Parents of the HS Class of 2020 (Part 1)

Parents Forum Class of 20xx Community
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Hi @SilverGrass
The answer to all of your questions is Yes. :slight_smile: We started touring early–the summer after freshman year. (We treat college visits as vacations, so we made multiple trips and combined them with fun stuff.) We did the Open House at UBC over Thanksgiving weekend, which was fantastic. It’s tailored to American prospective students. Independent visits, like over spring break and summertime, were valuable, also.

In case your D may be interested in McGill, they do a summer academy for students entering 11th and 12th grade. My D did it and had a fantastic time. It was a two-week academic course, but not for college credit. It was a great introduction to university life, and she got to meet and hang out with lots of current McGill students. Plus, she got to play in Montreal, which is always fun.

In general, university in Canada is quite different from America (I also have a son at Oklahoma State). Students at Canadian universities are treated as adults. There’s not nearly as much guidance or oversight. There tend to be fewer general ed requirements, and they take more courses in their major. My D went in with 30 AP credits, and she dove right in her first semester with 200 and 300 level classes, with all of her gen eds met. Expectations have been high and it’s been tough, but she really, really loves it.

We saw:
McGill, obviously
UBC (three times, LOVED)
U Toronto (twice)
Carleton U in Ottawa (she really didn’t like)

I was hoping S20 would have UBC on his short list but he really wants the big football culture, which is very much an American thing. He may apply to UBC, but it’s not one of his favorites at the moment. I need to find an excuse to go back to college.

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D20, with a 1440 on the December SAT, just got her score back for the December ACT. Wait for it
27! Granted, she did not prep for it (she did prep for the PSAT, and therefore SAT) at all
what happened to all this: SAT is more like the ACT these days, blah blah blah. Either her head was not in the right place, or there are still lots of differences, LOL.

I’m kidding here. There are still obviously some differences. The pacing of the two tests was the big thing for her. She wasn’t prepared enough to get her timing down, which is so important. She ran out of time on every section, I think. Regardless, I think we’re done with the ACT and will simply focus on bringing her SAT score up, even though it’s fine for every school she has on her list for now.

And, don’t get me wrong. 27 is a very strong score. I’d have been happy with that prior to seeing her SAT score.

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DS '20’s ACT (attempt #1) score is in and its puzzling. His composite score was at or above what I thought would be a final target but some serious asymmetry here.

M: 30
R: 34
S: 33

and English:

E: 21

Still, the composite of 30 is really good for DS 20. If the scores were more balanced, he might have been done. He has a school-sponsored SAT coming up; we’ll see how that goes and decide which test to retake.

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@Dave_N :open_mouth:
The good news is if your S focused solely on improving the English section, his score could dramatically go up.

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@ShrimpBurrito One of my sons did that years ago and his scores completely flipped. His lowest score from his first test ended up being his highest and his highest ended up being his lowest. Goes to show you how accurate these stupid tests really are.

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@ebh87 that’s when the “super score” comes in handy! :slight_smile:

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Just re-read my post and, of course, there is a glaring usage error. Maybe the apple doesn’t fall so far from the tree.

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Oh no we just learned from D20’s principal that a senior boy died over the weekend. No details. It’s a small school, all the kids know each other. Not sure how to talk with my daughter about this. So awful for the family. Sorry, this is probably not the right place for this sentiment but this is where I am right now. Hug your kids tight, all.

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I’m so sorry to hear that.

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@itisatruth, my condolences, feeling for you and your daughter


At our place, have been tough few days, though certainly puts things into perspective. Our 7-year old has a flu, and I must have caught it from him, on Saturday DH took me to the ER, DD left home to babysit her sick brother. Stressed out to the max, tired from volunteering in the morning, etc., she had another ocular migraine episode and I guess totally forgot she had an online final due on Saturday for dual enrollment film class (easy A, fulfills UC arts requirement). She realized it only on Sunday, contacted her professor who suggested D fails the class and re-takes it. Persobally, I don’t think it’s a big deal, provided that she can re-take the class in the spring or summer, maybe with another professor, in-person, and actually learn something about cinematography. But for someone who never had a B on her transcript, a D sounds awful. I am not sure I was much help with fever and all
 sorry for my vent everyone, I guess my point is that posts like yours help put things into perspective, compared to losing a classmate a poor grade is really nothing.

