Does this make my reaches like not even reaches anymore? Do I even have a slim chance at anything other than a state school?
There are schools public and private everyone is good for.
You have these false perceptions that one type is good, one isnât.
If you have a 3.65, and 1330, lots will want you. For private, look at a Clarkson, Dayton, Florida Tech, Illinois Tech, Manhattan, RIT. If not engineering (chem), u Denver and Elon.
Not sure why you are name obsessed and Delaware and Minnesota are both tops in chem and strong in business.
You are over complicated and chasing the wrong thing.
You are not CMU or MIT, etc.
Take your shot at the top but be realistic on the bottom.
I think you already are with the Arizonas, both very strong in your areas of interest.
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Yeah, itâs just that Iâm not a 3.65 student. I hope it will be overlooked since they arenât worth any credit.
You are what you are and theyâll know how to evaluate you.
You need a great acceptance.
You have UBC and will the two Arizonas.
Any and all are great.
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With a transcript including Grade 9 and the statement the grades donât count, itâs hard to tell what colleges will do. After Covid, some college admissions respected that line on transcripts but I donât know how they handle it 3-4 years on.
Just apply widely and keep your fingers crossed.
Perhaps add McGill to UBC?
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The COVID pandemic was bad for pretty much all students. Many students saw their grades slip. Even some students who were able to mostly keep their grades together found the pandemic to be a problem in other ways (possibly including ECs suffering, or for university students finding their research opportunities restricted). University admissions will know how stressful this was for students, and will have seen a lot of applications with students whose grades slipped during the pandemic. Also, since for you this impacted your grades for your freshman year of high school, it is going to be less important compared to your sophomore and junior years of high school (or senior year for those universities that consider your senior year).
Regardless, none of us have time machines and the past is over.
The main thing is to make sure that you have applied to at least one safety, and then be patient and see what happens. UBC is a very good university and I think that it is safe in terms of both admissions and relative affordability. I would expect that both Arizona schools are probably safeties also. I do not think that the various Universities of California consider freshman year grades, although they will be full pay (or close to full pay) for an out of state student.
You can only attend one university at a time, and I am confident that you will get more than one acceptance to a very good university.
You could add another university in Canada given that Canadian schools do not consider freshman year. Toronto, McGill, Queenâs, Alberta, Calgary, or if you want a smaller school UNBC or Lethbridge or Acadia or Mount Allison would all be good choices. However, I do not think that this is needed. I think that you are going to get acceptances (plural) from the schools already on your list.
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Well, Iâm just concerned now that I donât even have a chance at BC. My college counselor said even before the pandemic, he typically didnât even include grade 9 on our transcripts and never had any pushback from US schools. Is this the best option?
Both my parents went to McGill, so it is an option. Too bad Canadian schools donât care about legacy 
Except that with an unweighted 4.0 for both sophomore and junior years you are going to get accepted anyway to the top schools in Canada.
McGill is talking about increasing prices for out of province Canadian students. However, it is my impression that it is still going to be relatively affordable, particularly for a Canadian and compared to universities in the US.
Personally I consider Montreal to be an interesting place to live for four years. I am still vaguely familiar with the area around McGill since a sibling and some high school friends went there and my father used to work a few blocks from McGill. We also toured it with both daughters although they both ended up attending university somewhere else. Between McGill versus UBC I might be tempted to decide based on where you want to live for four years, and I could see this one going either way.
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If your school doesnât typically include Grade 9 on transcripts, donât have your school produce a special transcript with Grade 9 just for US schoolsâŠ
Make sure the school profile indicates what % attend college/university and whether your school follows the typical U, M, C, G/O classifications (for instance, U =the class prepares students who need or want to major in this subject at the most selective universities, M= the class is appropriate for students who intend to major in the subject, C=appropriate for students who want to enroll in higher education, G/O =elective/does not prepare for further studies in the subject. Expectations would be 6 academic classes with at least 4 U or M).
With a 4.0 you will get into the Canadian universities of your choice so make sure you have 2 you like.
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You are looking at things the wrong way.
You have UBC and once you apply to U of A and ASU they are automatic based on your stats.
So you are good - that will be three FANTASTIC universities.
As for BC, if you donât apply, youâll have no chance.
If you do apply - who knows. The chance wontâ be good because youâre not ED and youâll need to apply TO and whatever else.
But guess what - if you donât apply - you wonât get in.
So apply - knowing you already have three terrific landing spots and you also applied to others - and maybe theyâll come through.
I have news for you - you might (or might not once there) love BC.
But thereâs also another 50 places youâll love too!!!
You are overcomplicating this for yourself.
Give it a try and see what happens!!
But donât fall in love - with anywhere!!!
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How can I have those classifications put on my school profile?
Your guidance counselor should know and include them if they arenât listed already (ask).
If your school uses other classifications, it should appear on the school profile.
A school profile may look like this:
Most competitive Grade 12 students take 4-5 (6?) U/M classes, I hope itâs your case.
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I will ask today. Iâve never seen U/M classes before. On our transcripts, we have a grading scale; I know that.
McGill doesnât count Grade 9 in admission. In fact, per the website, for out of province students " Admission is based on McGillâs calculation of your âTop 5â academic Grade 12 courses, including the prerequisites for the program to which you applied. It also requires that you receive your high school diploma. Youâll get into UBC so if thatâs your preference go there, but I still think your French immersion background would make you a great candidate for McGill, since I think they will be giving preference to out-of-province students with significant French due to the new conversational French requirement. Minimum grade requirements for ChemE for provinces other than Quebec and Ontario have ranged between been 94-97% average, which you had for Grade 10 and 11. If you can keep it close, it would likely do the trick when combined with your French background.
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Thank you. I think I would much rather go to UBC, though. I have a low interest in McGill.
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Update: I spoke with my guidance counselor, who said he already sent transcripts on the Common app with grades 10,11,12, so I think itâs ok. The only school thatâs given pushback so far has been UW, so I guess itâll be a case-by-case thing.
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So, Iâm registered for the Feb 10th ACT; for the schools who told me they would accept it, should I select test optional on the application and then update it later, or should I select no to test optional? Iâm confused since the scores would arrive after the application deadline.
Either your GC sends them as part of the possible ttanscript update or you send them through ACT (4 can be sent for free). Since youâve applied TO, I would wait till your GC sends them, so that youâre free not to send them if the scores are disappointing - remember that you must score in the top 2%.
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So, should I wait for my ACT scores before my guidance counselor sends the midyear report? Our mid-year report would likely be available around Feb 15th, and I think ACT scores would come around Feb 20th.