This is my first post here but have been lurking for MONTHS trying to keep the stress level at bay. I have a son that is a Senior with a 3.4 GPA and a 26 ACT score in CP/AP classes. He has a love of all things math and wants to study finance. He has always excelled in Math and Economics classes but had a rough Freshman year at a competitive private high school. That all being said, we are extremely proud of him so I will take my talented, handsome son and his 3.4 GPA and find him a great school! We have been in conversation with Admissions people in Concordia University and both he (and we) are excited about the possibility to study at JMSB. I have done extensive reading and we LOVE the city of Montreal and travel there quite a bit (we live in NH).
Can someone whose child attends Concordia give us some real world perspective? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages? What are some suggestions if this is our first choice? What would you do differently in terms of residence halls vs living on their own as freshmen?
I apologize for all the questions but everyone talks about McGill but when we are in Montreal everyone tells us for business Concordia is a top choice. Have we really found “the one”?
“but had a rough Freshman year at a competitive private high school.”
What is his unweighted GPA without freshman year?
My understanding is that universities in Canada don’t consider freshman year. If he had a bad freshman year, but has a 3.4 including freshman year, then presumably he is stronger since then and should have a very good chance at getting into Concordia. Concordia is not as famous as McGill (few schools are). It is however a very good university, and for international students is significantly more economical than McGill. We did tour Concordia with our youngest, but she ended up preferring a smaller university.
The one thing that I can’t comment on is your son’s ACT score and how this compares with what Concordia is looking for. However, I am not sure that Concordia even requires ACT scores.
That is a excellent point @DadTwoGirls that I did not consider. In fact his GPA is weighed down by his freshman year! His other three years are very good (nothing below a B+). How would I recalculate his GPA? His ACT score is a 26 Composite and Concordia told us they do not require ACT or SAT.
Thank you for your insight! We are excited about the open house at the end of the month and am hoping to spend some quality time at JMSB as that is the faculty he wants to head to!
I was about to post that Concordia doesn’t consider Freshman year! So, yes, recalculate his GPA. You can send his ACT, I don’t think it will hurt. Molson has a very good reputation. Note however that he needs a strong math background as Quebec students who come in with a DEC Social Science with Math will have had calculus 1+2 already. So, precalculus honors and calculus with good grades are a must (not necessarily AP but some introduction to calculus) not for admission, but to succeed in the first year classes.
For freshmen, I strongly recommend they live in residence halls and have a lunch plan (a sort of low key meal plan) because managing college + paying bills + cleaning + cooking + planning grocery trips + shopping tends to be too much. In addition, because Concordia has a large commuter population, living in Halls allows residential freshmen to make friends faster. If he’s already used to shopping/cooking, looking into flatshares is a possibility too.
@MYOS1634 You have made my day! My S18 has an excellent Math background! It is the one constant his 4 years of hight school. Currently he is in Accelerated Calculus and carrying a 106 average! (I know that AC portion does not mater for admissions in Canada) Math is his passion which is why I want to focus on finding the right program. His recalculated unweighted GPA is 3.6 for Sophomore/ Junior but now I am reading that Concordia only looks at Junior and first half of Senior which would be a dream come true! (2 weeks till grades close- all As -2 AP classes rest Accelerated which again I know does matter for Canadian Colleges but am happy they are difficult in terms of preparing him for college work load)
If Concordia is the one, then I think we would definitely do the dorms for Freshmen year.
“Quebec students who come in with a DEC Social Science with Math will have had calculus 1+2 already.”
He should check with Concordia about this. This is an excellent issue to bring up at the upcoming open house.
However, it is my understanding that Quebec students will be coming in from CEGEP. At least at McGill and Bishop’s the students from outside of Quebec have an extra U0 year at the university before they are considered to be at the same level as the CEGEP students (who come in at U1) and therefore there is time to catch up in math or other subjects. Therefore students from outside Quebec (including other provinces and the US) will normally have four years of university, whereas students from Quebec who come in from CEGEP would normally have three years of university (after completing their two years of CEGEP). I have been assuming that Concordia does this the same as McGill and BIshop’s, but I will admit that I didn’t actually ask them.
The three English language universities in Quebec will have enough students from out of the province that they deal with this difference all the time.
Yes, Accelerated matters - Canada has levels too (M, U, C…).
You may want to look at a couple more universities - Bishop’s would likely be a safety, UOttawa just accross the border from Gatineau has a pretty good business program.
Does your son know French? It’s be to his advantage to learn as much as he can since it’s increase his employability in Canada.
My son does not know French but has every intention of learning it while he is there. He is fluent in Spanish and wants to learn French and German. We shall see! LOL
I can not thank you both for all the information. We love Montreal so much and just feel like living and studying there will make him a more open and prepared young man of the world. @DadTwoGirls I will definitely ask them about the Calculus differences. @MYOS1634 I will look at UOttawa and Bishop although I think Bishop may be too small for him as he wants a big urban environment and is very comfortable in Montreal given how much we travel there.
Yes, Bishop’s is quite small, but it’s near the college town of Sherbooke, with a big university AND a “pre-college” institution (cover 12th grade + Year 1+2 of college, depending on the tracks - 2 years required before university for Quebec students.) On the other hand, it’s clearly not Montreal.
And, yes, students who come in from the US start at Year0 v. Quebec students who start at Year 1, but in Canada the expectation is that commerce/business students learned some calculus in high school, even those starting in Year0. I think in fact Concordia has a special Math class for non Canadian students who hadn’t taken Calculus in high school but this may delay the sequence… worth checking.
(OP’s son is taking Accelerated Calculus and should have no problem to start with the first math course, which typically is similar to HS calculus… but on steroids.)
@LiLiBug Let me know what you think of Concordia. My oldest is a U0 at McGill. My HS junior definitely wants to be in Montreal and will apply to McGill and we hope to tour Concordia on one of our visits to Montreal. (FYI: my oldest loves McGill and Montreal. He just thinks that Montreal is one of the coolest cities ever…even better than Boston (which is where we are from).
@LiLiBug Lexington High School. I know SJP well. My parents moved to Lynnfield when I was in college (a billion years ago). Lots of boys went to SJP…terrific school.
SJP has changed my son’s life. We live in NH so we committed to the commute and now he does himself without a single complaint. He loves his Prep experience (without a single sport played :)) and in this house, “we bleed blue.”
Open house for McGill and Concordia are at the end of the month (28th and 29th) and we already made the plans. Looking forward to the visits!
@LiLiBug If your son wants to talk to my son about McGill after the visit, just message me. My son is in the Faculty of Arts, planning on majoring in Economics…will be running track (and possibly adding cross country next Fall). He’s incredibly happy with his choice of McGill. Excellent fit for him.
And that is great to hear about SJP…I’ve met a number of their runners and parents at various cross country meets and have always thought they were a solid group of folks.
So, yes, recalculate his GPA. You can send his ACT, I don’t think it will hurt. Molson has a very good reputation. Note however that he needs a strong math background as Quebec students who come in with a DEC Social Science with Math will have had calculus 1+2 already. So, precalculus honors and calculus with good grades are a must (not necessarily AP but some introduction to calculus) not for admission, but to succeed in the first year classes.
What HS did your son attend in BOS? Jy son goes to SJP in Danvers. <3