<p>Hi everyone, first-time posting here so I hope that everything.. works? ;) I would really appreciate if someone gave me a piece of advice on applying to McGill. I am an international student from Poland and passed my national exams. I formerly planned to apply to a US college so I took the SAT I and as for now I'm taking SAT II French in about a week. The thing is that it appears from what is stated on their website that McGill recognizes Polish exams. I thought that I might submit my SAT scores for extra credit just to show them the scores from an exam they know. However, my SAT I is not a competitive score, it's 2060 - M700 CR680 W680. I actually screw up as I got nervous and consequently missed a few questions :( The thing is, I wonder whether I should retake the SAT I or take an SAT II, my pick is World History. I have already passed history in Poland but my score is rather lame it's 83% and 68% of correct answers at basic and advanced level. It IS a good score in Poland and a good national percentile coz this year's exam was exceptionally difficult and the exam underwent a BIG change, they were testing new questions, my class fell victims of our unstable politicians who govern education blah, blah (McGill won't surely care about that, and 68% do look horrifying I don't expect them to be lenient, but it really was a peculiar situation-this years exams;). I know that none of you can give me a definite answer but I would be grateful if anybody took the time and told me how he or she feels about my situation. Sometimes judgement from the outside is "fresh" and beneficial. It is an awfully long post but I hope someone reads it! Thanks a lot!!!!</p>
<p>As you said, I can't really give you any definite answers at all, but from what I was told back last year, McGill generally only looks at the best scores you send them. I remember because I took both the SATs and the ACTs, and when I asked if I should send one or both I was told that it didn't matter because they only looked at the better score anyway. Whether this is true or not, I can't really tell you - but since McGill accepts people pretty much purely on if they meet the academic cut-offs for that year or not, you'll probably be fine as long as at least one of the tests you send are above the cut off. As far as your Polish tests and their relative difficulty, it would be my guess that whoever is looking at/analyzing those grades will be well aware of all the scores and averages and what they mean, and any special circumstances that the test might've had this year. McGill'll probably just have cut-off points set for them, too.</p>
<p>Again, I don't really know what I'm talking about - just making guesses. Hope that helps a little bit, though. Best of luck with the whole application process! Such a pain, having to do so many tests, and then wait forever for a response. Let us know how it goes.</p>
<p>How is 2060 not competitive exactly? If you get rejected from McGill it won't be because of your SAT scores...</p>
<p>Hi- well, it's only because you insist that I will give you my two cents. I never thought I would get in to McGill, I had a D in history in 11th grade, I kept a solid C- in math class all through, and I even took the SAT II Math and got like 540. So, try your best, if you have to write an "extenuating circumstances" letter and fax it to them, they'll read it. I wrote mine and never sent it, but they still accepted me in one of their most limited enrollment programs... so. That's what I can contribute :)</p>
<p>Staringatmyshoe, Spetsnaz Op and pimpcess05 thanks for your answers :) I thing I'll just send them those scores and hope for the best. I did not find what the cutoffs are for the SAT I (perhaps they vary from year to year?) but the middle 50% of incoming students got 630-710, so perhaps my 680-700 will be fine. Spetsnaz Op, I'm not an expert on SAT scores, just an avid reader of CC forums ;) keep in mind, I'm from Poland, I've never been that much into evaluating the competitiveness of SAT scores, I just know a few people who went to Ivy League. Anyway, thanks for advice :), now that I have finally registered I'll surely be a more frequent guest on this forum.</p>
<p>Well good luck then!</p>