I am an international student who is a candidate for the Full Diploma of IB.
I was considering applying to McGill for a Biology/Biomedical Sciences major.
For an IB student who is applying for a Life Sciences major, the minimums are 37/38 out of 42, with a predicted minimum grade of 6 in mathematics and two sciences taken at SL or HL. While I am predicted 7s in both Biology and Chemistry (which are both Higher Level), my Mathematics grade is below the 6 minimum. Considering that I am taking Higher Level Mathematics, in addition to two Higher Level Sciences, will McGill make an exception?
The reason why I ask such a question is because I find it hard to believe that they would value a 6 in Standard Level Mathematics as much as a 6 in Higher Level Mathematics. In addition, I am venturing into the Life Sciences, not pure Mathematics/Computer Science/Engineering, where (in my opinion) they would be more ruthless on this issue.
My overall predicted score is a 38/42.
Thanks in advance.
Canadian universities often look at math as a bellwether for how strong an applicant is. A 6 was the minimum score for last year’s applicants to be accepted to McGill life science. That means that they had enough applicants with 6s and 7s that they were able to fill the class. It’s possible that the pool of applicants could be stronger or weaker this year. If the pool is weaker, they may take applicants with 5s. In general, life science students tend to be extremely strong students, even in math, and the pool of applicants gets stronger every year. It’s possible that you will get an acceptance, but it will be close.
Thank you for your fast reply, but just for clarification purposes, please tell me that if I interpreted your reply correctly.
So to my understanding, there is a very small chance that McGill will make an exception, but most probably, I will have to pray that the minimum requirements for mathematics fluctuate down?
I’d say you have to pray that the minimum requirements fluctuate down.
Some Canadian universities wil “adjust” grades depending on the school that the student attends. Some schools are known to the universities to inflate grades and others are known to deflate grades. Since you are an international student, it’s unlikely that McGill has any idea whether your grades are inflated or deflated, so they will take them at face value.
You might get lucky. However, if McGill’s expectation for life science applicants is that they have a 38/42 if they’re IB students, that doesn’t leave a lot of room for 5’s in any of their courses.
Hi @bouders You seem to know about McGills admissions, so I will present you my case:
I was accepted at U of T last week, for the Chemical and physical sciences program at Mississauga campus. McGill is my first choice though, my application has been “ready for review” since November. My academic average is about 92% (all math and science subjects over 93%), got 108 in the TOEFL iBT and 1460 in the new SAT. Sent both test results to McGill. I am Colombian and I applied to the science faculty. Think I have a chance?
I would really appreciate your help, I am going insane waiting for a decision…