Hi Askastudent,<\/p>\n
I just graduated this year from the IB program. It was a great experience (even though it was quite tough) and I learned a lot about myself regardless. Unfortunately, I didn’t do as well as I thought I would have in the finals, even though I had done better during school. The results just came out this weekend (June 6th).<\/p>\n
If you are wondering why I’m asking you about Uni. at this time of year, well it’s because I decided in Nov. of my senior year that I will be taking a one year sabbatical post-high school. Hence, I will be applying next academic year (this Dec\/Jan). U of T was one of the universities I was hoping to aim for, but now I’m not so sure D:<\/p>\n
*Here are my final grades:*<\/p>\n
Bio HL – 6
\nChem HL – 4
\nMath HL – 3<\/p>\n
English SL – 6
\nPsych SL – 6
\nSpanish B SL – 5<\/p>\n
E.E. in MUSIC – C
\nTOK – A
\n(bonus 2 points)<\/p>\n
That gives me a total of 32 points. Which I feel is a bit below the usual threshold at UofT, but I believe that there’s still a small chance for me. As you can probably tell, I wish to apply for a seat in the Life Sciences\/Biology major.<\/p>\n
So, what do you think of my situation? Any important factors that you think will play a big part in my decision? Advice on what you think I should do that might up my chances (SAT’s, online programs, etc)? Also, if you could give me some idea as to whether I am viable for some kind of scholarship?<\/p>\n
I’d appreciate the honest feedback.<\/p>\n
Thanks,
\nA prospective student.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
Prospective student,<\/p>\n
I think many things.<\/p>\n
I think “I don’t know what the heck those numbers are supposed to mean… I should probably look that up.” I think “I can’t believe I got home at 11 PM last night because of that crazy ass weather<\/span><\/a><\/span>.” I think “I need a coffee<\/span><\/a><\/span>.”<\/p>\n But I also think you shouldn’t have much of problem getting into UofT. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Looking at the requirements<\/span><\/a><\/span>, they call for a score of at least 28 or more, but for more competitive programs (like Life Sci), you should have at least 30 to be competitive — which, yippie, you have!<\/p>\n There’s no need to take SATs or online courses because fact: UofT doesn’t give a crap about em.<\/p>\n But one thing I want to let you in on is the possibility of getting a transfer credit<\/span><\/a><\/span> or two!<\/p>\n Basically, if an IBer scores a final grade of at least 5 on their HL exam, a transfer credit may be awarded. So for you, since you got 6 points in your Bio HL, as long as you submit your results to Enrolment Services by a set date, you can get two little things that’ll appear on your transcript as “BIO1**H,” which are supposed to be the equivalents of BIO120H and BIO130H.<\/p>\n (Granted, depending on what programs you’re interested in, opting out of those transfer credits might be beneficial. I’ve been told that for say a Neuroscience specialist, you’re better off actually taking BIO120H.)<\/p>\n Now for scholarships, there are some of the few<\/span><\/a><\/span> offered to incoming students. For the most part, they’re based on your grades. Past those ones, you’ll have the college-based scholarships<\/span><\/a><\/span> and then when you’re actually a student, there are usually a bunch of department-based scholarships<\/span><\/a> <\/span>too.<\/p>\n