<p>"First, I think that academically you're strong, and that for someone who only moved to Canada a few years ago, your English is very good and you're doing very well."</p>
<p>I disagree with this statement, and it's always really important to tell the truth.</p>
<p>Her grades are about average for all of the schools she's listed. The fact that she has subpar grades in English really does not help at all.</p>
<p>Her grades may be average for the schools she listed, but that doesn't change the fact that she is academically strong. People applying to these schools tend to be academically strong.</p>
<p>As for 'subpar' grades in English - who are you comparing her to? Native speakers of the language? That doesn't make sense. She's only been in Canada for a few years, and considering that, yes, her English is very good. I've lived in Mauritius all my life with people who speak English as a second language. Many of them started learning the language when they were six/seven years old. Few of them can express themselves as well as she can. Some of these students - with subpar grades in English - have been accepted to MIT, Yale, Princeton and Cornell.</p>
<p>I never said that her grades were outstanding - I was just mentioning a few things I admired about her as a person when reading the profile she had written. I was telling the truth - I gave my opinion. You've given yours.</p>
<p>Thanks Guyomar =)</p>
<p>I have a lot of close friends who applied this year, and its their rejection letters that made me worry b/c every single one of them looked like a perfect applicant to me and still got rejected to their top choices.</p>
<p>I 've had unrealistic dreams about getting into top schools before, but after this april i think i've become more practical XD</p>
<p>and the other thing is that i think we can all live a happy life regardless of where we go for university XD</p>
<p>i'll keep trying and just hope for the best XD</p>
<p>btw big brother</p>
<p>thanks for the suggestion of other schools =)</p>
<p>"Her grades may be average for the schools she listed, but that doesn't change the fact that she is academically strong. People applying to these schools tend to be academically strong."</p>
<p>When you put it that way, then yes, she is VERY strong academically. However, it is assumed that we are all speaking in terms of elite college admissions, which is really all that matters to us now.</p>
<p>"As for 'subpar' grades in English - who are you comparing her to? Native speakers of the language? That doesn't make sense. She's only been in Canada for a few years, and considering that, yes, her English is very good. I've lived in Mauritius all my life with people who speak English as a second language. Many of them started learning the language when they were six/seven years old. Few of them can express themselves as well as she can. Some of these students - with subpar grades in English - have been accepted to MIT, Yale, Princeton and Cornell."</p>
<p>Yes...but you're from Mauritius, so it's really quite useless to compare applicants there. Perhaps the colleges accepted those students in order to increase campus diversity, and if the students were accepted with "subpar grades," then that may very well be the reason.</p>
<p>The OP is Chinese, and is from Canada. She will get no slack for Bs and Cs in English. I'm "comparing" her to other Canadian acceptees, which is really the context we're focusing on. More specifically, I'm comparing her to Chinese Canadian acceptees - and these cases are a dime a dozen. I think I feel very qualified to comment on her chances.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The OP is Chinese, and is from Canada. She will get no slack for Bs and Cs in English.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Unfortunately for the OP, I agree. Even if you were Chinese from China, C's are especially unacceptable for schools of te Yale/Stanford caliber. And in this day and age, writing and reading comprehension are of utmost importance in higher education.</p>
<p>I think you should use your ED/EA card at a school you have better chances of getting into. I don't think Yale or Stanford are it.</p>
<p>"I have a lot of close friends who applied this year, and its their rejection letters that made me worry b/c every single one of them looked like a perfect applicant to me and still got rejected to their top choices."</p>
<p>And that's exactly why the OP should be looking out. You could be at the top of your game, and still get rejected by every single college you applied to. The Class of 2007 was an extremely competitive year for competitive college admissions - probably the most competitive ever. The Class of 2008 (next year) will easily top 2007 in difficulty, thanks to the Baby Boom Echo generation.</p>
