Can an applicant submit both the SAT and ACT? If so, will they consider whichever is most advantageous? If not, any suggestion on which is preferable?
My son’s scores are at or above recent year minimums for the relevant faculties, but because of annual fluctuations it’s close enough where one or the other could make a difference.
FWIW, I’m not inclined to submit test optional. While his grades are excellent and above minimums, I’m concerned that his school is “not known” to McGill, so I can’t help but think that SAT/ACT would be useful all things considered.
Thanks, but that doesn’t answer the question. Under the circumstances it’s not clear which is “the higher one.” Both are very close, and in any given year one could be under and the other not. That’s why I’m asking the question.
Right, I think she’s saying, though, that ACT may be > SAT since SAT no longer includes subject tests. That’s a thought if it came down to a choice between the two.
Again, McGill has no preference. And if it they did, which they don’t, a lower ACT score is not better than a higher SAT simply because ACT has 4 components.
I am confused about grade reporting w/r/t 12th grade.
On one hand, the “Guidelines” state, “You must enter at least three 12th Grade courses with first term grades (i.e. this means grades that are NOT IP).” So this implies that you cannot submit grades until you have at least three 12th Grade “first term” grades to submit.
On the other hand, the instructions for self-reporting state:
"How to provide updated 12th Grade results:
Your application will be reviewed. If mid-year results are then requested on your Minerva:
Log back into the Self-reporting form and update the information that you provided for 12th Grade."
This implies that something less than “mid-year results” is what should initially be reported. So if the applicant is on the semester system, would this be first quarter grades, even though quarter grades don’t appear on the transcript? And, if so, does the first quarter (again, non-transcript) grade get entered as a “semester” grade since it’s a semester course?
First term is synonymous with first quarter for schools on the semester calendar. It means your finalized Q1 grade on whatever document your HS considers.
Well, like I said, they get a first (and third) quarter report, but it doesn’t appear on the transcript. It’s essentially an interim progress report. Only the semester grades go on the transcript. Nevertheless, that seems to answer the question.
McGill will ask you to upload 1st quarter grades. For most US applicants, they will then ask you to upload first semester grades as well. In most years, most decision for US students (depending on grades, scores, and Faculty) will then come after that. In recent years, it has been a bit slower. My kids were at a known US high school (sends 5-7 to McGill each year) so they heard about a week after they uploaded the semester grades for Faculty of Arts while Desautels decisions came much later.
Why no tests? I know they say (as do all “test optional” schools) that “test optional” won’t be punished. My response is that I’d rather have a test that’s in the range than no test.
Anyway, here were the U.S. cutoffs for Arts for Fall 2021. You easily have the grades:
I submitted my application a while back, but it still isn’t letting me self-report my grades (US High school). Does anyone have an idea of when that will open? And do they need official ACT score reports as well?
I could have easily gotten the English score, but the math would’ve been a major struggle. I also dealt with some mental health issues last year and the test would’ve (and was before I decided to not take it) been a major point of anxiety for me.