GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
I’m getting carried by test scores ACT/SAT Scores: 35 ACT, 36-Math, 35-Reading,34-English,35-Science)
Grade 9: 88 avg. (I was a barber lol so grades 9/10 aren’t the best)
Grade 10: 88 avg. (terrible gpa, but again I was a barber and I didn’t know I wanted to go to U.S, Canada doesn’t look at grades 9/10).
Grade 11: 93 avg. (4.5 weighted)
**Course Rigor:
Gr 9: 6 Pre-IB (Max rigor)
Gr10: 4 Pre-AP (Max rigor)
Gr11: 3 APs (5 offered)
(I transferred gr9, but my school is formatted differently with APs then America)
Class Rank: Top 8% (Doesn’t offer rankings but guidance teacher told me)
List your HS coursework
• English: Pre-IB(Gr.9), Pre-AP (Gr.10), AP (Gr.11)
• Math: Pre-IB Math (Gr.9), Pre-AP Math (Gr.10), AP Functions (Gr.11)
Science: Pre-IB Science (Gr.9), Pre-AP Science (Gr.10), AP Bio(Gr.11), University Physics(Gr.11), University Comp Sci(Gr.11)
History and social studies: Pre-AP History(Gr.10)
• Language other than English: French (DELF B2)
• Visual or performing arts: Music(Gr.10)
• Other academic courses: - Many UNI level courses (Prob honors for USA)
Awards
Honestly I don’t got that many impressive, all basic but surprisingly hard to get in my school
• Top 25% University of Waterloo (Gr10+11)
• AP Scholar (Gr 10+11)
• Honor Role (Gr9,10,11)
• Bloomberg Certificate (I have many certificates but I don’t know if they even count a awards)
Boxing medals (my only “real” awards)
Extracurriculars 1. Al-Driven Startup | Rented out monthly to my schoolboard
Students use real curriculum(Al derives from uploaded past coursework) practice tests to study various courses.
• $1,000(1x) x3 schools monthly | Planning on expanding even more
• 2x local News coverage
• Coded solo from scratch over 3 months
Boxer
Won a belt in my province
• 3x Gold medals, 4x Silver medals, 1x Bronze Medal
Hopefully might get ranked this year
Summer Garage Painting Business
• Partnered with my sister to paint garages around my neighborhood.
$4,000 over two summers
Co-Founder & Leader of Investment Club
• We teach real-estate, crypto, stock, bonds and much more.
• Competitions and have guest speakers monthly
25+ members, (My school isn’t known for finance/business clubs, thus our club was a first).
5. This Summer
LaunchX (Got accepted)
Finance Internship at a local investment firm (3-weeks unpaid)
Econ research with an Accounting professor at local university
Volunteer - Canadian Liberal Party Events
40 Hours
l assist in event decoration, organization and help attendees get situated.
Tutor
I teach my peers math and English after school
60 hours this year
Extra-curricular Student
• Spirit of Math (Advanced Math classes)
• Alliance française (DELF B2)
Judo
• Participated and won in 15+ tournaments.
• Finished with green belt
• Quit in 2023 to purse my love for boxing
Essays/LORS/Other
I got a guidance counselor outside of school, that can revise my essays so I’d guess very strong. I also have a good topic I can’t share (;
Schools
• Wharton UPenn
• Cornell Dyson
• NYU stern
• Uoft Rotman
• Western Ivey
I want to apply ED to Wharton or ED Cornell but I didn’t try in grades 9/10 for academics so I’m not sure if I should even apply. Wharton is my top school, but if I have a stronger chance for Cornell ED, then I’d apply there instead.
I think that you have a solid shot at Cornell, maybe not too much at Wharton but I would still definitely apply. Your stats are good I would just say keep your grades up so that you show good trend. I think your ECs are above average. I wouldn’t ED to either just cause you are a pretty strong applicant and you probably have a solid chance at getting in cornell RD with great essays. As a senior I truly regret not applying to too many reaches and just giving them a shot you’ll never know until you try. I would say my main tip for you is to start writing essays early and keep yourself very organized, also find a list of around 10 schools that you really want to go to and get those applications done first. Good Luck!
I would also say apply to Umich ross you probably have a solid chance there as well.
Do you think if I pitch my business to other schools and expand across my province, it can help me more then having super strong grades? I want to apply to Dyson Cornell, though they have a very low RD acceptance rate. You don’t think if I should apply ED to Cornell-I probably have a better chance then waiting for RD.
My guidance counselor recommended me Babson, but I want to keep the finance and consulting doors open-almost as a safety net. That’s my main reasons for these top schools.
I think your stats are strong enough to get in ED or RD it’s just how much you truly want to go to cornell. I think it’s better to RD just to see if you get into any other schools that you would rather go to and then compare what each offers. Yes also growing your business even more will help offset the mediocre grades.
Dyson and Wharton both have low single digit acceptance rates. They must be considered reaches for any unhooked applicant. Apply ED to the college you prefer.
Be sure to create a balanced application list with reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable and that you would be excited to attend.
If I can get a 95 average this year and next (I also have a top 75th percentile act of 35), would that put me above average then? even with decent grade 9/10
Do the best you can and see what happens. Please understand that there will be many more well qualified applicants than spots available. Applicants with perfect grades and test scores are not guaranteed admission.
Yeah that’s true. Is there anything I can do anymore to stand out. My guidance counselors said my startup could help dramatically, but clearly they haven’t sent anyone to any US t20.
IMO you need to focus on your grades. You need to show a strong upward trajectory.
I would not advise ED in your situation because you’ll only have your 9-11 grades. You want to prove to colleges that your grades are continuing to trend up.
Also note that Dyson is even more competitive than Wharton. For an international student it will be even harder.
I second happy1’s advice to have a balance application list with matches and safeties. If you look at common data sets of US colleges, section C7, almost all of them consider grades to be very important. ECs are secondary.
