Ivy chances for a Canadian student?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>Chances for ivies?</p>

<p>I am a female from Toronto, Canada, attending a private school with a very rigorous curriculum and competitive environment. Nearly 100% of graduating students have A averages.</p>

<p>These are my current “stats”.</p>

<p>White female

  • “The Acting Club”. currently president.
  • Was in 4 school plays/musicals.
  • Wrote a one-act play that was performed in the school.
  • Co-wrote/performed in a play in an drama program outside school, and performed in 2 others.
  • Am currently refining a full-length play which i will produce and direct myself.
  • Went on an exchange trip to France for three months in grade 9.
  • 200 hours community service at a daycare, looking after small children.
  • “Stage Band” for 4 years. currently section leader.
  • “Symphonic Band” for 5 years
  • “Senior Choral” for 2 years
  • “French Club” for 1 year
  • piano lessons for 11 years
  • singing lessons for 3 years
  • took a biology course in Italy last summer (independently from my school). </p>

<ul>
<li><p>Current SAT: verbal 750, math 620 (with little preparation. My last practice test scores were 780 verbal, 680 math). Will take the test again shortly. </p></li>
<li><p>Will take SAT II in Writing, Literature, French. Expect to get over 700 on all. </p></li>
<li><p>My private school education was paid for by my grandmother, who died this year. My mother is single, there is no court-arranged support from my father. My mum makes a bit under $50 000 US per year. </p></li>
<li><p>I can write unusually well (and have wanted to write since I was little). My first admissions essay, which was graded, received very high marks from my English teacher. </p></li>
<li><p>I am articulate, and likely to do quite well in an interview. I will probably get good recommendations from my teachers. </p></li>
<li><p>I know what I want to study in college: English and Drama (or Drama and English). I am very passionate about these subjects. I will contribute everything I can to these departments in whatever school I go to. </p></li>
<li><p>Downsides (I might as well make myself transparent): a slight lack of variety in my course load. I am currently taking two English courses (one of which is advanced, and required an interview for admittance), drama, interdisciplinary arts, politics, philosophy (a rigorous course) and calculus. I took biology over the summer. i was prevented from taking grade 11 French last year because it interfered with my drama course. I am not taking it this year, though I am involving myself in the French club. </p></li>
<li><p>My school offers a few AP courses, but only during senior year. The only APs it offers are Physics, which I’ve never taken, Calculus, which I didn’t test for, and Chemistry, which I’m not taking this year. </p></li>
<li><p>My grades are good. In my school as in many Canadian schools 80% is an A, 90% is an A+. My average in junior year was A+ (91%) - Straight As with the exception of math, which was B+ (78%). With the courses I’m currently taking, I fully expect this year’s marks to be higher. </p></li>
<li><p>My father went to Harvard (and MIT, which doesn’t interest me), and taught at Yale for a year. </p></li>
<li><p>My school, like nearly all Canadian schools, does not rank students.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>so, what d’y’all think?</p>

2

<p>hi, im from BC. from what i can see in your brief description... there isn't really anything that make you stand out... 91% average is not very high considering ontario's lenient grading system... i have known ppl from BC with 98% average getting waitlisted by harvard. i know this may sound discouraging...</p>

<p>however, if you do well on your SAT 2s (750 and over, if not perfect) and retake SAT 1 so you do better on math (730 and over), and if you can do this b4 the early deadline.. then apply early to harvard, make sure you send in your drama material as a supplement, get recommendation from someone who knows your drama talent well... then you might have a desent shot....</p>

<p>btw, what school do you go to? and does your school normally send ppl to ivies? i know canadian schools dont rank, but it is easily done to estimate your rank in class... my gc can easily estimate the top 10%....</p>

3

<p>i go to UTS. yes, people from UTS go to ivy-leaguers every year, and usually 1-3 go to harvard. i wasn't anticipating to be one of those, but the ivies seem to know UTS well, they all sent reps there.</p>

4

<p>hey, which ivies specifically are u looking at? There's a difference between admission at Harvard and admission at... Cornell. </p>

<p>Not much, but there is.</p>

5

<p>Although, I think your chances are pretty good at Harvard.. Your legacy will help you at Harvard a lot</p>

