<p>So, I look up my school on the Fraser rankings, which are based upon EQAO scores, OSSLT pass/fail rate, and some other criteria.</p>
<p>I figure my school is above average (since we have an enriched program and all). So, I pop on there and see that we are ranked 364/718! I was pretty shocked. To make things worse, I chose my school (Riverside Secondary…in Windsor) over Belle River because I got the impression that it was full of potheads and such. Belle River is ranked 14/718! What the hell?! I’m kinda ****ed/annoyed that Riverside boasted itself as being so great, yet they are in the middle of the pack/sub par in comparison to other high schools.</p>
<p>And Belle River seems easier than my school (as I have figured from kids who have transferred/friends there).</p>
<p>So, what do you guys think? Are these rankings legit? I heard that they were, and they are based on EQAO and other objective data. Kinda dumb that I got screwed a little by going to Riverside. Plus, most of my friends went to Belle River! The way I look at it, saying that my school was 14/718 in Ontario is wayyyyy better than being in an enriched program and being ranked 364/718 (Plus most of my friends are at Belle River). </p>
<p>Any thoughts? Comments? Can’t believe I left a lot of great friends behind to go to Riverside because of the enrichment program. I know my school isn’t like top Toronto schools, but I expected maybe 250/718…and I can’t believe Belle River is 14! Maybe Belle River is actually very good, but I never got such an impression from visiting there (open house) and friends. Like, if its number 14, you’d think people would know a lot about it. Considering it is near Windsor and this entire area sucks, for a school to be highly ranked you’d think people would boast about it/know about it/spread the word/let people know during open house/etc.</p>
<p>I responded to your PM first then saw this…</p>
<p>Fraser only takes into account EQAO and literacy tests (the only standardized tests we have in Ontario) to rank schools. They don’t account for any enrichment/AP/IB.</p>
<p>Don’t sweat it. I strongly doubt Texas is going to care or bother to look up particular foreign highshcools (or even know how to find this ranking). Moreover, you probably got a much better <em>education</em> in the enrichment program and that meant you did well on the SAT (which does matter) and you are now much better prepared for college.</p>
<p>@ darksoulz, yea, I was gonna tell you that I made a thread, but you PMed me before. </p>
<p>@starbright, I know UT won’t care, but what about the top schools? I’m not stressed at all for UT, Baylor, TAMU, Wayne State and such schools. But what about the Ivy league schools and the like? And 364 to 14 is such a huge diff.! I can’t believe I was never aware of Belle River’s academic reputation. All I heard was that it was full of druggies and there were some smart people. Every school has their stereotype, Belle River’s is a lot of jocks and druggies. My school’s stereotype is…well, Serbia in Canada lol.</p>
<p>I still doubt it. Harvard doesn’t no squat about most public Canadian schools…that might disadvantage you (in general, regardless of which one you attend). But really they have better things to do they scour the web looking for some third party ranking of highschools in Canada. It’s why they’ll look at your SAT and the whole package. Seriously, I would not worry about it; I think the only people that care about HS rankings are kids on CC (lol).</p>
<p>@starbright, ok, i guess you make sense. if you have the SAT, take a rigorous course load, and have the rank, etc., you’d be in good shape regardless.</p>
<p>Though your regional adcom is probably aware of these ranking things. However the Ivy officers do a better job than fraser ranking, so they would know about the enriched classes (plus, aren’t those written on your transcript?)</p>
<p>they have a different course code (they have an ‘N’ on the end, like ENG 4UN). But, I only took enriched english this year, and not bio, chem, physics, and math because I thought I’d be going to a Canadian university and they don’t consider our program (they look at the first 5 course code letters, which doesn’t include the ‘N’, hence they said it isn’t in their course listings,etc…pretty dumb) ■■■!!! I’m gonna take bio,chem, physics, adv. func., calc., eng. all enriched next yr. Make up for this year, if it even makes a difference. Once again ■■■</p>
<p>Dude you’re stressing FAR too much on marks(if I can even say that)… Unless you go to University of Toronto Schools/Upper Canada College/any other top school in Canada, I highly doubt that you’re school ranking matters at all. It is much more important to show passion through ecs/essays.</p>
