What colleges shud I aim for?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I was thinking of some of the top ones like Cornell, but I would like people to tell me of universities that I otherwise would not have as a Canadian.
Here are my Stats:</p>

<p>Academic:
Grade 9:
Math(Enriched)- 91%
Science(Enriched)-87%
English- 92%
Autocad/Woodshop- 88%
Cooking/Filming- 88%
Geography(Applied)-96%
French(Applied)- 91%
Gym- 86%</p>

<p>Grade 10:
Math(Enriched)-99%
English-90%
Science(Enriched)- 91%
Autocad-82%
Filming- 88%
Drama- 80%
History- 94%
Computer Science(Grade 11 course)- 93%</p>

<p>Grade 11-
Cisco-78%
Math- 96%
Chemistry- 85%
Biology- 90%
Rest of the semester marks are not yet final: Average should be 85-86%
Classes are: Gr. 12 Biology, Grade 12 Comp. Sci, Gr. 11 Physics, and Gr. 11 English</p>

<p>Grade 12:
Calculus- 95(Predicted)
Data Management- 95 (Predicted)
Advanced Functions- 95%(Predicted)
Philosophy- 90%
Physics- 90%
Chemistry- 85%
English- Depends on Teacher(may sound silly, but sadly very true )</p>

<p>EDIT: Class Rank is top 10%</p>

<p>Certifications:
Waterloo Certificate of Distinction for Pascal(Grade 9) Math Contest
Waterloo Certificate of Distinction for Cayley(Grade 10) Math Contest+Medal for top mark in school
Waterloo Certificate of Distinction for Fermat(Grade 11) Math Contest+Medal for top mark in school
Waterloo Certificate of Distinction for Euclid(Grade 12) Math Contest+Medal for top mark in school(Beat grade 12s)
Cisco CCNA certification.
Top Marks in: Grade 10 and Grade 11 Mathematics, got highest marks in grade.</p>

<p>Test Scores:
ACT:
C:29
M:35
E:29
R:28
S:25</p>

<p>Extra-Curriculars:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Founded a math circles that runs on a regional level. I asked a couple that was running a successful reading circles if they could help me start a math circles so I can have the same community impact as them. They loved the idea. So far in our trial year, we have 25 students, but will increase as we get into this year. With the math club, the program has also started summer camps for the first time. The impact this math circles has on the community is profound, and it also had a great impact on the program. This is a non-profit organization. (Grade 11)</p></li>
<li><p>Re-Founded the math clinic at school, the math clinic helps kids struggling in math. (Grade 11)</p></li>
<li><p>Retirement Home: I am a porter/server at the retirement home. However, the story goes far beyond that when I started hanging with this one guy at the retirement home, who I had a deep impact on, and vice versa. (Grade 10)</p></li>
</ul>

<p>*Younity: A group that helps out the community. We organized events such as a coffeehouse, and a talent show.</p>

<ul>
<li>Does Kumon count? I have been going there since grade 5 but quit this year due to workload.</li>
</ul>

<p>Plans:
*Plan on being a lifeguard/instructor at the largest private swimming institute in Canada.
*I am trying to get my Duke of Edinburgh, however I am not sure if I will be able to.</p>

<p>All in all, I spend around 7.5 hours a week on ECs, and I plan on getting a job.</p>

<p>Summers:
Grade 9 Summer: Took summer school to do a compulsory course so I didn't have to take it during the year. Volunteer at retirement home.</p>

<p>Grade 10 Summer: Took summer school co-op to get credits needed to graduate. Studied for SATs., Volunteer at retirement home.</p>

<p>Grade 11 Summer(plans): We will be visiting several top colleges such as Cornell, MIT, Yale, and so on. Will spend time volunteering with the math circles, retirement home, and more SAT Prep.</p>

<p>LOC: Plan on getting it from my math teacher, will be excellent.(Had her for 3 years)
Other will be from an English/Philosophy teacher, will have to see.</p>

