admissions,  applying for U of T,  engineering

young engineer will not go crazy today, no siree

Hey, I want to get into mechanical engineering in uofstg and I’m grade 11 (well going into grade 12 since it’s summer) and in ontario with a 87 average. I’m in HOSA but didn’t make president (I thought I would). My school doesn’t have many clubs but I want to be more involved with stem club next year. I just wanted to know how competitive my program is and my chances of getting in regardless of grade 12 (I am hoping to do better next year). I’m shaking in my boots because I really really want to get in. I keep pretending like I won’t go crazy if I don’t get in but I just might.


hey there,

i get how stressful it can be during this stage of high school, right before university application season starts! “shaking in your boots” is such an accurate description of that time.

but,

i’m not an engineering student so i can’t speak from experience as to how competitive admissions is. to be honest with you, all you can really do to figure out your chances of getting in is to do some casual internet sleuthing (aka research) on U of T websites.

so you want to get into mechanical engineering. well, engineering programs are definitely among the more competitive programs at U of T. but, your 87 average does fit within the range listed on the FAQ page of the engineering website — here, they say the grade range that you need to be competitive for mechanical engineering is high 80’s to low 90’s. keep in mind though, being within this range “doesn’t guarantee admission”, as they’ll always say.

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on this page, it also says that your admission average is computed based on a select group of pre-requisite grade 12 level courses. under the ontario school system, those are english ( ENG4U), advanced functions (MHF4U), calculus and vectors (MCV4U), chemistry (SCH4U), and physics (SPH4U). this tells you that you’ll want to especially do well in these courses, since admissions will definitely be looking at them.

meanwhile, you’re right that your extracurricular activities matter too — for both admission and scholarship consideration.

the engineering school’s admissions requires that you submit an online student profile, through which you’ll input your grades, describe your extracurriculars and send in some “get to know you as a person” video responses. you’ll have access to this though the engineering applicant portal once U of T receives your initial application on OUAC (ontario universities’ application centre).

keep in mind though, that your extracurricular activities don’t need to be engineering-related. they can also include athletics, arts, community involvement, and paid or volunteer employment. for this section, i think it’s great that you’re a part of HOSA and that you’re gonna get involved with stem clubs!

anyways. it seems like that’s it. these are just the admission areas you’ll want to make yourself as competitive as possible in. to directly answer your question, i can’t really tell you

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“congrats, you’re competitive!”

or

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“man i’m sorry you just won’t cut it”.

because like, i’m not an admissions officer, nor have i applied to engineering myself.

but it seems to me like you’re in a pretty okay position right now. engineering is very hard to get into, but i think you are able to craft a strong application from here on out. i think just work really hard in grade 12 to get the highest marks you can, and really sell those extracurriculars in your student profile.

all in all, i believe you’re fully capable of getting in if you set your mind to it and really commit yourself during this last home stretch. lose that fear of failure, you’ve got this!

over and out,

aska

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