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@ShrimpBurrito , Thank you for the description. We’re starting to tour early, so, as you said, we can combine the touts with trips. What is the major of you D? What UofT campuses did you tour? What did your daughter dislike about Uof T? I hear they have 60% drop out rate after the freshman year. UBC would be too far from home for us; most likely will not work nether touring or attending. Did D consider any of the Co-op programs?

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I hope you and your son are feeling better soon @typiCAmom!

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@Itisatruth so sorry to hear of you and your community’s loss. That would be a very difficult thing to discuss with your DD. it is especially hard to understand the death of a young person. Sending you hugs and prayers.

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I also wanted to say that I’m sorry for those of you who are struggling right now. And @itisatruth I am thinking of you, your family, and your community. We had a school shooting several years ago (one of my sons was in the room) and it happened right after ACT scores came out. Suddenly those scores meant nothing - I was so grateful that my son came home safe because other kids didn’t.

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@Itisatruth So very sorry about the loss of your daughter’s school mate.

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@Itisatruth My condolences. My S lost a classmate earlier this fall. It’s difficult for everyone to process, especially the young people.

@SilverGrass My D18 is majoring in Cognitive Science. She’s taking a Computational Linguistics track, so lots of Linguistics and CS classes. She did not specifically look at co-op programs, but her advisor at McGill has helped her pinpoint the most appropriate local tech company to connect with for a potential internship. Montreal is a great place for AI, which factored into her decision.

We saw the main U of T campus downtown. It’s quite impressive. D spent a lot of time there over two trips, attending classes and really talking with current students. D liked U of T very much. She also had heard the horror stories about competitiveness, difficulties making friends, and dropout rates, but while on campus, it was difficult to see evidence of this. I think my D would have thrived there, but she felt McGill and Montreal overall were just a better fit for her. She much preferred Montreal to Toronto. Plus McGill was way cheaper, given her unique citizenship status plus merit scholarship (I can go into details here if you are curious).

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@shrimpburrito I would love details! I think your D18s major would be perfect for my D20. And I think McGill is close to where Cirque du Soleil trains? My D hates the cold, though.

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@Itisatruth that is so sad about your D’s schoolmate. My condolences.

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@ebh87 Well, living in Montreal wouldn’t be very fun if you hate the cold. So far my D is doing okay (coming from Oklahoma!), but winter hasn’t really hit yet. At least she doesn’t have to drive in it. She takes the metro and walks everywhere, as the campus is right downtown.

Yes, Montreal is the birthplace of Cirque du Soliel. They have a big tent set up along the waterfront where they premier the shows. (D got to see one during the McGill summer academy.) I assume they train there as well, but I don’t know for sure.

McGill’s CogSci major is very flexible. You choose one of the five disciplines as your primary track: Linguistics, CS, Psych, Philosophy, or Neuroscience. Officially D is doing the Linguistics track, with a CS minor. So, it’s not labeled as a Computational Linguistics degree, but in reality that’s what it is. There are very few specific courses that are required; CogSci students get to design the major according to their interests. (This was not the case at UBC, where the path for each track within CogSci was pretty much set, and switching tracks would set you back quite a bit.)

My D is considered a Canadian born abroad: she is legally a Canadian citizen because I was born there, but she had never established residency. We jumped through a few hoops and within three months D was able to establish herself as a Quebec resident for tuition purposes. So, she pays in-province tuition, which is about 4600 CAD/year. She applied for merit scholarship consideration and received an award of 5000 CAD/year. So, in essence, it’s a full tuition + scholarship. Keeping the scholarship won’t be easy, as she needs to maintain a 3.7 GPA. She thinks she will clear the hurdle this first semester.

Now, historically, McGill’s international tuition, for some facilities, has been very low, around 17k/year. Quebec just passed a new law though that deregulates tuition, so those tuition rates will go up, gradually. Full pay at McGill will likely still be cheaper than full pay at an elite American private college, but it won’t be the bargain it once was.

The student body at McGill is about 10-12% American, 10-12% other international. Of the friends D has made (she has established a nice set of friends), only one of them is American. The learning opportunities she has outside the classroom are mind-blowing.

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@Itisatruth
Hugs to you and your family! Tragedy like this really gives us perspectives on our daily struggles. Take care!