Chance Me for McGill: MA senior, very mid stats - 3.7 UW GPA, 1440 SAT

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Demographics

  • US, applying international
  • State/Location of residency: MA
  • Public, not very competitive

Intended Major(s)

Liberal Arts, Literature, Public Relations, Economics

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.7
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.5
  • Class Rank: don’t have it yet :’(
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1440 (790 reading and 650 math, huge improvement from previous 1280)

List your HS coursework

  • English: AP Lit, AP Lang, H English the rest of the years, Creative Writing, H Creative Writing, Reader’s Journey
  • Math: AP Calc, H Precalc, H Algebra 1 and 2, H Geometry
  • Science: AP Bio, AP Environmental, H Chemistry + Computer Science (combined course) H Biology
  • Language other than English: AP French, H French 1-3 (skipped levels to take AP my senior year) Hopefully going to take the AAPL test and pass the remaining sections I need to.
  • Visual or performing arts: Art 1
  • Other academic courses: Going to do Dual Enrollment in the spring

Awards

Presidential Award in English (junior year)

Extracurriculars
Volleyball (JV captain junior year, then moved to varsity. Currently a varsity player)

Coached volleyball at different programs

Volunteered at a cat rescue

School newspaper and Literary magazine editor and contributor

Extra independent research project for half a credit

Essays/LORs/Other
Essay on Stream of Consciousness and trying to reconnect with my bolder child self. My AP Lang teacher said it was very strong, but I worry it isn’t interesting enough considering my ECs are weak.

Schools
McGill, Fordham, The New School, UMass Amherst, St. John’s College, Barnard, Wellesley (I’m thinking of adding more or removing some…still up in the air….)

Hoping I can get a some money, though I don’t know too much about my family’s financial situation, I did qualify for free/reduced lunch and AP test reduced fees.

2

You need to run the net price calculator at US Schools. Well your parents need to. I’m guessing if you had free lunch Fordham will be too much.

Talk to them about a budget.

Here is the Fordham NPC. You need a budget b4 any chancing.

https://fordham.clearcostcalculator.com/student

1 Like
3

You will need to find out what your budget is. Then you should see whether the schools that you are applying to will fit the budget. This is likely to involve having your parents run the NPCs on the schools in the US.

I am wondering whether or not McGill will fit your budget. It is not as cheap as it used to be for international students. If you have Canadian citizenship, or French citizenship, then this could significantly reduce the cost but I am assuming the answer is no.

Another question might be: what makes you think of applying to McGill? There are a few other universities in Canada that might also be possibilities, some of which cost less than McGill for an international student.

I think that your ECs are fine. I would however think of Wellesley College and Barnard as reaches.

4

Have you visited McGill? Very different than American universitues.

What are your aspirations? What do you dream that your adult life will be like?

5

Another school to consider is Agnes Scott, a women’s LAC in lovely Decatur, GA outside Atlanta. Cost of attendance is $67,000. Every admitted student in 2026 automatically receives a scholarship, which with your grades should be $29,000 per year. There are additional scholarships available.