<p>I am an American applicant to McGill Faculty of Arts. After a recent visit to the school I became very excited about the possibility of going there. I was hoping for some feedback on a few aspects of my application. My basic stats are as follows.</p>
<p>SATs
CR - 760
WR - 720
Math - 640</p>
<p>SAT IIs
US Hist - 760
Lit - 670</p>
<p>AP
US Hist - 5 </p>
<p>GPA(My school does not offer a weighted or unweighed GPA, it simply is as it appears)
Freshman through Junior - 3.744 (trending upwards)
Senior Mid Year - 4.392 (Inflated by AP's but still straight A's)</p>
<p>I have also mailed in two letters of recommendation and an essay, although, I know McGill is mostly by the numbers. As an additional note to my application there are several other very well qualified applicants from my school. Does anyone know how or if this will effect my application or have feedback on my chances overall? Is there anything I can do to give my application a boost? Thank you for taking the time to read this. I look forward to reading your replies.</p>
<p>I would say you have a fairly good chance at getting in, although it is difficult to tell because I don’t know your actual GPA. (By the way, if your GPA is 4.392, it is weighted.)</p>
<p>Your CR and WR are where they should be, as are your SAT IIs. Math is a bit on the low side but probably acceptable, especially if you applied Arts and not Science or Management.</p>
<p>The only other concern I have is the other applicants from your school. How many applied, and where are they roughly ranked?</p>
<p>sebcartwright,</p>
<p>Thank you for your feedback and support. I am not sure how to clarify my GPA for you. My school does not offer the students or colleges an unweighed. I think its fair to look at it as 3.744. </p>
<p>The other applicants from my school are more problematic. There are 5 others, and although we don’t rank, all of them have stats equal to or exceeding mine. Would McGill be judging our applications against one another or against the applicant pool as a whole? Can you offer any advice on strengthening my application? Is it worth writing to admissions expressing my deep interest in the school? Again, thank you for the help and any other feedback would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>wow, you have just about the same stats as me and unfortunately I got rejected (I’m guessing because of the competition from my school), but I really think you will get in, you seem to be an ideal applicant. I sent two letters of recommendation as well (my councilor insisted), but I don’t think they were considered for me. Well, good luck, and if for some reason you don’t get in, try applying to Queen’s or U of Toronto if you are intent on going to Canada as they too are good schools (in rankings at least!).</p>
<p>icarus218,</p>
<p>Thank you for your reply, although I must admit it left me rather confused. You said we have rather similar stats (What were they by the way?) and you did not get in. I am confused therfore why you think I am an “ideal applicant.” Why do you think I will get in when you were rejected? Thank you again.</p>
<p>I’m afraid that if your GPA ever goes above a 4.0, it is, by definition, weighted; most universities will unweight a weighted GPA using their own method if the school does not explain how the GPA was weighted originally. (I remember at an NYU information session, there was a deafening “Aww” when they announced that.) I don’t know how drastically McGill adjusts for weighting.</p>
<p>I personally doubt that writing a letter would make a difference, as McGill is very much a “by the numbers” school. However, on the bright side, being “by the numbers” makes me think/hope that they’ll be comparing you to the applicant pool and not just your school. (Don’t quote me on that - it’s just a hunch.)</p>
<p>sebcartwright,</p>
<p>Thank you for the feedback. What you are saying about GPA makes a great deal of sense. I simply do not know how to calculate where mine would be with out the weighting. I’m glad to hear that you believe that I will be compared to the applicant pool as a whole, even if its just a hunch. </p>
<p>I decided to write Mcgill a letter, although you are probably right about it having little or no significance. In any case I take comfort in feeling like I’m doing something to help myself. Thank you again and the best of luck with your own college process, if you have not already completed it.</p>
<p>I have very similar same stats to you too.</p>
<p>730 reading, 770 writing, 660 math
710 us history, 690 lit
~3.9 GPA (all A’s/A-s)</p>
<p>About a week ago I was accepted to the Faculty of Arts, and I’d think you almost certainly would get in as well. I’m pretty sure McGill doesn’t think much about comparing same-school applicants. They get a massive amount of applicants from all over and review your application (mostly your numbers) very quickly, unlike smaller US schools which consider many more factors much more thoroughly. Three students from my school with better stats than me were also admitted to McGill this year.</p>
<p>Best of luck, but I don’t think you’ll need any!</p>
<p>I wish to thank you all for you for your advice and support. I was accepted to McGill today and am tremendously excited and relieved. Waiting for the decision was been very stressful and your responses have been a great comfort. Thank you again.</p>