<p>so i should probably EA /ED some easier schools?</p>
<p>I would prefer EA, since i still want to apply to stanford and yale and all those schools in the R round, b/c otherwise i would never get over that "should've applied" mentality my whole life</p>
<p>I really like U Mich as well....any other schools that I can look into in the early round?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>Calm down, don't be too stressed about prestige or this whole admissions process. After I got into my ED school last november, life went on as usual. Really, there's nothing really "mysterious" or exciting about it. Just treat it with a calm, objective manner and attitude. </p>
<p>After all, getting into college is only the first step you are taking. Success in the future is going to depend on your ability to face success and difficulties/failures, your level of maturity, social skills, personal attitude, and lots of other "invisible" knowledge you cannot acquire in a class room. good luck.</p>
<p>hey thanks Jimmy!</p>
<p>I guess my timing wasn't that great =) I mean i had 2 years to accumulate what i can get =) but that was my best and hopefully I can use my experience in things beyond college APP =)</p>
<p>also, if i want do to I Banking in Canada, what schools/major would you guys suggest?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>Your timing is not bad at all! A friend of mine only FOUND OUT that she had to take SATs by the September of her grade 12 year, and she only had less than 3 months to prepare all 3 SAT subject tests, SAT reasoning, essays, applications, recs, etc. etc. She admitted that this was not the most "ideal" time line, but everything turned out just fine. She got into U Chicago, Wellesley, and a few other top LACs. She never even had time to organize her ECs. Again, my point is, calm down, it's nothing scary, everything's going to be fine in the end (i know this sounds very cliche, but hey, it's true)</p>
<p>Hi Yihan,
first off, let me think of a few similarities we share
1) from China
2) immigrated to Toronto while in HS
3) Yale applicant
and one more hopefully
4) Yalie</p>
<p>yeah, I got accepted to Yale this year from Toronto. I haven't gone through all the other posts in this thread yet; but just a few quick thoughts of mine:</p>
<p>Don't get overly obsessed with your stats. Schools like Yale are way too familiar with the typical "excellent" academic and EC stats. Yours are by all means amazing. Give them something that shows you are unique, something personal, and you can achieve this mainly through your essays. I think in my application, I've been able to let the admissions staff see the "light in me" (quote from my guidance counsellor). Otherwise your application will probably be very generic and 'uninteresting' in the eye of adcoms</p>
<p>Do reflect on your personal qualities and your dedications. I personally hardly get on CC and refuse to let the admissions frenzy take over me. After my application I glanced through the posts here and felt lucky that I indeed ingrained my application an original style of mine. Remember, something intangible is usually the most valuable and defining part of a human being. </p>
<p>On my transcript, I had a few very unimpressive marks when I first came here. So I don't think that will really hurt (do ask your guidance counsellors to write an explanation letter on it); instead, it may be helpful because your later, improved marks demonstrate your ability to improve and progress. </p>
<p>The most important thing is what we do, but not really where you are. I conveyed this thought of mine to Yale and they decided to let me in
:D</p>
<p>So far so impressive. Best of luck to you fellow Chinadian!</p>
<p>Hi thanks Jimmy and Tony!</p>
<p>u guys are so nice XDDD</p>
<p>btw here's the classes i took over the years,</p>
<p>every course taken is at the U level,except for the gr 9 and 10 courses</p>
<p>gr 9</p>
<p>gym(required)
math 9
english 9
drama 9(required elective for diploma)</p>
<p>french intro
science 9
tech 9 (required elective for diploma)
geography 9 (required elective for diploma)</p>
<p>gr 10</p>
<p>french 9 (i must have this for grade 10+ french)
french 10
math 10
english 10</p>
<p>science 10
history 10
career/civics 10 (required by diploma)
accounting 11 ( M level course, required by some canadian universities for accounting major)</p>
<p>gr 11
comp sci 10
comp sci 11
math 11
data 12</p>
<p>french 11
english 11
chem 11
accounting 12</p>
<p>gr 12
politics 12
econ12
english 12
french 12</p>
<p>calculus 12
vector 12
chem 12
comp sci 12</p>