6

<p>you think? well, like everybody on these forums, i like all the encouragement i can get. you're a Torontonian like me - what school do you go to? and where do you want to go?</p>

<p>as to which ivies i've interested in - well, i like Yale quite a bit because it has a good drama program, it's in a town and not in the country, and it seems to have a very energetic, friendly (dare i say that?) atmosphere. i like Columbia because its in New York, also has a good drama program (it's very hand-on). i like Brown because of their liberal curriculum. i like Duke, and i'm starting to warm up to Dartmouth despite the fact that it's rural, which i didn't want originally. U of Penn is in Philadelphia, which greatly interests me. Harvard's near Boston - but i don't really expect to get in unless they really are hung up on the legacy. my dad's still steamed about a prep school that rejected me, in his opinion, because i didn't have a legacy there.
i don't really like Princeton. i don't really want to do scientific research, don't want to go to a school most famous for sciences, don't particularly want to be in the suburbs, and don't think i have a chance in hell of getting in - they seem more obsessive about grades than any of the others. </p>

<p>my safety schools are all Canadian. you know how it is - you have good enough grades, you're in, and so i'm in anywhere. the ivies are my reaches - and if i apply to enough of them, i may get lucky, hmm?</p>

7

<p>weirdoone,</p>

<p>you shouldnt take anything anyone said seroiusly right now.. predicting chances just by your posting of a 500 word description can be totally wrong.... there are much much more to it than just numbers and ECs..... things like teacher rec, how you present yourself through your app, interview, and such all play a significant role. if you ask for your chances... all i can say is your number is below avg for harvard applicants... but your EC is stronger... so if you do get your SAT marks up and apply EA, you SHOULD have a desent shot, and by that i mean an over 40% chance of admission...</p>

8

<p>unless i bend some rules, i can't apply EA or ED anywhere. my school demands copies of certain forms before Oct 1 for any early applicants, and i didn't do that. i had been under the impression that applying EA or ED would not be a smart thing to do because they encourage the "top" people to apply then, and i'd face stiffer competition than i otherwise would.</p>

9

<p>That's not entirely true. But I wouldn't encourage applying EA to you, because you can improve your scores. I've been told that EA is for students who don't believe that they could possibly improve anymore. I'm applying EA to Yale.</p>

10

<p>Nearly 100% with an "A" average? I wouldn't call that competitive so much as it is a ridiculous case of grade inflation.</p>

<p>I go to a competitive private school in Quebec--85% puts you in the top 75%, but the highest mark is only a 95%.</p>

11

<p>Well, UTS is one of the most difficult schools in Canada.</p>

12

<p>thanks, davidrune. jpps1, believe me when i say i work for my marks. the people i go to school with are the best, smartest people i've ever known, and honestly, i feel insulted by your comments. i know nothing about your school or the Quebec system, and therefore i can't comment on it. would you please show my school the same respect?</p>

13

<p>yes!! i did my first diagnostic Writing and Literature tests today (for the SAT in december). grading my own essay, i figure that my Writing score was about 720. Literature - 800! you can't see me, but believe me, i'm dancing! </p>

<p>now i need to get that French SAT book...i'm a little rusty...</p>

14

<p>I'm just saying that I know of no school in my province where the marks are so ridiculously high. And if that is the case at your school, I'm not doubting the intelligence of the students--rather, I'd doubt how challenging the course material is, and if I were the principal or rector, I would toughen it up.</p>

<p>Also, what does an "A" constitute in your school? 80? 85? 90? 95?</p>

15

<p>an "A" is 80% in Ontario. so, nearly everybody in the grade graduates with an average of at least that (and shame goes to the kid who doesn't). perhaps in Quebec it's 90%, and that's the cause of our misunderstanding?</p>

<p>oh well, i can't speak for the teachers who grade us. i suppose it's possible we get marked slightly higher than you for the same quality stuff, but it's not because the courses are easy. except for math and science, marks are mainly based on a teacher's whim. perhaps my school's teachers are slightly more generous than yours, i wouldn't know. but they make us work hard for our marks, all the same. </p>

<p>ahhh! toughen the courses! i'm not at all offended by this remark, but i'm actually amused by this one. you would probably get an hysterical laugh from anybody at my school, because we all know how hard we have to work. we're all a bit eccentric, and we blame the school for making us crazy.</p>

