Canadian Universities

[JonnyBoy]

Hey guys, i'll be starting IB next year. What score should I aim for in order to get into the top Canadian universities?

[Bishup]

No idea. You'd have to look that up but here in the UK to get into the top universities you'd have to get at least 38. with a 7,7,6 or a 7,6,6 at higher level.

[Sandwich]

No idea. You'd have to look that up but here in the UK to get into the top universities you'd have to get at least 38. with a 7,7,6 or a 7,6,6 at higher level.

Purely for clarity, you can also get into the top universities in the UK with as little as 28. It depends entirely on the course, how your interview goes (if you have one!) etc. I suppose it also depends on how you'd classify top universities. Manchester for instance, for Physics, only wants 28 total with 6,6,6.

I'd say you can still go down to 36 and get a place with reasonable security (at the London Unis, anyway), dependent on the subject you go for, although of course if you overshoot you stand a much higher chance of getting the initial offer, even if you don't ultimately achieve it

[moneyfaery]

Top Canadian univs such as...? Depends on the course. Some univs are only good for specific programs.

[greaterthaninfinity]

Canadian universities are all subsidized by the government. So, despite whatever crap you may hear about "UofT/McGill/Queen's/[insert other Canadian university here] being the be all and end all choice for university", it's simply not true. Generally speaking, you will get into any Canadian university with scores of above 36 except for a few programmes. What exactly are you thinking of anyhow? Specifics would help us answer your question.

Edited May 26, 2009 by greaterthaninfinity

[__inthemaking]

Depends on the program. Each program will have different IB requirements..

[Ongfufu]

Usually minimum 28.

[Mattias]

Hi jonathan

You need to have a rough score of about 32 to get into U of T, which is considered to be quite good.

Rough score of 36 will probably get you into McGill, which is widely considered to be the best uni in Canada.

Your subjects are

HL: English,Bio,Econ

SL: Chinese,Chem,Math

I'd say as of right now, that's a 4, 5, 5, 5, 4, 5 respectively.

That's a score of 28. With your TOK essay and Extended Essay, that's probably another 2 points.

So, your range is probably around 29-31.

I think you should aim for U of T.

[godofib]

what IB scores do you need to comfortably get into health science undergraduate program at mcmaster? I know they say minimum is 36, but what IB scores will guarantee you admission (assuming the applicant is well rounded with lots of extra curricular activities)?

Edited July 16, 2009 by godofib

[__inthemaking]

what IB scores do you need to comfortably get into health science undergraduate program at mcmaster? I know they say minimum is 36, but what IB scores will guarantee you admission (assuming the applicant is well rounded with lots of extra curricular activities)?

36 is correct. There is no score that would guarantee you admission because the supplementary application will is of higher importance as long as you meet 90% (or 36 points). One of my friends applied with a 98% average and didn't get in.

Are you from Ontario? If so, your IB scores won't even be looked at. I got into health sci with my Ontario scores, they accepted me in early May before I even finished my IB exams. And all they said in my acceptance letter was that I had to maintain an 88% to keep my offer.

[powa2]

It all depends on the program you enter into. If you're going into a competitive program, a higher converted average will help with admissions and scholarships. For top Canadian universities, a 32 would be a minimum, my friend got into Mcgill with a 35 for political science with scholarships.

[spaceisland]

Does your school give you standard provincial curriculum grades as well as IB grades? Every university I spoke with, except for Queen's, said that if you have both a provincial transcript and an I.B. transcript, they'll merely use whichever one is to your greater advantage. So, if your predicted IB scores are looking low, but you have a 90% in the normal system, you'll still be accepted. I know students with scores between 24 and 30 who've been accepted to U of T, Waterloo, and UBC. Kids who have failed the diploma have still gotten into U of A on almost full scholarship. Basically, if your core mark is about 5% above the uni's cut-off, usually around 80%, you will be fine.

Canadian school admissions are pretty lax.

[godofib]

Do any of the canadian universities look for personal statements when we are applying for undergrad courses or is PS statement only required for US/UK unis?

[master135]

Do any of the canadian universities look for personal statements when we are applying for undergrad courses or is PS statement only required for US/UK unis?

Many require a PStatement of some sort...

[moneyfaery]

Do any of the canadian universities look for personal statements when we are applying for undergrad courses or is PS statement only required for US/UK unis?

Waterloo, Toronto, Queen's come to mind. Health sci @ McMaster. Generally, aside from health sci, if your average is decent, you'll get in regardless of the PS. I know Guelph says that they'll only look at the PS if your average falls below the cutoff. Go there if you like good food, haha.

[master135]

Do any of the canadian universities look for personal statements when we are applying for undergrad courses or is PS statement only required for US/UK unis?

Waterloo, Toronto, Queen's come to mind. Health sci @ McMaster. Generally, aside from health sci, if your average is decent, you'll get in regardless of the PS. I know Guelph says that they'll only look at the PS if your average falls below the cutoff. Go there if you like good food, haha.

Not fully true...some unis like Queen's also weighs its PSE heavy...so only decent marks wont cut it necessarily.

Edited August 14, 2009 by master135

[godofib]

I know this may sound kind of stupid, but what exactly do we need to put in a personal statement? What makes a personal statement "good"? If unis have supplementary applications, do they have personal statement + supplementary application?

[sweetnsimple786]

This is an amazing guide:

From my experience with applications for US unis, sometimes yes and sometimes no. This is thread for Canadian unis, so I won't blabber uselessly about them.

[__inthemaking]

I know this may sound kind of stupid, but what exactly do we need to put in a personal statement? What makes a personal statement "good"? If unis have supplementary applications, do they have personal statement + supplementary application?

Each uni/program will ask for something different. I know Waterloo's AIF is mostly background (your ECs, skills etc plus a bunch of other questions). Queen's has some short answer questions in their's. I can't remember exactly what they were but for each uni, it's different. You're going to have to write specifically for each uni, and not just create a blanket PS since they're all asking for different things. You only get a limited amount of space though (something like 500-1000 characters) so be CONCISE.

[moneyfaery]

Do any of the canadian universities look for personal statements when we are applying for undergrad courses or is PS statement only required for US/UK unis?

Waterloo, Toronto, Queen's come to mind. Health sci @ McMaster. Generally, aside from health sci, if your average is decent, you'll get in regardless of the PS. I know Guelph says that they'll only look at the PS if your average falls below the cutoff. Go there if you like good food, haha.

Not fully true...some unis like Queen's also weighs its PSE heavy...so only decent marks wont cut it necessarily.

Really? I thought my PSE was pretty crappy... started 2hrs before the deadline. Not complaining though, hehe