<p>Hi there!
I am currently in Grade 10 and studying in Canada. I have so many questions going through my mind at the moment. It would be extremely helpful if I could get the answers to a few of them. </p>
<p>1) Which year grades does University of California Santa Barbara look at?
2) In Canada an A is considered 80-100%, would the universities in the US consider an 80 a B?
3) Im in IB at my school currently. Will it make a difference if I carry on with it in junior year and senior year?
4) For UCSB what range should my grades be around?
5) What ACT score is perfect in order to be accepted by UCSB?
6) Since I am Canadian, do I have a chance of getting into UCSB?
7) Any tips?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>They will consider your grades from 9-12, but more emphasis will be placed on 10,11, and 12. If you got a 30% in grade 9 math, they might ask you. But if you got 80% in grade 9 and improved to high 90’s in grade 12, they LOVE that.</p></li>
<li><p>They usually consider that a B, but remember that the adcoms are very knowledgeable on the situation in each country and will also consider your school’s definition (Section on common app. for counsellor to write definition of A’s, B’s in your school).</p></li>
<li><p>I’d recommend you carry on with IB if you can, especially if your school does not offer AP courses. Most schools in America offer near 20 AP courses, so a nice IB score will put you on the same level as American applicants. </p></li>
<li><p>Copied from about.com: Test Scores – 25th / 75th Percentile</p>
<p>SAT Critical Reading: 540 / 650
SAT Math: 550 / 670
SAT Writing: 540 / 650 </p></li>
</ol>
<p>*Getting near 700 on all or above will make your chances much higher.</p>
<ol>
<li>I’ll give you the percentile, sorry but i’m part of the SAT lovers team :)</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>As long as you don’t apply for financial aid, you’ll be up to par with American applicants. Do remember that its a public university, so there are a lot of slots specifically reserved for Americans. Therefore, you’ll be fighting with some genius Indian and Chinese students to get in, so you better have good grades. Thankfully, a Canadian has an advantage over a Chinese student because too many people from China apply :)</p></li>
<li><p>Talk to your guidance counselor about this, they may know a lot about American admissions.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>P.S: What school do you go to? I’m currently attending P.E.T in Markham, Ontario (Got 5 AP courses!)</p>
<p>Thanks A LOT! I have so many other questions going through my mind at the moment its insane
I live in Regina, Saskatchewan. People who live here usually end up going to the University of Regina, and I don’t want that to happen to me We don’t have guidance counsellors here, I’m going through a bit of a crisis at the moment!
Do you think I should take the IB diploma program?</p>
<p>UCSB (but I think it’s more visible at UCSD, UCLA and Berkeley) tends to favor full-paying out-of-staters over full-paying in-staters, with a given file.</p>
<p>Is there a reason why you’d want to attend UCSB as an undergrad? Maybe it is better to attend UCSB in grad school, especially if your intended career requires a PhD.</p>
<p>I’d often say that it is best to spend the difference between a Canadian school and a foreign school if the foreign school is markedly better for your field than any Canadian school. UCSB is not markedly better than a Canadian school and has poor FA for internationals.</p>
<p>OP may also be doing this because he/she wants a job in the U.S. Going to UCSB will give you a nice paying job, and you’ll get to leave Canada and its 2 feet of snow :P</p>
<p>If financial aid is a problem, then I’d recommend a Canadian university, atleast you can try to apply for a visa and everything later, but it will take many years to finally become a citizen. You can also decide to stay in Canada, but I’d recommend against that if you have dreams and passion.</p>
<p>You may want to ignore “arceuz”, he seems to hate everything about Canada.</p>
<p>Out of state tuition in the UC system is in the low $30,000/year range. Also, as a Canadian you will not be eligible for need based financial aid from them. Can your parents afford this?</p>
<p>UCSB looks at grades 10-12. So that’s about a 3.70 UW </p>
<p>If you took the IB program and do well in it, then you’ll get six courses weighted up as long as you get a C or better. And pay attention to your ECs since UCSB will take that into account, unlike U Regina.</p>
(Got 5 AP courses!)</p>
We don’t have guidance counsellors here, I’m going through a bit of a crisis at the moment!