<p>Essay Topic: Will be about my experience with a man at the retirement home. I think my title will be very unique, PM me if u want to see a "sample". Topic I believe will be very unique, as it is a story of how an angry man at the retirement home, transformed into a happy one. Story has a tragic ending.</p>

<p>Interest: As you can tell already, Math.
Plan on minoring in Comp. Sci. but idk, thats why I am aiming for Cornell as their wide variety of courses will help me out in the future.</p>

<p>Other CIrcumstances(EDIT):</p>

<p>*Parents will be able to pay for tuition, however I would like financial aid, as we will be breaking the bank for an "ivy" education.</p>

<p>*Indian-Canadian</p>

<p>*School has never sent anyone to the ivies.</p>

<p>*District had a teacher's strike during grade 10 year, in which all ECs in schools were cancelled.</p>

<p>GPA is about 3.95 based on the fact that 85+ is 4.0. I have done a lot of research and have derived that 85+ is a 4.0</p>

<p>Thank you for reading this hefty post, I would like to see what universities I should aim for in the US and whether it is worth coming there. My canadian universities are: University of Toronto, University of Waterloo(would choose if accepted by other canadian universities) and McGill University. Again thank you.</p>

2

<p>Haha, I am so amused with your c in drama! Anyways, a 4.0 is not equal to an 85 in the u.s. Consider yourself lucky because your act math will carry you through admissions. If you are seriously contemplating coming to the u.s. I would suggest schools along the lines of NYU, and Syracuse. Cornell would be a stretch, but technically you are international so your chances will increase.</p>

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<p>@Chimpswag an 80+ is considered an A in Ontario Canada. Yes I know in the US a 93+ is considered a 4.0, but thats the US. They are very different, all I am trying to do, is give a GPA number for everyone. which I feel, through lots of research, is an accurate number. Could they be higher yes, but there is one problem. In our system, our subjects dont branch off until grade 11 and 12. Meaning in grade 9 and 10 we are stuck with general science, and general math. In grade 11, we are given the option of chemistry, physics, biology, and etc. In grade 12, we are given the option to choose 3 math courses, which will help out my GPA. Thank you, for actually suggesting schools, I made another thread in which people jus told me that the Ivies would be a reach due to my ACT score, which I already know. </p>

<p>I will be taking the SAT, and realistically hope to get a 1500/1600(Cr + M), are NYU and Syracuse good for math? I will research later in about a week or two, but is it really worth spending the 200k to go to a “solid” school, when there are already such schools in Canada</p>

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<p>That’s the biggest question!! There are many fine Canadian universities where you can get an education equal to that of a US institution without the expense.</p>

5

<p>I decided to go to my instate school. It starts at 22k instate! And defiantly worth it. People always want to go to these big name schools but it is soo illogical. </p>

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<p>OP, the US schools will not use your Canadian GPA. They will recalculate it and see an average in the 80s. Which is around a 3.4 (depending on the scale) With that, depending on the school, it may be hard to get in. Especially since American Universities give priority to American applicants. Syracuse will end up being a high match and NYU will be a mid reach. </p>

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<p>A 29 ACT isn’t going to cut it for an intl at an Ivy, or a “top” school that you’d be looking for. You’re far better off turning your attention to Cdn schools. It might be different if your family is willing to pay full freight, but it sounds like that isn’t a wise venture for your family.</p>

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<p>@Dunboyne a 29 will not keep me out of an ivy league school. A 29 is not bad, especially with the 35 in math. Furthermore, my transcript shows that I am not stupid, its a 3 hour test, you seriously think they will reject me solely on my ACT score. If i get rejected it will be because of something else. Anyways, I am hoping for strong SAT 2 scores, but I have consistently showed I am great at math, and that I am passionate. My marks in english, and science courses show that I am not stupid either. So please do consider these things when you do future “chance me’s” or other things of such sort. </p>

<p>PS: Though I am in international, they don’t look at us differently. They just have certain quotas to fill.</p>

