<p>If there’s any Albertans out there, I took Math II, Chem, and Bio-M with minimal studying/review in fall of grade 12 and did fine. (Note: By that point, I had finished Math30/31, Bio 30, and two semesters of IB chem)</p>
<p>@PERLE
To Harvard! Congrats! Can u post your stats alongside ur brief profile such as school type, ethnicity, gender, major, and why u think u made it, etc? I don’t necessarily reach for Harvard, but am very interested to know. Thank u for offering to help!</p>
<p>I think Perle put up stats on another thread already?</p>
<p>Cant find it atm</p>
<p>@prjiki, aren’t you in grade 12 already?</p>
<p>can anyone make a list, from most important to less important, of factors in admission? And beside each item on the list put in brackets the ‘ideal’ stat (as in when you reach that point any higher wouldn’t make a difference). Things on the list would include SAT I (ACT too), SAT II, Average, Rank, Rec’s, Essays, etc…of course some things like essays and things we can’t give an objective ‘stat’ value, so ignore those and just put stuff in brackets for things like Average, rank (formal rank and % rank), etc.</p>
<p>And also try to describe how big of a difference things would be. For example, how big of a difference is it if one was ranked 1st instead of just in the top 5? How big of a diff. would it be if someone was in the top 10% instead of top 5% (if someone’s school did that). Such a detailed list will help us 2011’s out. </p>
<p>If people like alam1, kelloggs, jonv112, thatguy100, etc.,etc. can compile such a detailed list it would be great!</p>
<p>@viggy: I am currently in gr 11. What made you think that? lol</p>
<p>I don’t know if any of us can really say for certain what’s the most important, what’s less important, etc. In my opinion, good grades and SAT scores will get your foot in the door; if either are low, the likelihood of your app being evaluated at the top schools for admission is lower. Based on my experience in high school/Penn, the people who got into American schools had averages over 90% (or high 80s at least) and SAT scores between 2000-2400.</p>
<p>Once your in, the less objective stuff like essays and recs come into play. Some schools, like Penn, put a lot of emphasis on the “Why XYZ” essays. Others seem to look for quirky personalities (I mean, take a look at Stanford or Chicago’s essay questions :P)</p>
<p>I doubt there’s much of a difference between being ranked 1st and being 5th, especially if it’s a big school (if there’s only 20 people in your grade, that might make more of a difference; in my high school, we had a graduating class of 750+, so differences even within the top 10-20 were probably minimal)</p>
<p>I agree with CDN dancer. But, I do want to add that I think teacher reqs/essays are paramount, even more important than scores. Like CDN said, scores “get you in the door”, but I disagree with saying that essays and the like are the less objective parts that dont matter as much… Since it is impossible for a university to talk to every one of its qualified applicants, essays and reqs are they only way colleges can get to know you as a person, and not as a statistic. For that reason, I feel that they are the most important part of the admissions process. There are plenty of people who have your SAT score or better, your GPA or better, your ECs or better, but there is only one you and your essays/reqs are your (often, unless you get an alumni interview) only way to tell colleges how you are different. Even if they are stupid sounding essay questions like “how would you spend a free afternoon” (Hello, Yale Supplement)</p>
<p>My class has around 230 students, but let’s just say 200 to be safe. What actual rank, if I achieve it, would be more than enough?</p>
<p>And I know things like SAT, etc. get you into the front door, but could you try to put a really specific numerical value on those objective things? For example, >2200 is more than enough for X school or >2100 is more than enough for Z school. You know what I mean? What is more than enough for the SAT I, SAT II, rank, GPA (average)…to the point where they will ignore those aspects and focus in on the subjective portions of the application and take a thorough consideration of admitting someone?</p>
<p>Most schools will post the stats of past accepted students so you can look there to get an idea of the average SAT/SATII. The thing is, even with the more objective measures, US schools are not like Canadian ones where there is a strict cut-off. With Canadian admissions, for most schools if you have over 85% (or whatever the cut off is that year) you’re guaranteed to get into a program (not necessarily a competitive one like Mac or Calgary Health Sci, but some program) In the US, especially at top schools, that line is blurred. Someone who has a lower SAT score but say has strong leadership experience can still be admitted.</p>
<p>Top 10 (top 5%) is probably ideal, as is >2000 SAT.</p>
<p>To clarify my previous post, I did not mean to imply that essays/recs are less important; I certainly think they are extremely important in conveying your interest in the school and showcasing your individuality - what makes you unique in a pool of applicants with similar stats.</p>
