Canadian student in need of advice

Parents Forum
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<p>I am in need of advice from the wise parents on this board. People around here are not very knowledgeable when it comes to the American college process, and are in the mentality that if you are a good well rounded student, you can get in anywhere.</p>

<p>I had always wanted to go to an Ivy League school; however, after reading this site for awhile, I had decided that I probably had no chance anyway and might as well stick to Canadian universities. Now, I'm starting to rethink this. Lately at school there has been a lot of talk about writing the PSAT/SAT and many students and teachers have mentioned to me that I should write them, as I guess they assume that I will be going to an Ivy League or something. I am starting to think that maybe I should give it a try...</p>

<p>I am a female grade 11 student at a public IB school. I am taking the full IB Diploma. Although we don't receive rankings, I am pretty sure that I am ranked 2-4 out of about 325 or so. I've have a 4.0 GPA (highest, straight A's) and last year my average was 95%. So academically, I am at the top of my class and I am sure I will stay that way over the next two years.</p>

<p>I am very involved in skiing, and raced for four years before having to quit this season. I am the captain of my school team, and am in charge of organizing and promoting the program at my school. Also, during the winter I volunteer teaching skiing to people with disabilities. I also row competitively, practicing many hours a week, which limits the other activities I can be involved in. I am on the Student Government and an active member, though I cannot hold an office position because of the conflict with rowing. I am unable to join any other clubs at school, even though I would like to, because they all meet at the same time as my rowing practices. I also have played piano for 10 years, have completed my grade 9 RCM level, and teach lessons to four students. Finally, I have some other general volunteer work with my rowing club, Big Brothers, community events, and such. </p>

<p>I realize since there are so many other people with exceptional accomplishments much greater than mine, competition is extremely stiff. However, I would just like some advice if I would be wasting my time applying to an Ivy League, or if I have at least some chance. </p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any responses.</p>

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<p>topicalsplash, what are your academic and other interests in a college? There are 8 "Ivy League" schools in the US, and quite a few more that are similar caliber but not part of that particular sports league ;) and even among the 8 Ivys, the schools range all over the map in terms of size, location, specialties, campus, activities, etc etc. (except that they're all basically in the northeastern US). Are there specific schools in which you are interested? Your stats are certainly excellent (although you would need the SATs or ACT to apply to almost any US school), and you've got some interesting ECs that show your long-term commitment to things you're passionate about. There are almost surely some great American schools that would be interested in considering you. As a Canadian, you'd be considered in the International applicants pool, which is often much more competitive, and you'd need to consider the financial aid aspect (some schools here provide little to no financial aid for internationals, yet some provide quite a bit). </p>

<p>Do some homework on the specific schools you're interested in, and then come ask some specific questions. I see no reason why you'd be wasting your time applying to the right schools.</p>

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<p>Splash:</p>

<p>Canadian female rowers have pretty good luck getting into Ivy's and other rowing schools, if they are qualified. We know several.</p>

<p>How good is your rowing programme? Do you go to St Catherine's? Anything your rowing coaches can do to contact those schools? As far as I know, the Ivy's do provide financial aid to Canadian students, but I do not know the income standards, etc.</p>

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<p>I'm an American and went to an Ivy League College and Grad School. My daughter is presently a junior at McGill. She loves it. My observation is this- that McGill, U Toronto, UBC, and a few others are comparable to Ivy League schools. The professors are excellent. And the quality of the students is extremely high. Most Ivy League schools have grade inflation - sooner or later it will catch up to them in the workplace among those who do hiring. There is NO grade inflation at McGill - my daughter is working diligently EVERY one of her classes. Only downside - maybe - is that first year or two at Canadian school classes will be large and you need to be self-motivated. LAST - take a look at the tuition costs - Ivy League schools are grossly overpriced. As a Canadian your tuition at McGill or UT will be one-quarter of what you'd pay in the States.</p>

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<p>Your chances of getting into an Ivy league school are no better or worse than if you were American. All of these are need blind for Canadians. This is not true for schools like Caltech or Chicago but is true for most of the Ivy league schools, some LACs like Williams and Wellesley, and for MIT.</p>

<p>Since you are female a place like Wellesley or Smith might look very attractive and is almost certainly possible. Assuming your marks hold up this year and your teachers make generally comforting noises you would look pretty good almost everywhere. Your full IB takes care of the distribution requirements, so don't worry about that. Just tell yourself that the standard is a first and that the rest is up to the gods.</p>

<p>Why not invest C$ 30 in a SAT preparation text--"Princeton" or "10 real SATS" and get a feel ifor whether you are in the ballpark. Do one practice test for fun, then read through the prep stuff and take it again. If you get 2200 plus you're in the ballpark.</p>

<p>I mentored a few kids from an inner city Canadian school to apply. One of them got in at Princeton, Yale, and Columbia. The private schools in this city quite regularly sent kids to Yale or Harvard. Admission to HPY is a crapshoot for everyone. With Queen's or Trinity as a back up, you have no downside. Go for it!</p>

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<p>Harvard has a scholarship program for Canadian students. <a href="http://www.scholarship.harvard.edu/if/iall.html#canada%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.scholarship.harvard.edu/if/iall.html#canada&lt;/a>
I think it is never a waste of time to apply - you might get in, you might not, but at least you won't spend the rest of your life thinking, "I wonder if I could have gotten into Havard. Although for the money, Queens or Western Ontario will probably let you make the kind of social connections in Canada that make schools like Harvard so appealing for American students.</p>