Canadian Universities

[Taigan]

You'll definitely need to get in the mid 30s. It really depends on what you want to study after IB and whether the field you want to enter is competitive or not. McGill generally requires around 36 in the IB. U of T require about 32-34. You should research into these universities, however, to see what requirements you need for the subjects you want to study.

Edited August 27, 2009 by taigan

[genius wannabe]

I've heard that Unis usually look at marks only, and if I'm an IB student with low marks and there's a 'regular' student with higher marks than me, I will be passed for the other student? I only ask this because our school doesn't standardize any marks (there's schools here that add 20%, we don't have anything of that sort) so my marks are rather crappy, and I know I'll have no chance to actually up them. My provincial curriculum marks are currently low, and students at our school have never, historically speaking, done very well where it comes to IB marks, either, so I clearly have no hope. Not many students even get a diploma 'cause they've done so bad ... So, does taking IB in my school mean I'll have a lesser chance of getting into Unis/programmes of my choice? Because that would really annoy me. I'm planning on either going to uni here in Canada or in the US, so should I be worried?

Our school seduced grade 10 kids by telling us we have 'guaranteed' spots at any Canadian uni, which after browsing here I've realized is absolute bs. So I guess the basic question is am I screwed?

[SharkSpider]

As far as I know, IB won't hurt you if you apply at a good university, unless you basically failed IB and tanked all your provincial scores. That being said, people with 28s got in to UBC, and some who graduated at even lower than that still ended up going to SFU or some other less known universities. The lowest IB score on my own program (a math business one at waterloo) was a 38, but I know someone who got a 39 and was turned down because they had a low math mark. Really, it's not necessarily your final, but what courses you get 7s in. If you get 7s in physics, bio, math HL, english, history, etc, most universities will take you, but if your 7s are in math studies, business SL, chem SL, etc, you'll probably have a hard time getting in to good programs.

Either way, if you would have been able to get in to a good university without IB, then it's perfectly reasonable to conjecture that you'd be able to do the same with IB. The fact is that if you use IB for what it's meant to be used for, you graduate with better skills and more knowledge than most non-IB graduates. If you think that IB will get you in to university regardless of how much work you do, or how smart you are, then you're gonna be disappointed.

That being said, if you work hard and get 6es and 7s, you'll be fine, so no, not screwed.

[__inthemaking]

I've heard that Unis usually look at marks only, and if I'm an IB student with low marks and there's a 'regular' student with higher marks than me, I will be passed for the other student? I only ask this because our school doesn't standardize any marks (there's schools here that add 20%, we don't have anything of that sort) so my marks are rather crappy, and I know I'll have no chance to actually up them. My provincial curriculum marks are currently low, and students at our school have never, historically speaking, done very well where it comes to IB marks, either, so I clearly have no hope. Not many students even get a diploma 'cause they've done so bad ... So, does taking IB in my school mean I'll have a lesser chance of getting into Unis/programmes of my choice? Because that would really annoy me. I'm planning on either going to uni here in Canada or in the US, so should I be worried?

Our school seduced grade 10 kids by telling us we have 'guaranteed' spots at any Canadian uni, which after browsing here I've realized is absolute bs. So I guess the basic question is am I screwed?

It depends on if you're applying to uni with your IB or provincial marks. I know in Ontario, they didn't even look at my IB marks (unless you send in a written request or something for them to consider it) and they only had my Ontario marks because I applied through OUAC.

[KLSmash]

I second what __inthemaking said, as that's the exact same thing that my IB co-ordinator said. So let's say you got 7s in SL Math Studies, SL Chem and SL ITGS for that matter, your Ontario average would still end up being really high and you'd get into a lot of programs without even worrying.

[genius wannabe]

I'm in Alberta, though, would that make a difference?

[__inthemaking]

I'm in Alberta, though, would that make a difference?

Are you only applying to in-province unis or out-of-province unis too? Checking the uni websites/calling/emailing them would be your best bet.

[powa2]

Well from my understanding,when you are applying for universities in Alberta and in other provines they do two things. They look at both your provincial average and your IB mark. If the IB conversion to percent is higher and more beneficial to you, they use that, otherwise they use the normal provincial averages.

U of Alberta also offers great scholarships for IB students, if you manage to get in the high 30s you could qualify for a $10000 dollar scholarship.

