Hey! I am a international student who is in her 11th year in hell- ahem I mean school of course. I dont want to sound like STucK-uP student but I have pretty good grades and I am above the average. I want to attend Major in Computer Science in University of Toronto. Yes I have some good EC’s. But I do not have any national awards nor not a president of 80 clubs. I know acceptance rate is pretty low on computer science especially for international students. Is there any chance for me to get in U of T with a good amount of scholarships? Thank you in advance! ( I know it is stupid to ask you something like that. Since you are not a admissioner or something like that. But I am just desperate:(. So is there anyone you know in U of T who was in the same situation like me? )
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hey there,
hahahaha bold of you to assume i know people at this school.
just kidding, i have really mixed feelings about having made that joke because it perpetuates the stereotype that u of t is hella lonely and antisocial. it can be for some, but i don’t think that’s true across the board.
anyway. not what you were asking. no, i don’t know anyone at u of t who was in your exact situation — i’m guessing in part because no one really talks about how they got in? nor do people regularly talk about how many admissions scholarships they got– if they do, that’s a lil red flaggy and they’re probably the kind of person i steer clear of anyway.
your instincts were right that i can’t give you any definitive answers, seeing as i don’t work in admissions and don’t have any concrete info about you anyway. if you’re an international student, the school doesn’t seem to post any minimum grade range requirements, which actually really sucks why are things like this we don’t know??? @ u of t what’s up guys :/
i don’t know what extracurriculars would make you competitive, either– i would say quality over quantity is usually the way to go, and i don’t think you need that much quantity at all. your extracurriculars are only relevant insofar as they apply to the computer science supplemental application, which (since it’s new) i know next to nothing about. my guess is that they’ll ask you to answer a few very focused questions, so try to play up your strengths and highlight the advantages of the extracurriculars you mentioned that you have. if you have questions about the supplemental, you can contact the department (maybe their academic advisors, since they don’t provide an admissions contact) and ask.
in terms of scholarships, you will be automatically considered for some (mostly on the basis of academic merit/financial need, i believe) and can apply to others. i’ve filtered through the scholarship website to show the international undergraduate admissions scholarships you might be eligible for– linked here. while i can’t say what your chances are, as that’ll depend on the pool of applicants (look at me, picking up that bureaucratic u of t lingo like a true cog in the machine), i’d encourage you to go for whatever you think you’re eligible for. sure, you might not ever hear back (like me and every scholarship i’ve applied for (haha cry pls fund my education) but if you do, it could take thousands of dollars off your back. kinda worth, tbh.
best of luck with the applications process! aska is cheering for you. also, if you haven’t heard, the computer science program is kinda changing the way they do admissions this year. this varsity article will give you the low-down, and might be worth the read.
be Boundless,
aska