Chances at Mcgill

<p>-I'm an Indian citizen living in America(will my international citizenship help?)
-I go to a very competetive public high school(ranked #1 in New Jersey)
-My gpa is about an 89 which is a 3.4
-My SATs sit at a composite of score of 2120(720M, 670V, 730W). But i recently retook them and am expecting a 2150+ with a 1400+ in math and verbal alone.</p>

<p>Considering Mcgill doesn't take into consideration extracurriculars, essays, etc....I'll leave them out. </p>

<p>So do I stand a shot? I've heard the average entering grade for Mcgill is an 89%....but I'm not sure if an 89% in Canada is equivalent to an 89% in America. I keep getting the impression that it's harder to get into Mcgill from the States and that they have higher standards for applicants like me...I'm a little worried =/</p>

<p>Actually, the average entering grade for McGill is about a 3.8 GPA.</p>

<p>I'm from New Jersey and I know what school you're from; my school is ranked #3 in the state, to your school and one other. Our grading system is pretty harsh here, as I expect it is there, even more so.</p>

<p>Uhh, where'd you get that the average entering grade at McGill is a 3.8 GPA? I'm at the college board site now, and it would lead me to believe that it's closer to a 3.5 or 3.6.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.cirpa-acpri.ca/conf2005/files/7cslides.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cirpa-acpri.ca/conf2005/files/7cslides.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>on page 21 they list the average entering grades for some of Canada's top school's. I'm not doubting your statement....but I'm just not sure which grade to base my chances upon.</p>

<p>so is an 88-89 in canada equivalent to a 3.8(~93) in the US?</p>

<p>bump10char</p>

<p>no, i don't think thats right. I live in Canada, so this might be why there is confusion because i've heard, and please don't be mad, that it is easier to get better grades in the States. 89 in Canada is pretty much good enough to get into any university. Obviously it depends on the program you are trying to get into. my sis got into business which is quite hard and she had an 87 i believe.</p>

<p>(this is directed to Calcruzer... i believe the others are right)</p>

<p>so score911...do you think an 89 in the US will cut it at Mcgill? :(</p>

<p>I'm planning on applying to the Arts department and majoring in Econ/Finance.</p>

<p>According to Princeton Review, the average for McGill is 3.7 GPA and 1360 (M/V) SAT and 29 ACT.</p>

<p>I'm wondering about that too...I have a 3.53 Cum GPA and I'm applying to finance.</p>

<p>score911... youre exactly correct in your assumption... having attended school in both countries, higher grades are easier to come by in the states... in canada, a 93 means something....</p>

<p>The data I quoted is from the Princeton Review book, "Best 361 Colleges" (2006 edition). However, Princeton Review didn't indicate if it was 3.8 GPA unweighted or weighted.</p>

<p>However, since something like 95% of McGill students are in the top 15% of their HS graduating classes, I presumed it means 3.8 unweighted. Only a 3.8 would make this consistent with US schools.</p>

<p>The problem is that McGill gives stats for in-province students, but not for US students, even though 7% of their class is from the US. However, Canadian students cannot enter McGill from High School, they go to what Canadians call 'college' first for 2 years. (In Canada, the term college and university do not mean the same thing like they do in the U.S.) </p>

<p>Anyway after you finish the Canadian college program, then you can apply for attending a university (such as McGill)--although it is also possible to apply directly from high school (most do not do so). The colleges in Canada have classes that are always taught by PhD's and significantly more difficult than high school--so essentially they are a cross between the first two years at a community college and the first two-years of regular college program. Naturally GPAs are lower coming out of here than directly out of high school. </p>

<p>This is what generates the confusion. McGill is the most competitive school to get into in Canada according to Canadian rankings, and since Canadian schools don't use essays or reccomendations as criteria, since so-called intangibles such as those are frowned upon there, they use only average scores (the average score for McGill is around a 92). </p>

<p>Figuring an 85 as a middle B (3.0), and 95 as a middle A (4.0), I compute a 92 as around a 3.8 score--which is also in-line with the computation above.</p>

<p>calcruzer... you can definately enter university from high school in canada...</p>

<p>I apologize for the lack of clarification--quite often I make an original post and then clarify it as soon I reread it--which is the case here--....</p>

<p>Canadians can apply directly to a university, or they can go the "college" route and transfer as is done here in the states. However, many more in Canada go the transfer route than is done in the states. I believe over 50% of the students in Canada go the transfer route--the rate is well below 50% here in the US. (Note: although over half of the students in the US are in community colleges, a large percentage of these do not ever transfer to a 4-year school).</p>

<p>exactly... i feel kind of vain for calling you on that when you actually know what youre talking about haha...</p>

<p>American in college--We're both just trying to get the info correct, so thanks for pointing it out--.</p>

<p>So what do I make of these figures that I found on collegeboard?</p>

<pre><code>* 19% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher
* 39% had h.s. GPA between 3.5 and 3.74
* 37% had h.s. GPA between 3.25 and 3.49
* 5% had h.s. GPA between 3.0 and 3.24
</code></pre>

<p>Are they according to the Canadian standards of grading or the US standards?</p>

<p>That's what I'm trying to tell you--the collegeboard is using the college transfer scores as well as the regular high school GPA scores, or else they don't understand that a 92 in Canada is not the same as an 92 in the US--since a 92 in Canada in high school is much tougher to get than in the US.</p>

<p>Look, everyone knows that McGill is the toughest college to get into in Canada--do you honestly believe that means the GPA to get into there is not equivalent to any of the top 50 schools in the US?--because that's what a 3.5 US GPA means.</p>

<p>.....I was just clearing up some doubts Calcruzer. :(</p>

<p>and after 16 replies I'm surprised no one has actually judged my chances haha</p>

<p>ok, I think you have a chance, I am a resident in Montreal Canada, I go to a hospital right beside Mcgill every week for volunteering, and I have considered Mcgill before, but at the end I decided to go to US.
I am not sure about how to convert GPA and SAT to our standard but except medical school, law school and enginerring, the rest of the subjects are not very hard to get in
I think you have above 50% chance, good luck^^</p>

<p>another advice, Toronto U has better reputation on business programs than Mcgill.</p>

<p>No they don't
Mcgill mgmt > UofT commerce</p>