Submitted to Skidmore, completed Dalhousie app (not submitted yet), and working on an Acadia app 
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For American applicants, Dalhousie uses your highest five Grade 12 (or AP) grades to calculate your admissions average. This will work to your advantage if you had some uneven years CGPA-wise.
BTW, do look at University of King’s College, Dal’s sister school right next door. It’s less than 1K students, progressive and extremely supportive. You get all the advantages of a small liberal arts college plus the resources of a big research university. (You graduate with a joint degree from both institutions.) After the first year, if you want to, you can take all your classes at Dal anyway. The first-year program (Foundation Year Program or FYP) is Great Books-oriented, but you actually don’t have to start with FYP if you don’t want to. However, some science students do FYP because it takes care of a lot of your distribution/breadth requirements at the outset. Good luck with all of this!
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This is really great to know actually. Do you know if half-year classes apply for the 5? I would assume not since they tend to be much easier electives, but if so, that would definitely work in my favor.
Ahh thank you, I’ll look into it a little later! I did mark that I wanted to do the um first year program at the Truro campus, so if I’m accepted into that, I think I’d have a similar experience.
Thank you!
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If you’re applying for science, one of the five courses that count is English. The other is precalculus. And there’s some flexibility with the other three (next highest grades). I think half-year classes should count but check with Dal.
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Ooh awesome, I’m taking 2 half year Eng elective courses for my English 12 credit so that works out perfectly.
I’ll definitely check with them just to be sure, though!
Thank you!!
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Have you looked at the George Mason honors college? GMU is outstanding when it comes to employment and practical networking, and the location is in proximity to so many incredible opportunities in the DC region.
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Go for your passion. Don’t give up. you put a lot of hours in the aquarium. that shows you really love it.
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This new biodiversity centre (museum) should be opening soon on the Halifax campus! Looks promising.
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Just wanted to chime in in regards to Northeastern. I am assuming their co-op is your draw to them (very understandably so). If admission to their Boston or global campuses dont/didnt work out, consider Marymount Manhattan College in NYC.
Theyre a small LAC in NYC that mostly specializes in the visual and performing arts, and are being acquired by NU right now to add to their global campus roster.
Despite their emphasis on the arts they offer both a biology and environmental science majors with great internship opportunities. Those studies may be adjacent to what you want. Student body is artsy and incredibly supportive
Want to emphasize that it is a very urban campus in smack middle of Manhattan, based on your list that may be the opposite environment you want. But if NU is a big aspiration for you, consider applying to MMC.
As per their press release, students in good academic standing at MMC will automatically become NU students once the merger is complete
Applications to MMC for Fall 2025 are to MMC and not NU, and its free with rolling admissions
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To be completely honest, I only applied to Northeastern because my dad encouraged me to, I know very little about the school itself. Looking into this, though, it does sound like a great experience.
I will look into it for sure!
Speaking of Northeastern, I actually got deferred a couple days ago. Super proud of myself for that to be honest - I didn’t think I had any chance at all for consideration and expected a flat denial. Exciting!
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Goucher, I think they have rolling. Near Baltimore which has the National Aquarium, high touch, small LAC. I second Cal Poly Humboldt but I think you need to consider the convenience of travel to that school and I know nothing about their accessibility. It’s liberal and you would find your people there for sure. Yes it’s 90% admit but I know kids who went there for similar interests and did well in finding jobs and grad programs. I also think a gap year is a great idea. I know several kids who did meaningful work, internships, during gap years and figured their stuff out resulting in better targeted acceptances the following year. I wish more kids would do gap years and it sounds like you could use a break to breathe.
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Yeah, it’s… far from stuff. Their page says they have Amtrak and bus service to campus, but it’s a good number of hours from the Bay Area. Not sure if there are any major airports closer than SFO or OAK.
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@houndsharkk, I was thinking about you and wondering if you have any updates you’d like to share?
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I’m confused. I would have thought that Hampshire College would have been a great fit. They meet all of your requirements. They have a program in Marine Science. And as an added bonus, through the 5 college consortium, you can take up to 2 courses per semester at 4 other nearby colleges which are among the finest in the country with top professors, and 2 of them, Amherst College and UMass, are just across town with easy accessibility by shuttle.
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