Hello there,
I’d first off like to say that what you’re doing is great and I’d imagine it has helped many students relax.
I’m currently in grade 11 and hope to get into the Life Sciences program on the St. George campus. I’m concerned with my marks as my average is currently an 82%. I know the cut off is listed at 85% but I’m sure I’ll have higher grades come grade 12. My first question is, what are the odds of acceptance with an 82% average?
The second part to my question has to do with acceptance in a different regard. My mother went to UofT and my sister currently goes there, will that increase any chance of acceptance? I also do have pretty good extra curricular’s to add (Jr. A hockey, city championships), will the admissions board even take that into account?
Thanks in advance
———————————————
hey there,
let’s go from the bottom to the top, because that’s how hercules did it.
extra curriculars will not affect your admission to the faculty of arts & science. that’ll be purely marks-based. however, as a member of the faculty of arts & science, you’ll be required to join a college, and some colleges (*cough* trinity *cough* victoria) require you to fill out a student profile, where you can feel very free to brag about all the cool stuff you do outside of school.
secondly: you accusing uoft of nepotism, son??? huh, punk??? no, acceptance is based only on marks – nothing else.
HOWEVER, it’s super great that you have a legacy within your family that includes uoft! i’d recommend you ask them to show you around campus. listen to their stories about the university. ask questions. you never know what will be helpful to you, AND you’ll feel like you already have a connection to the university once you get here.
an 82% is still within the range of anticipated admission averages for life science in fall 2015, so i’d say you’re doing fine. plus, you have a whole year to try and get your grade 12 courses to be the VERY BEST THEY CAN BE – final admissions decisions are based on your grade 12 marks, anyway.
i can’t give you specific odds – and i doubt admissions can, either. it’s all very mysterious, and just depends on how good everyone else is in any given year. however, it’s within the average range for people starting in fall 2015, and that’s a good sign.
finally: oh, no. i don’t help students relax. i send students iNTO THE STRATOSPHERE. PEOPLE ROCKET INTO SPACE WITH EXCITEMENT AFTER READING AN ASKA POST. YEAAAAHHHHHH!!!
cheers,
aska