<p>My dad kept going on about how there's NO WAY i'm getting accept into an ivy because I just immigrated to Canada two years ago and am behind everyone at English, etc.. The worst thing is that he's telling me to quit playing the horn(french horn) of which I have a really HUGE passion for. I practice 2-3 hours a day and currently play in a local city youth band. He says there's not enough time for me and I have to spend basically ALL my time on school subjects, particularly English. :rolleyes: </p>
<p>My school grade average was about 86(I haven't figure out the GPA systems yet. It's something like GPA 3.7 I think.) last year which isn't very good but there's still room for improvement -- lots of improvement. </p>
<p>But I'm afraid if I do as he says I'll end up having a even smaller chance with the schools. :(</p>
<p>Stay with the horn...French Horns are very hard to play and colleges appreciate that you have a passion for something. It can be considered a unique talent.</p>
<p>helenwho, have you tried the SATs? If you are aiming for American colleges, those are the most basic things you need. Also, if your English language skills aren't that proficient, writing the college application essays (esp. for ivies) may be a difficulty/stumbling point for you. My point is that you just gotta start early and start now on: the essays, SATs(if you've done any yet), applications, and teacher recs as soon as school starts. There's a lot more work to be done. Good luck:)</p>
<p>Don't be discouraged, I know a Chinese dude who also came to Canada around 2 years ago, and after hard work, persistence, careful parent guidance, and a bit of luck, he got into Cornell this year (yep, and his English is FAR from the typical ivy standard). In addition, if everything does go downtown, you'd still have a lot more alternatives: Canadian univerisities like UBC, Mcgill, UofT, and Queen's are also great places to receive higher education. Besides, after four years at those schools, you could always apply to an ivy graduate school.</p>
<p>@phroz3n, thanks, hopefully they will. Horn is something I won't/couldn't give up on.:)</p>
<p>@JIMMY@KILLARNEY, no I haven't yet. I'm planning on taking my first Reasoning test in December. Right now I practice writing on my own and take SAT tutoring course. Is it a good idea to get teacher recs in the beginning of one's junior year?:confused:</p>
<p>If you are a junior still, I am sure that you'll have more time for essays, recs, applications, and several tries of SAT. Your decision to take the reasoning teest in december is good, because you should at least get a sense of how you do on your first try. Don't worry too much about that. </p>
<p>Junior year is important in that you gotta maintain (or even upgrade) your school marks, class rank, and GPA. If your school offers any AP or Honors courses, BY ALL MEANS, take them (as many as possible). Having a prestigious course load is VERY important because ivy colleges want to see people who are willing to take up challenges (academically, try to avoid taking any so called "electives," since everyone knows that these courses give easy grades). </p>
<p>No, in junior year, you don't have to worry about getting teacher recs. That can be done by next june or the first month of your senior year. However, it is still WORTHWHILE to maintain a friendly, close relationship with your teachers (try to "stand out" in class, participate more, make them "remember you" so they'll have something to write about later). </p>
<p>Again, don't focus too much of your time on SATs in junior, since you'll have so much other important things to do (unless you are perfectly sure that your school mark is outstanding and all your ECs are good). A lot of people make the mistake of abandoning their extra-curricular activities in junior and senior years just for the sake of studying SATs and improving GPAs. You DON'T want to have any blank spots on your EC part in the last few years of high school. by the way, how are you doing with your ECs? Do you have a particular interest? that french horn thing sounds awesome, though you just gotta have more prove/support of your interest.</p>
<p>GPA: 3.43UW, 3.58W 88.4 (grade 10/sophomore)
Rank: school doesn’t rank
School: changed school at 9/10th year, the old was ranked 33th in the province, the new one is at 47th -- within top 2 in the city (Richmond, BC)
AP: taking Math AP in grade 11, a few more in grade 12
SAT I – not taken yet, TAKING the first one in Dec
SAT II – taking Chinese with listening in Nov</p>
<p>EXTRACURRICULARS
volunteers:
YWCA – Thrift shop on weekends
Vancouver International Marathon 05
Kids Play palace (summer 04)
Canada Day 06 celebration at the Salmon Festival
Horn:
Richmond Youth Concert Band
First horn in school band
Pit orchestra for “Crazy For You” – 9th grade
Pit orchestra for “Into the woods” – 10th grade
Chamber ensembles (both wind and brass)
Piano – played for 7 years, RCM grade 7 practical (taking grade 8 next year)
Trombone- jazz band in 10th grade
Steveston Karate club member
Swim team
Cayley National Maths Contest- top 25% in the nation:rolleyes:
Teacher’s recs: should be good, both teachers I have in mind like me :D
Counselor’s rec: I doubt it’s going to be good but my school is merging with another school next year, so maybe I’ll get a better counselor.
