hi aksa!! i have had pretty terrible grades in 11th and somewhat better in 12th, do u think there is hope for me to get into a good uni for statistics ??
hey there,
aw, i’m sorry to hear that! good on you for improving, though! that takes commitment.
ok, so you want to get into a good uni for statistics. i can’t really look into every single good uni out there cause i’m pretty sure they all work pretty differently. so for now, let’s look at a couple example to compare our options with: U of T, UBC, and mcgill. these are the top three statistics programs in canada, apparently.
first, let’s cover U of T.
1. getting into U of T statistics
when applying to U of T, your admission is based on an average grade calculated using your top six grade 12 U/M courses. if you wanted to get into the statistics program, you would apply under the admission category “physical and mathematical sciences“. (this is because at U of T, you don’t enter your specific program of study until after first year).
as you can see in general admission requirements, two pre-requisite courses are required for physical and mathematical sciences: english (ENG4U), and calculus (MCV4U). so these are the two courses that will have to be included in your top six. therefore, your admission will be based on your english grade, your calculus grade, plus your four top grades in academic grade 12 courses. that’s it.
if you apply for early admissions, or if your final grade 12 marks aren’t out yet, U of T may also look at your corresponding grade 11 marks to give you a conditional offer. but if your grade 11 marks are low, they’ll wait to see your grade 12 marks. so really, don’t worry too much about your grade 11 marks. it’s your grade 12 marks that are the make or break factor.
2. UBC
according to this website, UBC looks at your grade 11 and grade 12 marks, paying extra attention to the courses that relate to the degree you’re applying to. this includes english 12 and pre-calc 12. overall though, UBC looks at a whole lot of things other than just the numbers on your transcript. they say they look at the range of courses you took and how challenging they were. infamously, they look at a whOle lot through your personal profile, where you have to write a lot about leadership skills, extracurriculars, and experiences. (maybe i’m just dramatic, but writing this sucked the life outta me.)
so if your grades have been bad but you have a lot of leadership experience and you’re involved in your community, you might have a chance at UBC! but if you have zero experience in that area, and you are throwing all your cards into the numbers on your transcript, U of T is the one to bet on.
3. mcgill
meanwhile, mcgill will look at your grades over the past three years — so grade 10, 11, and 12. and, um, the admission averages are INSANE for computational sciences? 97-98% is crazy high.
but like U of T, they compute your top 6 grade 12 courses, so there is a little room for grace.
ultimately, this just shows that it really depends on where your strengths lie. each university considers its applicants differently, so you’ll have a better chance in some places compared to others. whichever university you apply to, it’s great that you’re doing better in grade 12! i heard somewhere that universities like to see improvement. just do some research on how different place consider their applicants.
so yeah. i think you do have hope to get into a good uni. reach out if you’ve got any other questions, wishing you the besttttt luck!
over and out,
aska