Final Grades/GPA thread/School/University Discussion

Last year (first year at Brock University in Ontario)
French:79
Dramatic Literature:50... yeah I have to do it a second time >:{
Psychology:64
Earth Science:84
Performance/Sewing/Carpentry:71

As you can see I'm not exactly a stellar student, but this year all of my courses are performance and/or theatre-related so I am doing much better!!!
 
Eraddd said:
U of T is still pretty expensive (approx. 20k with dorm)
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If you want to go to a decent school in the US that isn't a state school expect to pay 40K + room and board. Plus, you'll have to pay for travel since you live out of the country and you're bound to want to go home for the breaks and such.
 
My first quarter just ended last Friday as well, and these are my grades as they were at my conference about a week prior: (My freshman year in High School)

Advanced English: A-
PE: B (I have asthma and it's extremely hard for me to run an 8 minute mile, let along pass with a 6:44... so I'm stuck with a B.)
Geometry: A-
Spanish I: B+ (I would have a fucking 100%, but I made like 1 silly mistake on a test, and my teacher has yet to enter one of my large assignments that I turned in, but she lost.)
Honors World Studies: B- (Again, would have an A, but I had many late assignments)
Integrated Science: A

I'm satisfied for the moment. I want to have my grade up at least at a 3.75 by the end of the second quarter, third at the latest. I'm aiming for a 4.0 by the end of the year, but that's going to be pretty hard to pull off, especially that I'll be playing baseball in the spring.
 
Eraddd said:
I don't understand that bolded statement. I do know that universities look more at GPA than IB predicted scores, so being in IB will hurt me? Because if I were in the regular curriculum, I could easily be scoring hundreds (not that I'm not in some courses, but courses like physics really hurt me, because the teacher gives the hardest tests ever, and tells us that 70% is a 6 and a 80% is a 7, but doesn't scale it =/.)

Thinking about doing undergrad in Canada but again, I really want to go the states, to get away from it all. U of T is still pretty expensive (approx. 20k with dorm)
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Canada is a big country, you don't have to leave it to get away from home =P Toronto and Montreal are about as far away as LA. The universities only look at 5 of your courses anyway (and it's usually by percentage here, not GPA). It doesn't matter what your overall GPA is. You usually only use two of your sciences max unless you want to use all three so if you're doing all three, you have nothing to worry about with your Physics.

I don't know too much about SFU and UBC's science programs. Most of my friends doing Sciences went to UBC though.

If your aim is med school, see how much your undergrad school even matters. I just think it might be a mistake to spend twice as much money for a similar education.
 
Again, I just want to point out, that if I do not get financial aid from a US school, I will NOT be attending it. I know the costs, I know they're 50k+ a year, and I know how hard it is for an international student to get it, but I'm trying, and I guess it won't hurt, and trying hard won't hurt for other Canadian scholarships will it?

I really don't want to McGill, nor do I want to go to Quebec (sorry Vineon, and other Quebecois people.) I just don't like the city there. And it's too cold for my taste. U of T is an okay option. And UBC, I could probably get a scholarship there, but I really don't want to commute from there to my house every day.

Really, I want to go to the US because of intellectual reasons, and also to get away from some of the people here. Polis, since you're in IB, I'm sure you know the social errr disfiguration most people in IB have. We have petty drama going on even in grade 12. Kids are acting like getting drunk or going to a rave is the hottest thing ever. They think that "asking out a girl" is so damn hard. And they're petty over the littlest shits ever. We're essentially 2 years behind in social development. I really don't want to see most of those people ever again in my life.
 
-Broderick- said:
PE: B (I have asthma and it's extremely hard for me to run an 8 minute mile, let along pass with a 6:44... so I'm stuck with a B.)
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what the hell kind of PE class were you taking? that can't be normal >_>
 
Blame Game said:
what the hell kind of PE class were you taking? that can't be normal >_>
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I'm asthmatic, dangerously underweight (in the sense of BMI measurements, I'm in this category), and yet I got As for all my PE stuff because it wasn't based on your fitness level, it was based on your effort/participation. Plus, it was also combined with Health classes and I was good at those.
 
Eraddd said:
Really, I want to go to the US because of intellectual reasons, and also to get away from some of the people here. Polis, since you're in IB, I'm sure you know the social errr disfiguration most people in IB have. We have petty drama going on even in grade 12. Kids are acting like getting drunk or going to a rave is the hottest thing ever. They think that "asking out a girl" is so damn hard. And they're petty over the littlest shits ever. We're essentially 2 years behind in social development. I really don't want to see most of those people ever again in my life.
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Um.... no offense, but are you really that naive? That is what youth are like in THE ENTIRETY OF WESTERN SOCIETY, YO. I would say you'll probably find MORE people like that in US tertiary institutions, in fact, even just by volume and the fact that there are more colleges.

There's no escaping it. It's also increasingly common that those same people move on to university these days, but they tend not to last very long. It won't make a difference what country.
 
Eraddd said:
I don't understand that bolded statement. I do know that universities look more at GPA than IB predicted scores, so being in IB will hurt me? Because if I were in the regular curriculum, I could easily be scoring hundreds (not that I'm not in some courses, but courses like physics really hurt me, because the teacher gives the hardest tests ever, and tells us that 70% is a 6 and a 80% is a 7, but doesn't scale it =/.)
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Lol, sorry about not being clear, but I meant that you should try to get merit based scholarships. IB makes you competitive, but not getting your diploma might eliminate your scholarships. However, you aren't going to fail, and even get into the 40's overall.