[Yiruna]

hi guys, so since this is the thread for Canadian Universities, I was wondering exactly how hard/easy it is to get into one cause I really want to get into either, Waterloo, U of T, or Western Ontario. I mean, I'd probably go for a Computer Science/Engineering course but I'm really scared if I'll get the desired marks cause those two subjects are the sole courses Id ever rlly want to do

I haven't gotten all my final predicted grades yet but at the moment, I'm predicted a 4 for HL english and these are the grades id hopefully like to get ~4/5 HL maths, 6/7 HL Computer Science, 3/4 for SL physics, 5/6 SL french, 5/6 SL geography, I have no intention of going to the UK or the US for uni.

I also read on the waterloo page that i need hl physics and maths with a grade of 5 but I noe that ill never be able to manage both maths and physics at the same time =.=

So could someone please tell me if id even be able to get into any uni's with these grades, I'm really nervous cause our school has a reputation with most students getting a final score of 40+ and only rlly dumb students get under 35 so im really scared if any uni would accept me?

[powa2]

Yiruna, Waterloo, U of T and Western Ontario all have different processes for admission. For Waterloo admission is by program, for the more competitive program you would need to get above 37 with a 5 or 6 on your higher levels but it's quite high for the computer science program if I can remeber correctly. For U of T, they admit generally with high scores into different colleges, I think they have a system of changing your IB scores into percentages and gives admission by whichever is more beneficial to the applicant. I don't much about UWO but I think they have a system that is similar to U of T.

Everybody is scared about university application, don't worry about it! Just apply to every university that you want to go in and hope for the best!

[Yiruna]

Yiruna, Waterloo, U of T and Western Ontario all have different processes for admission. For Waterloo admission is by program, for the more competitive program you would need to get above 37 with a 5 or 6 on your higher levels but it's quite high for the computer science program if I can remeber correctly. For U of T, they admit generally with high scores into different colleges, I think they have a system of changing your IB scores into percentages and gives admission by whichever is more beneficial to the applicant. I don't much about UWO but I think they have a system that is similar to U of T.

Everybody is scared about university application, don't worry about it! Just apply to every university that you want to go in and hope for the best!

wow, thanks! It's just, it seems so hard to get even above a 30 Q.Q. I cant even manage my IOP, i blank out as soon as i step up, i wonder if ill even get a 4 for english, but im fine with written stuff....its the speaking stuff i just cannot manage, i feel like fainting whenever i do presentations, and there's soooo many of these at IB, im just that scared.

if u mind answering one more question? I checked on the waterloo page that for computer engineering, id need hl maths AND physics with a final grade of 5.......Would it matter if i took one of these at sl?

[__inthemaking]

Yiruna, Waterloo, U of T and Western Ontario all have different processes for admission. For Waterloo admission is by program, for the more competitive program you would need to get above 37 with a 5 or 6 on your higher levels but it's quite high for the computer science program if I can remeber correctly. For U of T, they admit generally with high scores into different colleges, I think they have a system of changing your IB scores into percentages and gives admission by whichever is more beneficial to the applicant. I don't much about UWO but I think they have a system that is similar to U of T.

Everybody is scared about university application, don't worry about it! Just apply to every university that you want to go in and hope for the best!

wow, thanks! It's just, it seems so hard to get even above a 30 Q.Q. I cant even manage my IOP, i blank out as soon as i step up, i wonder if ill even get a 4 for english, but im fine with written stuff....its the speaking stuff i just cannot manage, i feel like fainting whenever i do presentations, and there's soooo many of these at IB, im just that scared.

if u mind answering one more question? I checked on the waterloo page that for computer engineering, id need hl maths AND physics with a final grade of 5.......Would it matter if i took one of these at sl?

If they specified that you need BOTH at HL then yes it would matter. Are you applying as an international/out of province student? Because if you're from Ontario then you'll be applying with Ontario high school marks and then the IB grades won't matter.

[Yiruna]

Yiruna, Waterloo, U of T and Western Ontario all have different processes for admission. For Waterloo admission is by program, for the more competitive program you would need to get above 37 with a 5 or 6 on your higher levels but it's quite high for the computer science program if I can remeber correctly. For U of T, they admit generally with high scores into different colleges, I think they have a system of changing your IB scores into percentages and gives admission by whichever is more beneficial to the applicant. I don't much about UWO but I think they have a system that is similar to U of T.

