I asked you guys to chance me a little while ago but now I’m thinking of the University of Toronto.
Demographics: Asian male. Currently a senior in a Texas high school.
Major: Political science
Academics: SAT (post March 2016): 700 math 790 English, class rank: 98/367, GPA: 3.65 weighted and 3.516 unweighted. I will take the SAT Subject Biology and Math test in December.
Courses: Virtually all my early classes were honor courses except for English. Took/will take AP US History, Physics, and Biology. AP scores aren’t so hot; the highest anyone got in our school for APUSH was a 3 if that tells you how much AP specific prep they give. I have 19 credit hours with a community college and I anticipate about 7 more by the time I graduate. The only serious blemish on my transcript is senior year English. I took a dual credit course over the summer and I didn’t do so hot on it as I underestimated my ability in keeping up with a class that crams an entire year into two months and got a 77 average at the end.
ECs:
•Speech and debate.
•Model UN – President and Founding member.
•Choir – All Region choir since 7th grade.
•Used to be a cashier.
•UIL Current Events – Team Captain.
•Science Bowl.
Awards/distinctions:
•NSDA (National Speech and Debate Association) Academic All American.
•NSDA Honor Society member: Outstanding Distinction Merit.
•NSDA National Tournament Qualifier.
•Recognition from the congressionally established Stennis Center for Public Service Leadership for having been elected Presiding Officer at the National tournament.
•Qualified for state level competition in speech/debate about 7 times since sophomore year.
•State finalist in Congressional Debate.
•Placed 2nd at state in a prestigious civics competition sponsored by the State Bar of Texas.
Essays: I’ve had a few of my teachers review some of my essays and they say they definitely show positive character growth, ambition, and a strong passion for politics.
Colleges:
•University of Toronto.
•Columbia - applying regular
•NYU – Applying regular for the college of arts and sciences.
•American – Will apply for honors.
•UT Austin – Applying for the college of liberal arts.
I don’t know about Toronto, but Columbia will be a huge reach. If you didn’t live in Texas, UT Austin would also not be likely with your gpa. Your sat is great, but your gpa, while still good, does not match. I think you have a chance with NYU, American, and possibly UT Austin. Toronto i can not speak for, but Columbus is not a realistic option for you.
Yeah Columbia is that dream I hold some hope for. I do live in Texas and I’ve seen their common data and UT doesn’t consider GPA at all, just the class rank. Thanks for the feedback though!
U of T is not gonna be that hard for you Canadian schools have high acceptance rates for colleges that are comparable to top schools in America (U Of T is probably a top 20 school) You will get into U of T and I recommend you go there.
I’m not expecting a ton of aid but at least for the American schools I’ll probably need a little bit. Out of curiosity why do you say NYU and UT may not happen? @WorryHurry411
UT requires rank and Columbia/NYU may require a higher GPA/Rank/SAT for an unhooked Asian male. However, try your best as sometimes all stars align. Do apply in two safeties as well, just in case. College admissions are crazy.
Idk if it’s too late as the deadline for UofT has already passed. U of T is definitely much easier to get in comparing to a US college at the same ranking. What really holds Toronto’s reputation is its selectivity in the undergraduate career. Toronto looks for good average percentage in your junior and senior years. Your SAT is pretty good for Toronto, and make sure you have a combination of SAT/AP scores that cover at least 2 subjects. I think they also want at least 650 on your SAT IIs. The way UofT works is quite different as freshmen are accepted into a general program in the first year, and have to “reapply” for their desired major/specialty after first or second year; note that there are some exceptions like commerce and engineering. For you, I think you’ve already applied to social science studies, which probably requires the lowest average. Most majors in the faculty of arts and science are divided into three “types” with different selectivity. Hope it helped and best luck!