Tsunami Posted May 29, 2017 Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 (edited) Hello, I'm an international student currently living abroad doing the IB program. I'm in Grade 11 and I have a few concerns about university. I'm fluent in French but English is my first language. I have plans to study either international relations or psychology in university. I'm very worried that I won't even get admitted into any college or Uni... I messed up in MYP (grades 9 & 10) honestly I didn't think the first two years of high school would be that important. After grade 10 I moved schools, I started out the first semester pretty well I was trying harder but then all of a sudden my grades fell and I don't think I did too well on my end of year exams. I am doing the full IB diploma so I have started my IA's and my EE is going pretty well I haven't missed any deadlines.. I want to know if there is still hope for me to get into a decent university with my lowish grades.. this summer I plan to do nothing but work, I'm getting a tutor for my weaker subjects such as math and bio. Next year I know I can improve but I don't know if it will change anything considering I have already messed up grades 9-11..I'm usually a 4/5 grade student with the occasional 6 or 3. I know I can do so much better though and I'll try my hardest. On the other hand I have good extra curriculars, also this summer I plan on taking SAT classes I'm aiming for at least 1200! I have done MUN I'm on the tennis team Volleyball team Track team Yearbook Debate team I took part in a Global youth summit for international schools (in 2016 and in 2017) And I also have good Community service record due to CAS. I have also volunteered at an animal shelter and an orphanage several times My uni choices so far are: USA: UCLA NYU The New School (NY) Lynn University Loyola Marymount university Roosevelt University DePaul University Wake Forest University Elon University Florida International University Colgate University Northeastern University American University Canada: UBC Uni Manitoba Uni of Toronto Western University Uni of Waterloo York University Queens university Do you think that there is still a chance I can get into these schools if I do better next year? I know next year is senior year and that colleges usually look at junior year the most but please please please give me your inputs. Please note that I'm not applying to all of these schools.. I'm trying to narrow down my list. My Subjects are HL: Literature Biology History SL: Spanish Ab ESS Math studies Edited May 29, 2017 by Tsunami Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquilina Posted May 29, 2017 Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 Um... Let's be truthful to you. The 4/5 grade is not good for the GPA, and your extracurriculars are a bit ordinary. I would suggest you initiate some psych-related program or international relation-related activities. For example, you could start an online psych help site for teenagers, or do a psychology research or internship. As for the SAT, 1200 is not sufficient. I am now aiming a 1550+ on it as I blew up this semester of the IB. I think a good SAT score can actually help compensate a lower GPA in undergraduate application. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeronicaG Posted May 29, 2017 Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 (edited) If you pull your grades up to 5s and 6s you'll probably get into most of all of your Canadian schools. UBC and queens will be the hardest. Canadian schools: -don't care about any grades except for senior year (except ubc) -don't care about extra curriculars (except ubc) -have very low grade cutoffs for the arts Edited May 29, 2017 by VeronicaG 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB`NOT`ez Posted May 29, 2017 Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 2 hours ago, Tsunami said: Hello, I'm an international student currently living abroad doing the IB program. I'm in Grade 11 and I have a few concerns about university. I'm fluent in French but English is my first language. I have plans to study either international relations or psychology in university. I'm very worried that I won't even get admitted into any college or Uni... I messed up in MYP (grades 9 & 10) honestly I didn't think the first two years of high school would be that important. After grade 10 I moved schools, I started out the first semester pretty well I was trying harder but then all of a sudden my grades fell and I don't think I did too well on my end of year exams. I am doing the full IB diploma so I have started my IA's and my EE is going pretty well I haven't missed any deadlines.. I want to know if there is still hope for me to get into a decent university with my lowish grades.. this summer I plan to do nothing but work, I'm getting a tutor for my weaker subjects such as math and bio. Next year I know I can improve but I don't know if it will change anything considering I have already messed up grades 9-11..I'm usually a 4/5 grade student with the occasional 6 or 3. I know I can do so much better though and I'll try my hardest. On the other hand I have good extra curriculars, also this summer I plan on taking SAT classes I'm aiming for at least 1200! I have done MUN I'm on the tennis team Volleyball team Track team Yearbook Debate team I took part in a Global youth summit for international schools (in 2016 and in 2017) And I also have good Community service record due to CAS. I have also volunteered at an animal shelter and an orphanage several times My uni choices so far are: USA: UCLA NYU The New School (NY) Lynn University Loyola Marymount university Roosevelt University DePaul University Wake Forest University Elon University Florida International University Colgate University Northeastern University American University Canada: UBC Uni Manitoba Uni of Toronto Western University Uni of Waterloo York University Queens university Do you think that there is still a chance I can get into these schools if I do better next year? I know next year is senior year and that colleges usually look at junior year the most but please please please give me your inputs. Please note that I'm not applying to all of these schools.. I'm trying to narrow down my list. My Subjects are HL: Literature Biology History SL: Spanish Ab ESS Math studies If you can pull off 5~ average for all your subjects, with a decent SAT score of about 1300~ you'll have a decent chance at most of your universities, save for UCLA. Your extracurriculars are varied and "enough" for the schools you plan on going to so it's no big issue. Right now just focus on your academics - I'd primarily focus on the IB and aim for your Canadian schools. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquilina Posted May 29, 2017 Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 2 hours ago, IB`NOT`ez said: If you can pull off 5~ average for all your subjects, with a decent SAT score of about 1300~ you'll have a decent chance at most of your universities, save for UCLA. Your extracurriculars are varied and "enough" for the schools you plan on going to so it's no big issue. Right now just focus on your academics - I'd primarily focus on the IB and aim for your Canadian schools. I doubt if a 1300 something would ensure a place at NYU. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosalina Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 I can say that with the exception of U of T and Waterloo, you have a very good chance at your Canadian university choices. Arts have a very low cutoff, especially for the IB. You extracurriculars are fine. They are varied, and would require a long term commitment. That's what most universities who even consider extracurriculars would like to see. Don't start something this year just for the sake of padding your application since the people who are reading your application can tell when you're trying to do that. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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