Everybody is scared about university application, don't worry about it! Just apply to every university that you want to go in and hope for the best!

wow, thanks! It's just, it seems so hard to get even above a 30 Q.Q. I cant even manage my IOP, i blank out as soon as i step up, i wonder if ill even get a 4 for english, but im fine with written stuff....its the speaking stuff i just cannot manage, i feel like fainting whenever i do presentations, and there's soooo many of these at IB, im just that scared.

if u mind answering one more question? I checked on the waterloo page that for computer engineering, id need hl maths AND physics with a final grade of 5.......Would it matter if i took one of these at sl?

If they specified that you need BOTH at HL then yes it would matter. Are you applying as an international/out of province student? Because if you're from Ontario then you'll be applying with Ontario high school marks and then the IB grades won't matter.

Well, I'm a Canadian citizen, just that im studying abroad, so, id guess, im applying as out of province. So what you mean is, if i apply as Out of Province, it doesn't matter what my final IB score is? Or do u mean that it doesn't matter what subjects I take and what grades I get for these subjects dont matter?

Sorry for asking so many questions!

[KLSmash]

I would suggest to just email Waterloo yourself with all your questions. Simply because they know all the answers to your questions, and won't just tell you things that "they heard from a friend" as what may happen on this forum. Moreover, whenever I've emailed Waterloo, they've always emailed me back extremely quickly so it won't take long at all.

[Amber]

around 33 (at UBC)

look up on the websites most have special links just for IB, but I actually looked up the uBC one...

[Cookie]

Hey guys.

I am an international student studying in Europe (doing the IB) and I got in both UofT and Queens to study Economics. However, I'm really not sure which one I should choose.

Does anyone know about these schools? Which one is better for my course?

PS. I intend on doing my masters in the US. Which of these two unis will give me a better chance?

Thanks =D

[__inthemaking]

U of T and Queen's are both good schools, but I suppose U of T is more well known outside of Canada. I have visited both schools and enjoyed the Queen's atmosphere and campus more, personally. Not sure what the econ program is like at either school though.

[DJ CAS]

Yiruna, Waterloo, U of T and Western Ontario all have different processes for admission. For Waterloo admission is by program, for the more competitive program you would need to get above 37 with a 5 or 6 on your higher levels but it's quite high for the computer science program if I can remeber correctly. For U of T, they admit generally with high scores into different colleges, I think they have a system of changing your IB scores into percentages and gives admission by whichever is more beneficial to the applicant. I don't much about UWO but I think they have a system that is similar to U of T.

Everybody is scared about university application, don't worry about it! Just apply to every university that you want to go in and hope for the best!

wow, thanks! It's just, it seems so hard to get even above a 30 Q.Q. I cant even manage my IOP, i blank out as soon as i step up, i wonder if ill even get a 4 for english, but im fine with written stuff....its the speaking stuff i just cannot manage, i feel like fainting whenever i do presentations, and there's soooo many of these at IB, im just that scared.

if u mind answering one more question? I checked on the waterloo page that for computer engineering, id need hl maths AND physics with a final grade of 5.......Would it matter if i took one of these at sl?

What are you taking as your SL subject? They are really strict about having Math as HL. You must have their subject specific minimum requirements to be able to enter the programme.

[bumblebee.xo]

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

SFU and UVIC require 24. But those aren't the top universities in Canada. Mcgill doesn't really care about IB, they take the fact that your in IB into consideration but they look at you like a normal student. Say you get 70% in an HL IB class when you could have probably gotten a 90% in that class if it was regular, they would look at your 70% as if it was a normal class. However, I think that the IB Diploma makes you a higher priority but you need hella good grades to get into Mcgill. I'm not too sure about the University of Toronto (which is the second top university in Canada), but UBC (the third ranking) requires a 28 I think. Try getting your hands on some university brochures, they all explain it in them.

Hope this helped! :')

[jeanette]

Hey everyone! I plan to take pharmacy in University of Alberta would that be a good idea? However, McGill and U of T was ranked way higher than Alberta in the world rankings and also some people said McGill or Waterloo is better,can anyone give me any suggestions?