Hello! I’m a canadian rising senior and I wanted to apply to:
- Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UofRochester (BS/MD), MIT, Stanford, Brown (PLME), Johns Hopkins
I know some of these seem way out of reach but I had a job last summer and saved up to apply to unis that my parents didn’t think I had a chance at.
GPA: 90% average of grade 9 - 11, in Canada we have 0-100% scale and I’m in a rather competitive program so this is definitely one of my cons
Class Rank: N/A for my school
ACT: 34
Subscores: Science (34), English (31), Reading (34), Math (35), Writing (8)
Not really sure how good my ACT score is…
SAT Subject Tests:
I’ll be taking Bio M and Math 2 in October. Probably will score around 750-800
AP’s (at time of application)
Biology - 4
My school doesn’t do APs and so I just did one for fun with self-studying 
Teacher Recs: Probably will be pretty good. I’m asking my biology and english teacher who both love me. In addition to this, I will be asking my lab PI to write me a recommendation letter. She’s a professor at Harvard in neuroscience, which is what I want to do in the future, so hopefully that will be helpful.
Province: Ontario
Gender: F
Ethnicity: Asian, Sri Lankan
Income: 250K ish? My parents dont talk about money with me
Possible hooks: Research? Top 10 youth environmentalist in Canada? 3rd place in international south indian carnatic singing contest?
Major ECs:
- Environmental Youth Council - had an internship there one summer
- Biology Club VP
- Neuroscience club - President
- Choir - VP
- UofT choir
- Carnatic music
- Executive on a medical related organization
Community Service:
- Tutoring
- Singing in hospitals
Medically related activities:
- Volunteered in three labs
- Executive on a medical related organization
Awards:
- Regional Sci Fair - Silver, 2 Bronze, University Environmental Award
- 3rd place in International singing competition
- Distinction in national math contest
- Best Overall Research Paper in a Highschool Research Paper competition
Sorry if some of this seems vague 
I was trying to remain as anonymous as possible 
Thank you so much and I really appreciate it!
Hi! Your ACT score is great and will definitely not keep you from being admitted. Your awards and activities also seem decent, so that’s a good thing. However, the thing that would concern me if I were to be an admissions officer would be your AP test. I would either think one of the following two things to myself:
- Why did she only take one? It’s obvious she could have taken more, because she had the opportunity to take them, based on the fact she took the AP Biology exam.
- Great for her that she studied for AP Biology, especially because her school doesn’t do APs. This in some sense shows her passion for the subject.
This is only an insight from me, and hopefully it could be helpful in any way possible. Lovely to see ambition! Good luck with your application!
If your school doesn’t offer AP courses, not taking AP tests is not a problem. I think you are well in range to apply without it being a waste of time but you are still facing 5-10% admission rates so have good matches and safeties.
@Tomas1355 Thank you so much for your insight, it’s really helpful! The reason I didn’t take more was simply because of a) cost, b) time it took to self-study
@Sportsman88 I understand that it may be a bit of a crapshoot for me since I’m no international science fair winner, or found the cure for cancer, but hopefully my extracurricular and passion will make up for my lower GPA
Your ACT score is very good.
I’m more concerned about the cost factor. Your parents don’t talk about money with you, but you had to save up for the application fees and didn’t take more APs because of cost? Something seems odd there. You need to talk to them about what they will be able to afford. If you get into any of the selective need-based-only schools, you will almost certainly be full pay if your parents actually make 250K. Do they have the resources to pay 60K+ a year?
@ecoearth Please reread my post. Perhaps I didn’t word it well enough. Your stats are well in range for acceptance and applying would not be a waste of time. It’s not a crapshoot either. It’s a myth that you need a national or international award, although of course they are helpful.
The biggest thing you can control right now is essays and supplements. Unless you have lots of free time which is unlikely for a top student, you should strongly consider picking 2-3 of your reaches and really work on the supplements. Also, spend countless hours on your common app essay over a period of weeks or months. Essays and letters of rec matter.
The second part of my advice is matches and safeties. I don’t know what those would be for a Canadian but you need at least one and preferably two schools that meet the following criteria:
- You are guaranteed admission based on your current stats.
- Your parents can afford the cost of attendance without miracles in financial aid.
- You would be happy to go there if you are rejected to your reaches and matches or can't afford them.
By having the peace of mind of a solid safety, you can shoot for the stars with your reaches knowing you will be happy either way.
@glittervine In south-asian culture (and I believe asian culture in general), money isn’t talked about much for some reason. Personally, I find that detrimental. I paid for my AP exams simply because my parents didn’t think they were worth it, and I’m paying for my uni apps for USA sinceI had a job for the past two summers and I wanted to pay for them myself. My parents income is definitely over 250k+ but a lot of it goes towards healthcare. If I do get in, and don’t get financial aid, I doubt I will attend an american university considering how much cheaper it is in Canada. Applying to American universities is more my dream, than my parents’ and if I do get in, they would be happy to help, but I am definitely also applying to Canadian schools that are financially feasible.
@Sportsman88 I really, really do appreciate your insight and tips. I’m definitely applying to multiple safety schools in toronto that are academically, and socially fit for me, but also financially feasible. Thank you so much!
@ecoearth I understand there are cultural differences and it’s difficult to talk about. But I would just be so sad for you if you got into Princeton, for example, and couldn’t attend. Even though it’s hard, you need to have your parents specify how much they are able and willing to pay, especially if there are healthcare costs. If you don’t qualify for need-based aid but you want to fulfill your dream of applying to American universities, you will need to completely revise your list to include schools that offer merit. I don’t know how to convert your GPA to a 4.0 scale, but your ACT will definitely put you in the running for many merit scholarships.
I ran the NPC without assets for a family of 3 in Canada (if you have siblings, you might be eligible for a bit more aid) with your estimated income. Of course, this is just a rough estimate, but it gives you an idea of where your family income will put you.
Harvard: no merit aid; NPC shows a cost of attendance of $64,750/year (slightly less than full pay)
Yale: no merit aid; NPC shows a COA of $64,947/year (slightly less than full pay)
Princeton: no merit aid; NPC shows a COA of $63,777/year (slightly less than full pay)
MIT: no merit aid; NPC doesn’t work for international students
Stanford: no merit aid; NPC shows you don’t qualify for any need-based aid
Brown: no merit aid; NPC doesn’t work for international students
Johns Hopkins: some merit aid; NPC shows a COA of $61,368 with an international scholarship of about $10,000
URochester: does have merit aid; NPC shows you don’t qualify for any need-based aid
So out of all the schools you’re interested in, only 2 offer merit aid, and the merit aid at Johns Hopkins is sure to be extremely competitive. It will be a disappointing application season if you end up getting some offers of admission and none of them are financially viable.