I studied one semester in a US university, dropped out, and want to apply to colleges/universities in Canada now. Do I apply as a transfer or as a high sch student? I’m asking because most university/college websites state studying for 1 year for applying as a transfer, whereas I only studied half of that.
An additional point; I don’t mind not transferring the 7 credits I got from my first semester as a freshman and starting all over. God knows I need a fresh start.
Thanks in advance for any responses!
I would call a couple of universities and ask. Certainly there are a lot of very good universities in Canada. Also, if you want to apply for September of this year you should try to get to it soon. It appears that you have not yet reached the application deadline, but the deadline if you want to be considered for financial aid may have passed for some schools and be very soon for some others. My daughter has just finished applying to multiple universities in Canada and we have found the admissions people to be very helpful at all of them.
Also, if your high school grades were decent then I wouldn’t panic about one bad semester at university. Lots of students have a bad semester at some point. This happens and the universities know it.
@DadTwoGirls Thank you!!! I really appreciate the information you’ve provided and the advice you’ve given.
Can you recommend universities that are not reach schools, but rather, in the middle? I studied the American (U.S.) curriculum overseas, so I do have an American High School Diploma, and my GPA was 3.9. The highest SAT Score I could possibly have is 1790 if I added the highest scores I got for each section. Do you know of good Canadian universities that could quite possibly accept me that you can recommend?
Thanks again!
Canada is a very large country (over 4,000 miles from Saint John’s Newfoundland to Victoria BC). There are very good schools at both ends and in the middle. Which geographic area makes sense for you? Approximately where do you live or want to live (what state or province)? Also, large school or small (or medium)? Is any particular subject area of interest?
I am assuming that you are looking for an English language university (given both that this thread is in English, and that your high school diploma followed a US curriculum). There are a handful of very good French language universities in Canada, but most of the universities teach in English (not counting language courses).
3.9 is a good GPA. There are a lot of very good universities that you can get into with a 3.9. You probably want to skip the two most difficult and demanding universities (Toronto and McGill), but as far as I know I think that you have a chance pretty much anywhere else.
@DadTwoGirls
It really is quite daunting when I realize the amount of options available. I’ve narrowed down my choices to York, Western, McMaster, Carleton, and Prince Edward Island. I don’t have a preference for size, but really want a campus where most students dorm, and for it to be away from the city, even by a short distance.
I am leaning towards Life Science for a major. Whatever I can use to apply to Med School if I felt like it, really. I guess 3.9 is a good GPA, but my college grades are what worries me. I have a B and D, I believe. I feel like that ruins my high school grades.
I think that you should tell them that you would like to apply based on high school grades.
Regarding your choices: York is in Toronto, which is the largest city in Canada. Being Canadian it is cleaner and safer than a same-sized US city, but it is still a big city. York is also very large. McMaster is very good but academically challenging – it has the fourth-ranked medical school in Canada (and one of the top 40 in the world). It is also in a city (Hamilton). Western also has a very good medical school.
Prince Edward Island is quite a bit smaller than the other schools that you mentioned. It has a very good veterinary school, but you need to be both a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and a resident of one of the Maritime provinces in order to qualify for a reasonable (Canada-sized) tuition at the veterinary school. Veterinary school is of course in general very difficult to get into. However, my understanding is that getting into Medical or Veterinary school in Canada is primarily based on the most recent two years of your undergraduate work, which of course will allow you to forget your one unfortunate first semester at university in the US (assuming that you don’t apply until after at least two more years of university).
Given your list two things come to mind: One is that these are all very good universities. The other thing that comes to mind that that you might also want to consider Dalhousie in Nova Scotia and/or Queens in Kingston Ontario.
@DadTwoGirls I only have appreciation for you. Thank you so much! I’ve heard of Dalhousie and Queens. Hopefully something works out well. I’d like to wish your daughter all the best and that she gets to attend a good university to her liking too. Thanks again; your advice has been well received!!!