Canadian Wants to Transfer into UWO, Queen’s, or McMaster Engineering

Hi,

I’m a Canadian currently in his 2nd year of biomedical engineering at a Canadian university. Although I’m in 2nd year, I only have two semester on my transcript. I’d like to transfer into 1st year engineering at either UWO, Queen’s, or McMaster. I’m interested in electrical and mechanical engineering where applicable.

Here are my qualifications:

High school:
Maintained a 95 average all 4 years. Won the 90+ award all 4 years. Won several academic awards.

Extracurriculars:
Was in an international languages program throughout high school. Finished the program with a 96 average and won the student of the year award in last year.

University:
In 1st year I took 1 semester of engineering courses. I finished with a 73. However, my average that year was lower than it could have been due to serious extenuating circumstances. Withdrew without penalty my winter semester due to those circumstances.

In 2nd year, I’m currently taking 1 semester of easy elective classes. Expect to finish with an average in the low 90s. This should bring up my overall university average to the low 80s.

Extenuating circumstances:
Essentially, my dad became disabled, left his job, and then died. When my dad was still alive, my mom wanted to divorce him because of his disability and the financial issues at home. My family became poor after my dad’s disability and subsequent death.

Opportunity:
I may also be able to withdraw without penalty my fall semester of 1st year due to my circumstances. This would leave me with only my current semester on my transcript. Should I try to get my fall semester of 1st year withdrawn?

Based on my qualifications, what are my chances of transferring into UWO, Queen’s, or McMaster for engineering? I would prefer to start from 1st year and don’t care about transfer credits. Advice on how to improve my chances is also welcome.