<p>i'm from a canadian school and I need some help with calculating my grades so i know if i'm even in the ball park for US schools =)</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>grade 9
average 92 with 77 in english</p>
<p>grade 10
average 94.7 with 91 in english</p>
<p>grade 11
average 94 with 83 in english and 88 in accounting</p>
<p>my major concern is that my english mark is fluctuating, and my accounting mark isnt that great ....</p>
<p>is accounting a core subject? how will a 88(B? in US system) looked upon by colleges in US?</p>
<p>83 in english b/c i had the hardest teacher, the highest was 85</p>
<p>i came to canada 2 years ago, skipped ESL and did the normal ENG (highest level offered) will that make my english marks look less unimpressive?</p>
<p>is there anyway to save it? if i score 2400 on SAT?
or take a gap year to mature and improve everything?</p>
<p>b/c i'm an international (canadian) student, i really want to know if i should apply at all</p>
<p>my counselor has told me that i might not be in the ballpark of U PEnn due to my marks. she based her conclusion on the fact that one girl from our schol this year with a 98 average got R-ed by all ivies . but i know that girl had no ECs...</p>
<p>The Ivies are not the world. There are several other very good colleges [including LACs] that'll grab you. Admissions are very arbitrary and so I don't your chances should be unrealistically based on someone else's performance, especially when it comes to the Ivy League.</p>
<p>What's an "A" like in Canada? If it's in the 80's, you're fine. Besides you'll still take CR and W in the SATs, so English shouldn't be a big deal.</p>
<p>I, too, am international, and at my school, an "A" is 75%, and my grades dropped in my last three years as classes became harder [although, I was also quite careless]. In my final year, I had all 80's and a high 70.</p>
<p>If your counselor says that you might be below a certain cutoff, then I would believe her. Especially since your school obviously has a lot of experience with Ivy League admissions. I wouldn't let that discourage you however, from applying.</p>
<p>It certainly doesn't hurt to try for a higher SAT composite, and for you, it might even be worth the payoff. We all know the SAT doesn't really test proficiency in the English language - that's why a lot of recent immigrants I know scored a 2300+ on the exam. I really don't think it's going to help you all that much though, because a kid I know made a 2360, but didn't get into any of the Ivies this year. He was also a recent immigrant. I would say that if you have the time to devote, then retake your tests. I know I really didn't enjoy writing my SATs all that much...</p>
<p>The fact that you went straight into the normal English track is highly irrelevant. Most of the recent immigrants I knew who applied to selective colleges have had to overcome the language barrier, so your case isn't really that unique. It's not even worth dwelling over - your English grades are there on the transcript. You'll just have to live with them.</p>
<p>Accounting is not a core subject, so it's expected that you'd do better in your electives than in your hard science/mathematics distributives. I'm not sure what to make of your current grade, but it's probably not a good thing.</p>
<p>Once again, a gap year is not going to help you all that much. You'll still have the same grades on your transcript, and there's no guarentee that you'll improve academically. Plus, college admissions gets increasingly difficult every year.</p>
<p>I wouldn't stress too much about Ivy League admissions. Remember that you certainly aren't at a loss at most Canadian universities, like UofT or UW. You need to get over yourself and realize that it certainly doesn't mean that you're any less of an intelligent person if you don't make an Ivy.</p>
<p>If you feel that UPenn is a great fit for you, then by all means apply ED. That's the only reason you should be applying there ED.</p>
<p>Jrock, an 80 A is by no means "fine". Especially when there are other Canadian applicants who have maxed out their grades to the high 90s - and have still been rejected from top tier schools. </p>
<p>I wouldn't worry too much about it though. Try and emphasize other aspects of your application. Good luck :).</p>
<p>Great advice, BigBrother.
Yeah, your high school records don't change, regardless of a gap year. However, since I finished school early, and right, I was immature, I took 2 gap years.That didn't change anything on my high school transcripts, but I self-studied and took SAT2s in a variety of subjects, with stronger scores on the ones I'd done before and good ones on the new ones, and I hadn't been in a classroom for more than a year.</p>
<p>Check out Williams, Amherst, etc. English scores are not the only thing. Your recs, your essays - they all will speak for you as well. And your average is still solid.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that most colleges look at your whole application -- essays, SAT or ACT scores, EC's,...--but your grades still matter to a large extent. There are so many great colleges, so keep your mind open to schools other that Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and others of that sort. </p>
<p>The kids that I have known that have taken a gap year did not help them get into any better schools. It did help motivate them to apply themselves in school more than they had before.</p>
<p>With your average grades above 90% you will be a good candidate for many outstanding schools. Good luck in your search!</p>
<p>It doesn't matter unless it's considered a B. I'm not really sure about Ontario, but British Columbia considers 86+ an A. And I can guarantee you that THE PERCENTAGE WILL NOT AFFECT YOUR CHANCE OF GETTING ADMITTED AS LONG AS YOU GET AN A. Of course it's better to get higher As, but the adcom will not throw you off b/c you got 86~ on few of your classes.
A friend of mine who got into Cornell ED this year got 72 in English 10. (The teacher had a Ph.D in Eng. Lit in McGill. Very very tough) That's a C+, but that still didn't really affect him since he kept 4.0 average throughout his grade 11 and 12 year.</p>