I’m a student in Quebec, Canada hoping to get into an American college in a few years. I was wondering since my province only goes until Grade 11 (then 2 extra years in CEGEP) when I should take the SAT or when they are available to someone in a different education system.
Thank you!
I was a high school student in Quebec before they had CEGEP, and took the SAT’s mostly in grade 11, except that I took the Chemistry SAT at the end of grade 10 because that was when I took chemistry. I am not sure how this has changed now that there are two years of CEGEP after high school. I think that you might want to check with admissions at US schools to find out how much advanced credit you can get from your CEGEP courses, and whether you apply to start after grade 11 (as I did), or after one or after two years of CEGEP.
A few things to mention: US schools are EXPENSIVE. Financial aid is rare for international students, and if they treat you as a transfer from CEGEP then financial aid is also rare for transfer students. Getting a degree from a US university does NOT give you the opportunity to stay and work in the US. However, getting a degree from a US university will make it a LOT more difficult to get a job in Canada, even if you go to a very strong US university. This combination can result in a big problem for Canadians after graduating from a US university.
US students in many cases take SAT preparation classes or tutoring or both before they take the SAT exam. This can help a LOT with test scores. I am guessing that this is probably available where you are also.
If you do get a degree from a top Canadian university (such as McGill or Toronto or UBC or even Mount Allison or Acadia, or …) the admissions staff at US universities including the very top US universities will know very well how strong the Canadian schools are, for example, if you want to apply to graduate school down here. I know several people who have done undergrad and in one case also a master’s at either McGill or Toronto and then done graduate work including a PhD in the US, and all report that they were very well prepared by the Canadian schools.
Just FYI - savvy students in the US are looking to Canada for excellent and affordable colleges. You may want to rethink!
Unless you are aiming for Ivy level universities there is no academic reason for a Canadian to attend a US university as an undergrad.