<p>Gotcha @CDN dancer. And, Viggy, I seriously think Ive told you this before, but… you cannot assign numbers for “X and Y school”… it just doesnt work. Those people who say admissions is a crap shoot and all you can do is be as prepared as possible… Ya, they arent lying. </p>
<p>Obviously, the higher the better for scores and GPA, and the more diverse the better for essays and ECs (for the most part), but thats about as specific as people can get… </p>
<p>If you want more info, youd have to find out the averages in terms of scores and the like for the individual school you want…</p>
<p>Viggy I think I told you this before… but check out each school’s Common Data Set… They have EXTREMELY valuable information in there… Different schools find different aspects of the app. more important. For example, one school might look for a lot of volunteering hours while another school might not care about this. The Common Data Set asks each school to assign how important a particular aspect of the application is. It ranges from “Not Considered” to “Very Important”. All top schools, however, will say that GPA and class rigor are the most important factors while determining whether an applicant is accepted or not. SAT scores are next. Then, the essays and ECs and recs and so on. Seriously, the Common Data Sets (there is this thread on CC that has the CDS of many schools) even have acceptance rates broken down by gender. Since females tend to do better than males in high school, they apply to universities in higher numbers. Thus, males usually have a higher acceptance rate because fewer apply at these top schools and the schools want to keep the male to female ratio about 50:50… I’ve seen schools where the female acceptance rate is like 20 % and the male one is like 25%. All of this good information is on the CDS if you want to check it out.</p>
<p>ok, thanks alam1. So, I know Collegeboard has this info. on each school’s profile on their site, but should I just do a google search for the schools I’m interested in (for valid info.) or do you think Collegeboard is accurate?</p>
<p>But it’s still a little confusing. When a school says that ‘SAT is very important’, then what score would be good enough? Would it be the 75th percentile that they post (would that score be way more than enough)?</p>
<p>In general, schools post the average SAT scores. And when in doubt, Google it.</p>
<p>Hey guys,
Do you think it’s safer just to apply for a few EA schools first during ED round so that maybe I can get one acceptance under my belt before applying to top schools during RD round or try for stanford/yale SCEA right away? Personally I prefer the latter since I can get into just about any school in Canada with my current mark, so I’d probably stay in Canada if I don’t get into the ivies… But any opinions are appreciated. Thank you!</p>
<p>^^ same situation Maxy 
I’m only applying to US for the OPPORTUNITY; my Canadian fall-backs won’t be the end of the world though.
You know what I think? Go big or go home. Unless you are adamant to go to the US (which you don’t seem to be), apply to the best because Canadian Unis aren’t half bad. IMO it would only be worth it to cross the border if I were accepted to a school that greatly outranks UBC, McGill, or UT.</p>
<p>Absolutely! If you are confident in your marks and SAT scores for US schools (which ever ones you want), do EA! As for ED, I would make sure that the school you are applying to is your top choice. EA is non committal, so you applying to potentially ease the stress of the RD admissions process in either Canada or the USA is a great idea. I only did RD admissions, and I can tell you first hand that I wish I had done EA for at least Yale, the waiting for four months thing kind of made me want to pull my hair out. Although, I got early acceptance to Western (Ivey School of Business Advanced Entry) in February, so it wasnt completely hell waiting on the Ivies</p>
<p>Just FYI, if you are aiming for Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford or a few others, even with 2400 SAT’s and near perfect secondary marks, they are reaches----for everyone!</p>
<p>… While they may be reaches for the majority of applicants, I would have to disagree and say your statement is exaggerated. If you have 2400 on the SATs and a near perfect GPA, then schools like HYPSM are not reach schools, they are high-end match schools.</p>
<p>From:<br>
[A</a> historic year for Harvard admissions | Harvard Gazette Online](<a href=“http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/04/a-historic-year-for-harvard-admissions/]A”>A historic year for Harvard admissions – Harvard Gazette)</p>
<p>“By standard measures of academic talent, including test scores and academic performance, this year’s applicant pool reflects an unprecedented level of excellence. For example, more than 3,000 applicants scored a perfect 800 on the SAT Critical Reading Test; 4,100 scored 800 on the SAT Math Test; and nearly 3,600 were ranked first in their high school classes.”</p>