<p>I plan on going to a good public school [I can't afford a ritzy private school like UCC, or Appleby], that offers AP courses, and an enhanced program for intellectually gifted students [I have taken a standardized test which has identified me as gifted, in the top 3% of the students my age]. Would my chances be dramatically lower, seeing as I am attending a public school in Canada? [how about if I had amazing ecs, stellar grades, and a near perfect SAT score, and a list of prestigious award wins to supplement my scores?]</p>
<p>This seems weird, but I'm a nerd. :p [but I play sports :)]</p>
<p>I live in Canada too. :] My school is one of the few public ones that offers AP, but we don’t have many.
Well, I can FOR SURE tell you that as long as you make the most of what you are offered at your school, they won’t hold it against you that you didn’t go to those private schools. You said you can’t afford it, and that’s what you’re going to tell Harvard too. :] So it’s fine.
Also, I don’t know if this is true but I heard it from someone at school… if you’re from Canada, apparently, American universities will add 5% to your marks because apparently the Canadian edu system is harder… ???
I don’t think that’s true, but yeah. It’s what I’ve heard… more than once. :S
Another thing about private schools – sometimes they DRAMATICALLY inflate their grades, which universities will know about.
I went to a private school last year in grade nine. Not ONE student from that school has ever ended up at any Ivy League school because of it. Still, everyone at that school thought they were soo smart because they all had 80+ averages. They did absolutely no work at all.
Private schools are usually smaller too, so less people might result in less opportunities because there isn’t a demand.
It was like that at my old school. We had about 5 sports teams and not even ONE club. I swear.
Make the most of the cards you are dealt and you’ll go places.
If you really want to do AP, I think you can self-study. Check online and with your school for that stuff.</p>
<p>You’re pretty far from having to apply to colleges, haha.</p>
<p>Sure. You have a good shot. (3%? Dem top colleges want top 1% :p)</p>
<p>I’m just kidding.</p>
<p>First, I don’t think colleges really care if you went to a public or private school. Like Leftyy said, some private schools actually inflate grades and things like that-- when the real world hits privvies in the form of standardized tests, egos sometimes take severe beatings.</p>
<p>Still, many elite colleges say that they know about various schools, and their relative level of difficulty and the quality of students there and past applicants. If your school is a good public institution, the top places should have some sort of file on it. Just keep up this attitude for four years and you’ll have a great chance for college applications.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice…though I doubt they would have records of my school…it’s well-recognized in Canada [lots of prize winners, many of the students go on to pursue post secondary education at top five Canadian schools], but it’s a somewhat run-down building in Mississauga [no name city, in the GTA near Toronto, as suburban as it gets], but it is well known for its students’ academic performance.</p>
<p>I went to a public school in Canada without near perfect SATs, but near perfect school marks. Im also identified gifted, although that doesnt really matter. And I play sports too! Im at Yale now… I have no idea for Harvard (I try not to pay attention to them too much), but I imagine the process is similar.</p>
<p>I asked admission officers at the Ivies during an info session, what percentage of Canadian students were admitted. Although it varies based on the schools, admission rates were around 10%. Yes, this may be lower than the percentage of US students for some Ivies, but I thought it was close enough…=]</p>
<p>I’m Canadian and have near perfect standardized testing marks but very crappy HS marks. I was also homeless for what amounts to about two or three years during high school. </p>