<p>here are a few questions:</p>
<ol>
<li>are science courses considered more "prestigeous" than other courses, say politics, of the same level?</li>
<li>do computer sciences count as sciences? if not, how are they classified? ( they are all M level, the highest level offered)</li>
<li>maybe it's just me, but i think my schedule is quite balanced (except for the science part?) agree lol?</li>
<li>is there any online school i can enroll for summer credit that are relatively cheap?</li>
</ol>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>Get off CollegeConfidential. Right now.</p>
<p>Is that the MOST DEMANDING course load your school is able to offer?</p>
<p>lol big brother</p>
<p>the time on my thread is off by 3 hours, i actually wrote it on 8:08 am, i think</p>
<p>to jimmy</p>
<p>it probably is, but if you think science is more demandin than french, then it isn't.</p>
<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>Wow, this seems to be such a fierce discussion, but I'm glad of the fact that many posters have raised some extremely valid points. Since I'm procrastinating for my AP stats exam (which I'll for sure fail) tomorrow, I'll throw in my $0.02 here.</p>
<p>Having gone through this process last year, I certainly understand the amount of pressure and, often times, agony of the '12 applicants. It's great to see so many competitive young minds surfacing, and I certainly admire this drive of determination. However, my purpose here today is not to say flowery flattery... </p>
<p>I've always been a firm believer of what Big Brother and Jimmy were saying: getting into a "top" school should not be-all and end-all of life, let alone the list of "top schools" doesn't stop after HYPS. It's hard for me to say this to the OP, because I actually know her personally. But you really have to consider which schools fit you - academically and socially. I didn't do too much research, but I know that UChicago is an AMAZING school for economics. And even in Canada, the choices are great. I confess, I only applied to three universities in the States (and they are all "top schools" by most's standards), but that's because I would be extremely happy to go to U of Toronto had I not gotten any big packages back in March. I had my heart set on U of T, and I was actually crying when I told my bf, who's at U of T, about the Yale decision. The tears weren't for the thought of having to leave him, but for the thought that I would never be able to enjoy the great school and campus (haha, now I seem like a cold person). Look into other schools, or even special programs at your local U of T - a world-class university - such as Vic 1 or Trinity 1, and I bet you'll have an education just as great as that of Yale. </p>
<p>One more point that I want to reiterate: work hard and participate in extra-curricular involvement, not for the sake of getting into Harvard or Yale, but for your own personal growth and sense of fulfillment (and even the responsibility to contribute to society, as I believe)!!! You won't believe how many people have asked me "what average do you need to get into Yale?" or "what ECs should I pursue to get in?" I don't have an answer to those questions, and I think there shouldn't be one either. I became heavily involved in youth politics (Big Brother, I think your earlier reference was to me :) ) because I was profoundly interested in it and I wanted to contribute to society, but not because I counted on it to help me in the admission game. My philosophy and advice would be to keep doing whatever you are DEEPLY INTERESTED in, and do it with PASSION. At the end of the day (or, rather, the application process), you shall be able to look back and smile at all that you've gained, even if you don't end up getting into an Ivy. </p>
<p>Pursue your passion without expecting a reward, and the pursuit itself will be the most rewarding part of the journey.</p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>P.S. And I just saw Tonysu's post~~~Great advice! Hi Tony, I didn't know you are on CC as well!</p>
<p>all the ppl from toroto...</p>
<p>mmm hmmm
seems like we all know each other @_@</p>
<p>torontonians unite XD</p>
<p>also I 'm wondering what effect does a gap year have on me?</p>
<p>Ontario has an optional 5th year of high school</p>
<p>i kinda want to take it b/c i don't like to hav to rush through my high school</p>
<p>i'm thinking about doing a international exchange after senior year, any input?</p>
<p>ps this is only to my interest, but it would be great if it fits my college application plan: basically i hope the schools can consider my senior year (gr 12 ) as well, so i really really want to apply after gr 12 ends =)</p>