hey, im an extremely extremely average student. grades are always in 70s or 80s. I’m in grade 10, I’m really interested in both uoft’s st George campus and Scarborough for civil engineering and computer engineering.
hey there,
well, you’re right. grade 11 and 12 marks are the most important for university admissions. so it’s great that you’re thinking ahead about how you can do your best in school during these next years!
you said you’re interested in the st. george and scarborough campus engineering programs.
ok. let’s hit the basics first. you can find all the info about engineering admission requirements at U of T here. in short, they will base your admission on the average of six grade 12 level courses:
- english
- calculus and vectors
- chemistry
- physics
- advanced functions
- one other academic course (will take the course with the highest mark)
BUT, most of the time when you send in your application, your grade 12 marks might not be out yet. in that case, they will calculate your admission average using the grade 11 equivalents of those courses.
so your best bet is to focus your energy on those ^ subjects during both grade 11 and 12.
based on the engineering admissions reports from 2023 and from 2024, the mean of admission averages is in the mid 90’s. geez, the competition is brutal.
keep in mind though, that’s just the mean. not everyone who was admitted was in the mid 90’s.
we, however, are special and do want to be in the mid 90’s. so how do you lock in and become a 90’s student, you ask? hmmm. honestly, i’m not sure i can tell you anything you haven’t already heard before, without knowing about your study habits or specific issues you’ve been having.
i feel like the main thing people struggle with these days is just time management and planning how you’ll spend your time prepping for assessments. procrastination is really a grade killer, man. (if you wanted specific advice to help with it, check out this other post i made.)
usually, the student mentor side of me would point you towards the vast resources that U of T offers for its students. but, since you’re still in high school, i’m not sure what your situation is. if possible, i think a good course of action is to look into learning strategies, or study counsellors — whatever resources your high school might provide. sure, it might feel like dork behavior, but you have nothing to lose. best case scenario, it actually helps you develop good study haits, and you get into U of T! yippeee.
but if you don’t have any study-help resources available to you, you are not powerless!! the best thing you can do is be aware of what works and doesn’t work for yourself, and react accordingly. you know? like, if your night study sessions are not that effective, try studying in the early morning instead! try different things out and see what sticks.
meanwhile, bro to bro, my alternative advice would be to befriend the top student in each of your classes. they can be really good at explaining things and it makes them feel good about themselves. like, let’s be real, having the smart kid’s help is a tried and true way to boost your grades in a pinch. and don’t worry, it’s not a parasitic relationship, because you’ll boost their ego! *whips around* who said that…
anyways, real advice and silly advice aside. let’s talk extracurriculars! how much will they matter?
well, unlike most programs, extracurriculars do matter quite a bit for engineering applicants. U of T wants to see that incoming engineering students have strengths outside of the classroom. i guess we’re trying to beat the all-engineering-students-are-sunlight-deprived-allegations.
you’ll be able to show your extracurricular activities through the online student profile, which is a supplementary application you send in after you’ve submitted your OUAC application. with this, they’ll be most interested in activities that show your “leadership, dedication, and overall excellence”. the good thing is that your activities do not need to be engineering related. for example, they can include student clubs, volunteering, arts, athletics, community involvement, or paid employment.
on top of that, you’ll also submit a “personal profile”, which includes some timed written and video responses. these will apparently help U of T “get to know you as a person”, and are mainly meant to assess your communication skills.
and, yeah! that’s kinda an overview of what U of T asks for in engineering applications. the short story is that grade 11 and 12 marks matter the most, and extracurriculars do matter quite a bit. overall, all you can do is your best! you’ve already got a great start by asking the right questions and wanting to improve.
i hope i gave somewhat useful and sensical information here lol. wishing you good luck in all your endeavours! i believe in you <3
over and out,
aska