades, and most place more emphasis on grades. If you get a high SAT score and low grades, you’ll come off to the admissions staff as smart but lazy. Vice versa would tell them you’re hardworking but not so smart. No university, however, will base admissions solely on one factor. Study for them anyway if you have the time, though I’d be giving advice I never followed, lol. They basically test you on vocabulary, reading comprehension and basic math. I would say a good SAT prep book would be fine (the giant blue book issued by Collegeboard itself and Kaplan seem to be the most highly recommended. Barrons works wonders for SATII’s).

Mind you, if you see yourself doing well on the AP exams, then by all means, go for it. I don’t see the point in retaking classes you’ve already taken. They’re over, take other classes and move on. Colleges would rather see you get an A in a new, more advanced course than an A in a course you’ve taken already. But hey, if you have the time to do both..

Accept it and move on. It’s the same in the US, some schools are clearly harder than others, and for the most part it’s not fair. It’s up to you to figure out a way to challenge yourself. If your friend can’t do your math homework, chances are he won’t take AP Calculus. But you can, and these advantages are noted on applications.

I would say no. Legacies only go from parents to children, not siblings.</p>

<p>Hope this helped, best of luck. :slight_smile:
Alex</p>