Working ex: none</p>
<p>Hooks: umm, an absolute horn freak? I have an absolute passion for it. Also hopefully I’ll get good SATs like 2200+ or something.
I came to Canada in 2004, am fluently in both mandarin and English (all hail the azn background)</p>
<p>I haven’t decided on my majors either :(, but I think I want to double-major in music and business if possible.
I don’t care about weather/campus setting/etc. since I get used to everything and get along with everyone (almost hahah)</p>
<p>I kind of gave up my hopes about ivies already. I sort of just realized the importance of studying this summer... :)no I'm not kidding. Upon realizing that, I made intense study plan for the next two years, but I just don't think I'll be good enough for the very top schools. Also, my ECs are not even moderately competitive comparing to all you overachievers on this site. Trust me when i say i didn't mean it in an offensive way. Even though I'm very passionate about horn playing and indeed work really on it everyday, it's impossible to achieve something like a position in the national youth orchestra in a mere two years. I'm hoping to join one of the best youth orchestras in the Vancouver area (Vancouver/Delta Youth Orchestra) in my senior year. That might actually mean something to the admission officers hopefully. But we all know without some national/international awards or skyhigh SATs or athletic records, ivies ain't gonna happen.</p>
<p>I don't really recommend you taking "Chinese with Listening," considering that your most fluent native language is "Chinese Mandarin." Colleges all know that SAT Chinese is REAL easy, even for native Canadians. It does nothing to show that you are up to real challenges and you are just lazy to learn something new. In fact, it will contradict that personality.</p>
<p>hmmm, I have received lots of advice like that, I'll indeed reconsider. </p>
<p>The other thing is that I don't have enough time to take up another language in the next two years, and all the most selective schools require something like three to four years study of a foreign language. In BC, we have the oppurtunity to take a Language Challenge Test in which if you do well, you can skip to the highest level in this language, and the score can be used as that of a student after three years of study of the language. After that, you take the provincial test, and the combined average of these two scores will be your final grade on that particular language subject. That's what I did, and I was wondering if that could be considered equivalent to three to four years study of a foreign language?</p>
<p>I don't think you should consider "Chinese" a "foreign language," since you stated that you just came to Canada two years ago from China (and colleges WILL take that fact into account)</p>
<p>I agree with the previous post. Since your first language, mother language, native language...whichever term you want to use...is Chinese, Chinese will not be considered a foreign language for you. My daughter is considered a native speaker in English, two European languages, and the language of the country of her passport, and she was advised to take the SAT II and AP on the two European languages.</p>
<p>I thought I could take the test anyways just to have a back-up score. I'll take 3 more SAT IIs in addition to that. Can I just submit the three others or would my applying colleges see ALL my SAT II scores?</p>
<p>Some colleges require 2 tests, some require 3 tests. You can take as many as you want, but you can only take 3 on a single test day. Taking more than what is required will not hurt, but it is not a matter of more is better.</p>
<p>helenwho, we are going around in circles here. You can certainly take SAT II Chinese, and you will satisfy the requirements, and as you yourself said, you do not have to study for it. Now the colleges will realize that same thing...you did not have to study for it. Now how bad is that really for your applications? Who knows? I guess it really all depends on the colleges you are applying to, and who is in the same pool with you. Now if you end up with someone like my daughter who went out of her way to reach the native level in English, two major European languages, and two major Aisan languages...I think you can guess how the chips will fall...</p>