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<p>OP - the top-tier schools want to see consistently high ACT scores in ALL sections, and most of the students you will be competing with will have those scores. A high score in only math is probably not going to be enough for the highest level schools. Dunboyne is in fact correct. Check the Common Data sets for the schools you are interested in. Schools in the next tier will probably look at your scores a little more favorably. And yes, clearly you are not stupid, but your grades put you at most on par with, and probably even a bit below, the literally thousands of other students who will be applying to the top schools. Sorry to say, you being international does not help you at the top schools either. It is usually more difficult for internationals to get into those schools. And financial aid is generally not available to international students.</p>

<p>BTW, if you go on a website asking for random people’s opinions about your chances for admittance to top universities, you should not be so sensitive about the responses you get. Also, “chancing” for the top schools is pretty much a futile exercise. The top schools reject many, many, many very qualified students every year. Cornell rejected 37,000 people this year.</p>

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<p>@blprof yes I know it is better to have better scores, however, I am merely putting it out there that I will not fet rejected because of my ACT, its not horrendous, but its not great. My grades are good, about a 3.95 GPA, one B+ and 2 A-'s so yeah. I am also trying to get a 750+ on physics and bio for sat2. BTW, they will not lower the standards for Americans so they can admit a set number of intl students. And yes I know it is a reach, but thats for evryone regardless.</p>

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<p>I think you need to stay in Canada. There are plenty of great Canadian universities. </p>

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<p>@manas1997 Acceptance rates for internationals are usually a lot lower, sometimes around 1-2% for top tier schools. In order for those numbers to make sense, there is a different level of selection that universities must go through in order to find the 2% of internationals that will best fit their school.</p>

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<p>@Cosmological it’s actually 10-15%. </p>

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<p>@manas1997 It was a general number I threw out. I knew that for MIT and Harvard it was similar to 1-2%. For Cornell the number may be higher. Schools like Cornell usually draw many international applicants, but the school still can’t exceed a certain percentage of students being international.</p>

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<p>@Cosmological it’s almost always near 10-15%. If you look at it per state in the US, probably less than 10% get in, this is comparable to Canada as a country because not everyone applies to the states here, i’m the only one applying for top schools.</p>

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<p>I have heard that Canadian GPA vs. American GPA is different and that the two cannot be directly compared. Accordingly, I’m going to assume that your GPA makes you competitive for top schools, and dismiss it from my calculations.
Your test scores then become a bit of a problem. Just to be clear here, you don’t have a bad score, it’s just a score that the majority of applicants will have surpassed, and you should be fully cognizant of that. Just to give you an example, I will be applying to Ivy League schools with above a 30 on every subsection of the ACT. This is not atypical, and you can head over to the chance me board to see that. Also, do you have a source for the 10-15% acceptance rate for internationals? I usually hear closer to the 1-2% figure Cosmological gave. </p>

<p>Moving on from stats, what preferences do you have in a school? Geographic location (as in, Northeast only etc.)? Urban or rural? Climate? Greek Life? Size? Are you ok with an LAC? This will help us narrow down your options. </p>

<p>Finances are important too. Have you sat down with your parents and asked how much they can comfortably spend per year? Have you run any NPCs? As an international, financial aid will be very limited for you at all but a select few schools, so if you are seeking money, you will probably have to look for merit scholarships. You also will honestly probably not find a better value than a Canadian U, lol. </p>

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<p>@butterfreesnd, I got these percentages from when I visited these universities. What is “LAC”. Yes I know my score is a bit low, however, I am trying to make up for it with a good SAT 2 score, I believe my grades are fine, and my ECs are fine, furthermore, my essay topic is unique, I’ll be trying hard to write good essays. BTW, an A in Canada is 85+ and A- is 80-84.9.</p>

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<p>a 29 ACT is wayyy below the 25th percentile at Cornell, and your grades are lacking. Just because you are a math major does not mean they just look at math scores and ignore everything else. </p>

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<p>@Nk1237 grades are not lacking, those are Canadian grades, here an A is an 85+ and A- is 80-84.9</p>

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<p>@manas1997 they will recalculate on the American scale</p>