<p>Hey,
I'm Canadian and am kinda new to the whole American University thing so I was wondering if you could possibly give me an idea of what kind of universities I can get into.</p>
<p>-I have a 3.4 GPA (If I consider a A to be 90-100%. In Canada a 80%-100% is considered a A, but I wasn't sure if I need to adapt it to the American School System. If I use the Canadian 80-100 system, my average is a 3.9)</p>
<p>-2390 on the SAT's</p>
<p>-800 on the Math 2
-800 on Physics</p>
<p>Extracurricular:
-Published an app in the Mac App store and got over a 1000 downloads.
-Own a tech blog getting around 100 visitors a day
-Part of Mensa
-200 hours of volunteering</p>
<p>I got a 78 % in Math in Gr.9 (I had just moved and my life was a rush), but made up for it by getting a 90% in Gr.10, 93% in Gr.11, a 97 in Gr.12, another 97 for Data Management, and a 98 for Calculus.</p>
<p>I am currently a junior. Any idea what kind of colleges would accept me? I would consider my SAT score to be relatively high (high enough for Ivy Leagues probably), my extracurriculars are pretty good but my GPA is crap. The big difference in SAT scores and GPA has left me wondering what kind of university is right for me.</p>
<p>Dream university is probably MIT or CalTech. ANY chance of me being even considered?</p>
<p>Thank You.</p>
<p>Do you have a class rank? That’s much more telling to colleges than your GPA. MIT and Caltech as will all elite US schools will expect you to be very top of class.</p>
<p>Unfortunately I don’t. We aren’t given an actual ranking. </p>
<p>Just wondering but would MIT consider the 78 a B or C? Because although its a B according to my school standards and the Canadian Grading System, it is a C according to the American Grading System. How badly would it hurt my chances considering I want to get into electronic engineering or computer science? (due to math’s relevance in the field)</p>
<p>You could probably get into BC, if you scored well on the ACTS.
MIT would consider a 78 to be a C, but it won’t kill you. It’s a reach, but your SAT score might be enough to push you over the top.</p>
<p>What’s BC? And is this considering my 3.4 GPA?</p>
<p>They will look at grade distribution data to see where you rank. You’ll need to be very close to top of class for real consideration.</p>
<p>How badly would the 3.4 GPA pull me down though?</p>
<p>I don’t mean to soun discouraging at all, but a 3.4 will weigh you down a lot. HOWEVER, you have strog ECs and strong SATs, so you never know… What’s your ethnicity?</p>
<p>I’m half Indian and half African. I’ve lived in Canada for 90% of my life though.</p>
<p>Your ethnicity will get you places. African-Americans have HUGE advantges due to affirmative action policies…
You should try applying to Olin as well, Harvey Mudd, Hopkins, and a few other places. High standardized test scores will take you far places here, an your extra currics show commitment. Also, as long as your grades show improvement (which I see they do), you have a good shot at any college. Of course apply to some back ups tho… And BC is Boston College. It’s a decent school with a good rep, but I’d never want to go there.</p>
<p>Thank You. Would you say I have ANY chance for MIT/Caltech?</p>
<p>Not unless you go to a high school where 3.4 is a top GPA.</p>
<p>No chance, GPA is too low, and ECs are not that good FYI.</p>
<p>How do you know that his GPA is too low? It depends on whether or not MIT uses the Canada scale or the US scale. I would look that up if I were you. If his school system uses an 80-100 as an A, there clearly is a reason for it. I can’t see any reason why MIT wouldn’t use his grades relative to his country. Also, the 78% won’t kill you, especially since you were a freshman. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>calculate your gpa based on the canadian system. Colleges are aware of the different grading systems - if you got a 78 in one class, that is because you deserved the B. MIT will know that it’s a B in your system, and not think of it as a C. They use the grading system relative to your country, don’t worry.</p>
<p>Thank You 
My full EC:
-Mensa
-200 hours volunteering
-Published app in app store with over 1000 downloads
-Own a tech blog with over a 100 visits a day
-Won provincial computing contest (first place)
-Published a paper on color spaces’ influence on skin detection in computer vision
-President of Robotics Club
-President of Computer Science Club
-President of Model UN
-Governmental IT Job</p>
<p>Would MIT/Caltech consider these ECs good? Last question, I promise. Thanks for your patience :)</p>
<p>Also, I just stupidly realized I calculated my GPA wrong. It would be 3.6 not 3.4. I don’t have any AP Courses though, since unfortunately my school does not offer them.</p>
<p>ECs are good, you’ll need to really make yourself stand out in the essay, though. </p>
<p>Again, don’t worry about what your GPA would be if you used the american system.
They aren’t going to turn your well earned As into Bs and Bs into Cs.
IF your B is 70 % and there B a 80% they’ll still see both equivalently.</p>