<p>Your school’s rank doesn’t really matter as long as your at the very top of your graduating class and that your scores/grades are good. Well, that is unless you go to an extreeeeeemly good and well known school like London Central, Upper Canada College, or the Canadian Int’l School of Hong Kong or something like that. Those schools might give you an edge during admissions. You can try searching those schools up n the Fraser institute. They’ll probably be in top rank. And don’t feel ashamed of your school. As long as it’s not in the very bottom of the list, it’ll be fine</p>
<p>k, thanks everyone. I wasn’t stressing too much, I was just kinda ****ed that I thought I made the wrong choice of schools. </p>
<p>Kinda random, does anyone know how long those US summer programs last? Or if we have any in Canada that are worthwhile? I am interested in going to one and meeting new people (potential US applicants too) but I have baseball all summer and if these summer programs at universities are too long I won’t be able to go to them.</p>
<p>@hinderpanda, oh, do you mean the rankings?</p>
<p>Canada has Shad Valley which most people end up going to. I decided to go to Explore(French summer program), and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I think if you are going to go to these programs, don’t go with the intention of just doing it for uni(although I was guilty of this at first), go because you want to learn/meet new people. The experience was amazing for me, considering I got to stay in Winnipeg for a month(for free!) and only had to pay for my transportation.</p>
<p>its not just for uni’s, but obviously that’s part of the reason. I have literally done nothing intellectual, interesting, new, or exciting for the past 6 summers of my life except play baseball. I wanna go to one of these camps/programs. So, are all of these things like a month long? How long is Shad Valley? I have heard of it, and where is it out of?</p>
<p>Do you have to apply to these (ie. do they only accept certain people?). And what about US ones, I live right near the Michigan border, so I could even go to one in Michigan. Do I have to apply to these ones too in the US?</p>
<p>Where did you do Explore? I did it too and went to Jonquiere last summer. Pretty much one of the funnest summers in my life. </p>
<p>Oh. Nvm. Saw you went to Winnipeg. :P</p>
<p>Explore is awesome. The Canadian gov’t gives you a $2000 bursary and you stay at a Cegep (if you’re in Quebec) for pretty much free with free meals and what not. You only pay for transportation and any outside activities you want to do (i.e. white water rafting, paintballing, go karting etc) It’s a 5 week French program (if you’re an Anglophone - which I’m pretty sure you are) so you’ll need up to finish grade 11 French to qualify for it. </p>
<p>Shad is a science program hosted by a few Canadian universities (I can only think of UBC and Laval right now as my friends went there). It’s 4 weeks I think? Correct me if I’m wrong. Tuition is around $2000-$2500 if you don’t apply for scholarships. I think the main aspect of the program is that you design a product and market it.</p>
<p>For the UMich program…I assume you stay on campus for the two weeks.</p>
<p>yea, I noticed that. Um, would you guys know of any that are like a week long? For March Break or a week during the summer. I wanna go to one of these things, they seem so cool. Like, learning about forensic science, having fun activities (like you mentioned white water rafting…so sick!), and other things. I’m trying to find stuff online, but no luck so far. </p>
<p>Do you know if just universities themselves have such programs? Like perhaps, UofWindsor or Western or McMaster or something? Or if there are some other programs not run by universities that are a week or so long.</p>
<p>I haven’t taken French though (only have my gr.9 french credit). Do you know of any others that are just one week long? I know UofT has DEEP program, but anything else?</p>
<p>A program for a week really isn’t worth it and it’ll just be a resume padder. You can’t build any proper relationships with other people in the program in just a week.</p>
<p>In fact, you’ll probably regret going to a program that’s less than 3 weeks (if you enjoyed it in the first place). It’ll just end too early and you won’t make good enough friends. When I did Explore, the 5 weeks ended way too soon. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, the only summer programs I can think of off the top of my head is DEEP and Shad. I don’t think there is anything you can apply for that’s in the March Break as it’s too soon.</p>