Questions about McGill

Colleges & Universities McGill University
1

<p>I have a few questions about McGill. </p>

<li><p>Are the classes in english? I know french is spoken, but how fluent do you have to be?</p></li>
<li><p>What are the boys and girls like? Looks? Personality? i know you can’t generalize but is it hard to fit in and make friends?</p></li>
<li><p>Are there many Americans?</p></li>
<li><p>How good are they in Computer Science?</p></li>
<li><p>What are my chances?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Prospective Major:
Computer Science</p>

<p>Colleges:
Reach:
Princeton (I know it is a huge reach but it never hurts to try…well only your wallet)
NYU (The reach is really a question of the aid available)
Boston College
Match:
George Washington University
Northeastern University
Wesleyan University
Safety:
SUNY Binghamton/Buffalo
University of Rochester (safety because I already have $6,000scholarship there)
Rensaeleer Polytechnic Institute (safety because I already have$15,000 scholarship there)
High school type: Public
Weighted Grade: Freshman: 98, Sophomore: 99, Junior 100
Class rank: School does not rank, but I figure I am within the top 10%
SAT I: 1300 (640 Math, 660 Verbal)
SAT IIs: Biology 700, Chemistry 680, US 640
Math IIC: 700<br>
Senior-year courses:
Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus BC w/ Lab
AP English Lit and Composition w/ Lab
AP Government and Politics
Honors Physics w/ Lab
Honors French 5
Physical Education
Senior Seminar
Previous APs and college courses:
AP Chemistry (3)
AP Computer Science (5)
AP US History (4)
AP Biology (4)
Precalculus
Cisco Academy</p>

<p>Hook:
3rd Most Philosophical Student in America
(I was a finalist in the National Philosophy Challenge. I submitted an essay on the question, “Which is more powerful, fear or hope?” I argued for fear and out of 7800 other applicants, my essay was chosen with three others. I was flown to Washington DC, to debate at the National Press Club. I was also interviewed by National Press Radio. I was named the third most philosophical student in America. If you’d like to see my essay or hear my interview, google national philosophy slam.)</p>

<p>“Saved” the French Curriculum
(As the Superintendent would say, there would be no french curriculum without me. They were going to phase out the french class gradually. Just stop offering it and not replacing it with another language. I went to the local Board of Ed. and gave a big impassioned speech which acted as a rally cry for the rest of the people. He said the board really considered my testimony the swaying factor. This will be included in my recommendation from him.)</p>

<p>Classical Play Society (Founder, I approached the English director this year about a club that performs select scenes from plays in the English curriculum to help give the students a better understanding. The club acts separately from the drama club, in which I am also involved.)</p>

<p>Speech and Debate Class (Founder, I approached my English teacher with the idea in ninth grade and worked with her in forming the curriculum and gathering the support. There is now a Speech and Debate Class.)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Drama Club Officer (3 years, Drama Club for 4 years)
(The position is similar to that of the drama club’s “team captain”. The officers do everything from picking the show to organizing the cast party, while dealing with all internal affairs)
Boys Select Chorus President (2 years)
Boy Scouts of America (8 years)
(Webmaster, Den Chief, Quartermaster, Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Troop Guide, Assistant Senior Patrol leader)
Computer Programming Squad (2 years)
(Team Captain for one year, we’ve taken 4th and 6th place in a regional Competition)
National Honor Society (2 years)
Tri M music Society (The Honor Society of Music) (2 years)
Philosophy Club (3 years)
Students Putting an End to Cancer organization (2 years)</p>

<p>Work Experience:
Technical Assistant to a Holistic Chiropractor
(I built his network, fixed his computer on numerous occasions, filed, and maintained all of his systems)</p>

<p>Volunteer work: Cabaret Night Host (Event designed to raise money for the VH1 Save the Music program, to which I have been an integral part for the span of my high school career)
Tutoring roughly once a week
Computer Science/ Cisco Academy Teacher’s Aid
(I sat in on my teacher’s Introduction to Computer Programming class and helped the students along, I also attended extra help in order to facilitate my teacher’s scheduling.)
Boy Scouts of America service projects
(Too many to list, but I’ve done everything from build farms to raise money.)
Senior Citizen Prom
Relay For Life
Cablevision Power to Learn Commercial
(you may of seen me on TV if you live in the Tri-State area; I am in the first 10 seconds of the commercial pointing at a computer screen with my Superintendent)</p>

<p>Summer Programs:
French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts (3 years)</p>

<p>Honors:
Gold Honor Roll all four years (GPA of 88 or above)
Boy Scouts of America Order of the Arrow
Xerox Award For Technological Advancement
Rensaeleer Award For Advancement in Math and Science
Presidential Award (awarded for obtaining a GPA of 90 or above throughout all of high school)
National Youth Leadership Conference
Congressional Leadership Conference
Red Cross Lifeguard Certification</p>

<li>Can anyone who has gone tell me what the whole experience has been like?</li>
</ol>

2

<p>OK, I can’t answer everything but I’ll give you a few pointers:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Pretty much all classes are in English, exceptions being language classes (if you want/need to take those). No knowledge of French is necessary for most undergrad programs (except probably French literature and maybe a couple of other majors, but certainly not for computer science). Some knowledge of French is useful for living in Montreal but it is not necessary.</p></li>
<li><p>There’s a sizeable proportion of international students (McGill’s the most international canadian university), American being the most common nationality among them (can’t give you the figures but you can find those on the McGill website somewhere, though google might find it quicker (the McGill website search engine is terrible)).</p></li>
<li><p>McGill pretty much only looks at your grades and test scores, so ECs and other hooks are essentially unnecessary. The required test scores are posted somewhere on the McGill website (again, I won’t bother to look it up, but go through the McGill threads on CC, as the link has been posted often in other “do I have a chance, here are my SAT scores” threads).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>AFAIK, McGill’s pretty good in computer science (though other Canadians will point out Waterloo’s the best canadian school in that department, unless we’re talking about specific advanced research topics for grad school).</p>

3

<p>Do my EC’s and grades make me eligible for a scholarship?</p>

4

<p>Yes they do. But keep in mind that it is very competitive.</p>

5

<p>You need a 660 on each SAT + SATII to be eligible for a scholarhsip</p>

6

<p>I’m retaking the SAT’s so hopefully that will fix the 660+ thing. I actually took the SAT’s the first time (when I got those relatively low scores) and then got on a plane and flew to DC for the Philosophy Debate.</p>

7

<p>you also need 660’s on SATIIs – the U.S. history test score must go up</p>