I´m a Mexican Student that is looking forward to attend McMaster University. But I don’t know which requirements should I have in order to be considerate as a competitive candidate.
What program are you looking into? Is it health science?
No, Mechanical Engineering.
McMaster is a very good university. I also liked Hamilton when I visited, although my several visits there were all in the summer. Mechanical engineering is usually a relatively competitive major at most universities.
Am I correct that you have not yet applied? Would you intend to apply for starting in September 2019 (a bit more than a year)? Have you checked the web site for McMaster to see what the requirements are for international students to apply?
How does your GPA compare with other students in your high school? Do you know how you rank compared to average students? Have you taken the SAT?
How much does the cost of education matter to you? If you are not a Canadian citizen nor permanent resident, then there are other universities in Canada which would be less expensive.
This website will lead you to the requirements for a Mexican graduate. http://future.mcmaster.ca/admission/admission-requirements It does not give specific requirements for engineering, but Canadian students are required to have calculus, chemistry and physics.
I already checked that link, but it just mention that I should have my High School Diploma and a English Certification. But it does not mention that I need the SAT or any other exam.
SAT or ACT exam scores would be helpful, but they’re not required.
So how are they gonna determine my admission result?
@AstroTower: The most important criteria for admission at Canadian universities are your high school grades. I have no idea what grades look like at a Mexican high school, but the admissions staff at any large university in North America will include at least one person (probably more) who does know, or at least knows how to find out. As such they will know how to compare your grades with others from your high school and from other high schools in your country.
They will also look at your references. However, most students who are strong enough to get into McMaster are likely to have very good references. Some universities will require SAT or ACT scores for admission, and some do not. If you have good test scores, these are likely to help since it will give the admissions staff more confidence that you have learned your high school material well in a way that can be compared with other students across North America using a common test. However, if test scores are not required then this implies that the admissions staff feel that they can evaluate you based on other criteria, such as your grades.
The English Certification is usually required by any university that teaches in English for students whose high school teaches in any other language. Basically if your scores are high enough then they will figure that you can handle studying in classes that are taught in English. I went to an English language high school and therefore I am not familiar with the various test options in this area.
If you are strong in math and sciences, and are among the best students in your high school, then there is a good chance that you could do well in the ME department at McMaster or at many of the very good universities in Canada (or the ones in the US).
One difference between US and Canadian universities that you should be aware of: It has been said that the top US schools are harder to get accepted to and easier to graduate from, whereas the top Canadian schools are easier to get accepted to and harder to graduate from. I interpret this approximately as follows: The highest ranked US universities generally don’t have enough places for every qualified student who applies. Therefore they try to only accept students who will do well. The top Canadian schools mostly do have enough places for every very well qualified student who applies. For example, a student who graduates high school in Canada who has an A in every class throughout high school can be pretty confident that they will get accepted at any university in Canada (assuming the students speaks the correct language for any particular university, since Canada is a bilingual country). It appears that the top universities in Canada are generally okay with accepting a large number of students who do well and a small number of qualified students who end up not being able to handle the academic challenge. As such, you can expect McMaster to be academically challenging.
I would also recommend that you consider your budget.
^ Canada is bilingual, but provinces outside of Quebec and certain areas in Ottawa don’t require French. McMaster is an English university in an English city. No French required to study or live there.