Hey CC, I’d like to know if I have a shot at getting into MIT, Stanford, Ivy Leagues and any other top level universities. I’m looking in to majoring in Computer Science. First thing I’ll say is that I’m a Canadian citizen, so I’m gonna be considered an international citizen, and the grades are measured differently here (86%+ is an A, 73-85 is a B, 67-72 is a C+, 61-66 is C, 50-60 is C-, and anything lower is an F), so I’m not sure how much of an impact that’ll actually make. Anyways, from grades 8-10 I was just an average lazy kid who got bad to average grades, and didn’t really care too much about my future. However, I changed that mindset ever since grade 11 and I made it my goal to get into the top level universities of the world. My grades have vastly improved since then, and I’ve got almost straight A’s, minus English 11 class and AP Statistics. I’m almost done my school year for grade 11, and I’ve kept my grades up to the same standards as before. I believe I can get straight A’s for grade 12 too, if I study over the summer a lot. Now my main problem that’s worrying me is extracurriculars. I don’t have any extracurriculars right now, and can’t play any sports due to a leg injury. I will be writing the SATs for the first time ever in either the summer or September of next year. Will my sharp increase in grades and change in attitude look good on my application, despite my terrible performance for the first 3 years? Will I get accepted into without extracurriculars, or should I try and find some asap? Please give me your responses, I would greatly appreciate any constructive criticism and changes I need to make.
Grades 9 and 10 will be considered by the universities you apply to. The tip top schools that you mention will consider that a major negative in your application in that they expect everything in your application to be superior.
Without EC’s you will NOT be accepted at these schools and if you try and “find” some now it will be obvious and will make you look even worse.
How bad were your “bad to average” grades? I don’t really think even “almost straight As” will cut it, if the lower threshold for an A that you’re using is 86. I’m a Canadian as well, and everyone I know who managed to get into Ivies/MIT/Stanford etc. had at least a low-90s average through high school with at least mid-90s in the later years.
The fact that you have no ECs makes your predicament even worse (generally, if you are weak in one area, you can balance it a bit by being exceptionally strong in another). Even if you try, you can’t “find” any meaningful ECs that you can do in just a few months.
At this point, I don’t think you’re in great shape to apply to the US. Even just getting all of the testing done will be stressful. Honestly, I think you should look to stay in Canada for undergrad and apply to the US later on for grad school if you want to. Canadian schools offer excellent educations at affordable prices.
P.S. SATs are not offered during the summer OR in September. There’s an ACT in September though, and SATs in October, November, and December.
This is awfully late to begin the process, and nobody can “chance” you without test scores at the ultra-competitive colleges you are inquiring about. As it is, you will not have any results until priority deadlines are approaching. That does not bode well for your chances. You are looking at one of the most competitive majors at some of the most selective colleges in the world. Even if you were to get perfect scores on the fall SAT/ACT tests, your odds of admission to the colleges you mentioned would still be low.
@OrchidBloom I know my grade 9 year was really bad, barely passing math 9 (mostly due to poor teacher, though I shouldn’t blame it on him), and maybe mid 70s to low 80s for the rest. Math 10 and Science 10, I got a 80%, French 11 which I did in grade 10 I got 84%, Planning 10 I got around 90% IIRC, but really bad in Social studies 10, at 67%. My socials, math, and sciences marks are much better now, 96% in Socials 11, 94% in math 11 precalculus, and 86% average for both Chem 11 and Physics 11. I’m also top of my class in Socials and Math, if that makes any difference. I believe I can put down Guitar for extracurricular, as I have performed once, but not sure if it counts.
I was thinking of going into UWaterloo CS Co-op if I don’t get accepted into any US schools, though I want to always aim high and go for the best if possible.
You might have a bit more luck at schools which don’t look at freshman year, but even then I’ll be honest and say that it will be very difficult. I think that your time would honestly be better spent focusing on schools where you have a realistic shot of getting in.
I’m not sure how much you’ve researched CS Co-op at Waterloo, but it has become quite competitive in recent years and probably isn’t the best back-up plan for you unless you can get your (top 6) average into the 96+ range. This year’s cut-off was 95% (might be slightly lower if you’re not from Ontario).
Guitar definitely would count as an EC! Pretty much anything you do outside of class (clubs, part-time job, volunteering etc.) does.