Applying to Canadian University as an undergraduate transfer student from the United States

Student Lounge International Students
1

First, the long intro describing my credentials.

I am currently an undergraduate student finishing up my AA degree in the United States with a concentration in Computer Science/Software Engineering. I currently have about a year left, and I currently have a 3.4 GPA. I speak English, French, and some Spanish, and have made the Dean’s honors list several times. I have several extracurricular activities that I have been apart of such as volunteer beach cleanups and volunteering at the Humane Society. I also have some collegiate extracurricular activities such as being Vice President of the UAA (Urban Arts Association) at my college, and being the SGA chairman of the UAA at my college. I also have at least several professors willing to write me Letters of Recommendation to the universities I apply to. In my off time, I spend my time researching the field of Nanotechnology, and wishing to get a paper that I am currently writing published. When I do transfer, I will be attempting to transfer into the respective University’s Computer Science program.

phew That’s enough talking about myself.

Second, on to the questions.

I am going to be applying to several Canadian universities. These universities include: McGill University, University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Montreal, University of Waterloo, Calgary University, University of Toronto, and the University of Ottawa.

I guess you can say I’m applying to most of the major ones.

My first question is, as an international undergraduate transfer student, what are my chances of getting accepted to any of these universities with the credentials that I currently have?

My second question is, what if, worst case scenario, my GPA dropped to say a 3.0; would I still have a solid chance of getting accepted to any of the universities?

My third and final question (for now) is do you have any other Canadian universities that you would recommend and do you have any recommendations on any other ways I could attempt to make myself stand out?

Huge thank you in advance for answering this short essay I wrote.

2

In general Canadian universities look at GPA for admission. Admission is not holistic although there are some exceptions.

3

Do these unis even consider you a transfer student? I think that is your first question to the uni in question.

4

Agree with @Sybylla I’m not sure that Canadian universities will recognize a US community college’s credits. In any case, U of T will only give a maximum of 5 FCE’s (that’s one year’s worth of credits) for any transfer student. Computer science is especially difficult to get into, even as a high school student or to declare as a major. http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/futurestudents/admissions/transfer#1

5

I have done some research on the majority of these universities, and yes, most of them, if not all, will consider me a transfer student since I will have more than 60 transferable credit hours. (I will in fact have over 80.) I have had most of my classes reviewed, and will proceed to get my degree reviewed by the CES once completed.

6

Maybe the ones that don’t are the ones anyone here might have a clue about (So the top Canadian Unis). Try the canadian subforum. I would be surprised if UoT, UCB, or McGill put a lot of credit in CC credits. Is your home state a canadian bordering state? Really, you are the one best qualified to answer this question as you have done the legwork, if you say the courses are acceptable then I am not sure what he question is, as it is so unique to you. Even within the USA CC credits are variable. If you are considering a (CC) 3.0 gpa and have no SAT/ACT to refer to, one would think the top schools will be a real challenge.

7

I would be wary of any school that is giving you a definitive answer prior to you applying. I know that U of T, in almost all cases, will not review transfer credit until after you have been accepted and you enroll. Is there a particular reason that you are interested in a transfer to a Canadian school rather than staying in the U.S.?

8

Hey!

I am applying to tranfer to mcgill and I was wondering if anyone couldn’t choose the major. It says on my application that my major is undeclared and waiting for the dean’s decision. What exactly does it mean ? I am confused.

9

@alyati98 What faculty did you apply to?

10

I would try very hard not to let the 3.4 GPA dip further. GPA seems to be the main thing that Canadian universities look for. ECs seem to be much less important.

If you have a 3.4 at a Community College, I don’t think that you should want to go to Toronto or McGill. They are academically very challenging. I think that UBC might be a stretch for the same reason.

Otherwise, I think that you are doing well. I would drop McGill and Toronto from your list, and try to add a couple of slightly safer universities to apply to. Unfortunately I am not sure which to suggest (perhaps Carleton??). Given that you are bilingual, I expect that you know that Ottawa is officially a bilingual university – I think that this is cool but my French was never strong enough to consider this.

11

One wild thought: I see you you are an international student, and that you speak fluent French. Are you a citizen of France? If so, then all of the universities in the province of Quebec offer very good prices – French citizens attending university in Quebec pay the same tuition as a resident of Quebec. This is part of a cooperative program that allows Quebec residents to attend university in France at a very reasonable cost. I am pretty sure that Charles de Gaulle negotiated this right before saying “Vive le Quebec Libre” and being sent home.