16

<p>Ahhh, the percentage required for an "A" is the cause of our misunderstanding. Here, an "A" is 90%+...But if it were 80%+, then my school too would be almost all As.</p>

17

<p>wierdone, u might be at a disadvantage because it doesnt' seem like you challenged yourself academically.</p>

18

<p>in terms of grades or courses? well, i see your point either way. even so, i'm not really discouraged. the - well, the "average averages" and average SAT scores of successful applicants from my school (in the last 5 years) go as follows:</p>

<p>COLUMBIA (2 successful).
junior: 88.9 senior: 92.3
SAT: 715V, 670M (1385)</p>

<p>CORNELL (14 successful).
junior: 89.5 senior: 91.4
SAT: 726V 711M (1467)</p>

<p>DUKE (2 successful).
junior: 87.3 senior: 85.5
SAT: 740V 770M (1510)</p>

<p>HARVARD (11 successful).
junior: 92.8 senior: 94.4
SAT: 764V 749M (1513)</p>

<p>MIT (4 successful).
junior 94.0 senior: 94.9
SAT: 725V 725M (1450)</p>

<p>NORTHESTERN MEDICAL (4 successful).
junior: 93.1 senior: 94.5
SAT: 750V 793M (1543)</p>

<p>PENN STATE (4 successful).
junior: 90.5 senior: 92.9
SAT: 753V 793M (1536)</p>

<p>PRINCETON (4 successful).
92.7 senior: 93.4
SAT: 750V 750M (1500)</p>

<p>U OF PENN (5 successful). junior: 89.1 senior: 91.6
SAT: 696V 736M (1432)</p>

<p>these are the numbers of people who attend these colleges. the other ivies have all accepted one each. </p>

<p>i don't think my grades are out of the ballpark (especially considering the fact that MIT and Northestern hold no interest for me). </p>

<p>on the other hand, the accepted applicants have high average SAT scores - higher than the colleges' own average in most cases. yet, the colleges say that grades are more important than SATs - so go figure.</p>

19

<p>Help me out! I am a canadian too...Plz?</p>

<p>"Chances @ HYPS....for a Canadian?"</p>

20

<p>ooh, i wish i was really an authority in all this. those are just some stats my school gave out. there are tons of people here who can help - i know i've learned some useful stuff after only having been a member for a couple of weeks. </p>

<p>how much do you know about the admissions process? </p>

<p>people on this site, as you've probably noticed, are very fond of posting their "stats", and i know they seem very intimidating. but i don't think that the schools are quite as selective as they seem, in terms of marks at least. i know one girl from the year before mine got into Harvard with an 88% average (80% is an A in Ontario, i don't know which province you're from). the "25th percentile" of Harvard kids' SAT is about 1400 (at the moment my score is less than that because i goofed up the math, but i'm re-taking the test soon). </p>

<p>for Canadians, i think an average of 90+ is good for HTPS, and SAT scores preferably over 1450. have many, many ECs....they love school presidents and club presidents and debating moguls and things like that. i'm a drama/english freak, so i plan to send in a sample of my playwriting and a tape of me singing. </p>

<p>HYP, Columbia and Cornell have need-blind admission for Canadians - that is, they don't consider your financial situation when they consider your application. the others, including Stanford, i think, consider whether or not you need financial help when they look over your application. that makes it more difficult to get in (but not terribly more difficult, i think.)</p>

<p>i think that the colleges like to see a person with real LIFE, as opposed to just academics. not that that hate academics, of course :)</p>

<p>many successful applicants from my school at least, have sent in supplementary material to help bring their application to life a little more. if you have grades and SAT scores pretty much up to par, than it's really the essays and recs that make you stand out. if you have amazing grades, the other stuff matters less.</p>

<p>who are you? by which i mean, what kind of person are you? whatever you're good at, play that up to them as much as you can. you want to show them every good facet of your personality, and none of the bad ones. </p>

<p>i'm definitely not the only one who can help you, and i don't even think i'm even a very good person to ask, because i'm no older or more experienced in these things than you are. there are other Canadians on this thread and in other forums who can probably answer your questions better.</p>