That being said, grades in IB always look better than grades in a regular program, even if the scale is shit. I'd say just try to pull B's in Physics. My Higher Level Math teacher pulled the same shit, and gave me a fucking C overall for the semester and told me I didn't understand the material. I got a 5 on the AP test. Schools know how hard some classes are, and will take into consideration the difficulty.

But, colleges in the US don't even ask for predicted scores (this is from my experience with Common App, UF, and Georgia Tech). Heck, half of them don't even care about AP scores. What really helps is SAT/ACT scores
 
Eraddd said:
Really, I want to go to the US because of intellectual reasons, and also to get away from some of the people here. Polis, since you're in IB, I'm sure you know the social errr disfiguration most people in IB have. We have petty drama going on even in grade 12. Kids are acting like getting drunk or going to a rave is the hottest thing ever. They think that "asking out a girl" is so damn hard. And they're petty over the littlest shits ever. We're essentially 2 years behind in social development. I really don't want to see most of those people ever again in my life.
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Haha, you're very mature for our age. Honestly, that is what a normal American high school is about. Hell, most of my IB class loves getting drunk and I'm sure a lot have had sex already. And for IB guys, asking out a girl is hard! Lol, but seriously, that's how a lot of people are.

But that is the great nature of college, meeting new people and getting away from old. Especially if you go international. But be prepared, cause there will be jack asses, retards, people who just want to party, and petty drama even in American colleges (well, maybe petty drama).

But there are definitely a good number American colleges that will cater to what you want and expect.
 
Um.... no offense, but are you really that naive? That is what youth are like in THE ENTIRETY OF WESTERN SOCIETY, YO. I would say you'll probably find MORE people like that in US tertiary institutions, in fact, even just by volume and the fact that there are more colleges.

There's no escaping it. It's also increasingly common that those same people move on to university these days, but they tend not to last very long. It won't make a difference what country.
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I know what you mean, but people in IB right now, are worse. It's disgusting. It's worse than the rest of the school population. The pictures they try to place on facebook and stuff, I just laugh. Some kid was trying to get laid, while drunk, and tried to smoke weed. Failed pretty badly, let's leave it at that. It's just different. In IB, it's hard to make friends with the rest because of the prejudices many people hold. Some IB kids are so arrogant towards the rest of the population. Some of the non IB students think we're all a bunch of nerds. When I'm in university, (not trying to be elitist here) hopefully there's no barriers like that, and I can choose friends who aren't huge idiots, that IB has a short supply of. We may be smart, but socially retarded.

@Polis: Hmm, I have good SAT I and II scores, but meh. I'll probably scrape a B in Physics. In all my other subjects, I'm performing beyond my expectations I had.

Also, I'm not that mature. I'm an idiot sometimes and act the clown. But seriously, people in IB need to understand that drinking doesn't make you rad, or nuts. Drinking is drinking. It's a social activity. Asking out a girl is what it is. If you know her reasonably, and you like her, ask her out. Not that hard. But in IB, drama drama drama!!!! OMFG YOU ASK GIRL OUT? YOU GOT REJECTED LMAO LULZ. OMG HE LIKES THE SAME GIRLS AS I DO. I HAVE BEEF LULZ. I"M GONNA JUMP HIM LATER. It's sad how a bunch of people who are pretty smart, have to be so socially retarded.
 
Eraddd said:
@Polis: Hmm, I have good SAT I and II scores, but meh. I'll probably scrape a B in Physics. In all my other subjects, I'm performing beyond my expectations I had.
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Good to know! One or two B's won't matter in the long run anyway (especially if its an HL course). Even if its not HL, your GPA will still be excellent for comparison. And honestly, good SAT scores will probably take you the farthest anyway.

Also, I'm not that mature. I'm an idiot sometimes and act the clown. But seriously, people in IB need to understand that drinking doesn't make you rad, or nuts. Drinking is drinking. It's a social activity. Asking out a girl is what it is. If you know her reasonably, and you like her, ask her out. Not that hard. But in IB, drama drama drama!!!! OMFG YOU ASK GIRL OUT? YOU GOT REJECTED LMAO LULZ. OMG HE LIKES THE SAME GIRLS AS I DO. I HAVE BEEF LULZ. I"M GONNA JUMP HIM LATER. It's sad how a bunch of people who are pretty smart, have to be so socially retarded.
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You'd be surprised. The whole drinking thing is very, very big among many students in the US. I know tons of traditional friends and people who love to get drunk and/or get high. It's just part of being a teenager in the US: you'll find those things. Now for the asking out, I think that's just IB. These relationship things are a bit advanced for us IB guys ^.^

But seriously, stop worrying about this petty shit. You have excellent SAT scores, a great GPA, and probably loads of extracurriculars. You'll get into places, now you just have to apply for scholarships.
 
Polis4rule said:
Good to know! One or two B's won't matter in the long run anyway (especially if its an HL course). Even if its not HL, your GPA will still be excellent for comparison. And honestly, good SAT scores will probably take you the farthest anyway.



You'd be surprised. The whole drinking thing is very, very big among many students in the US. I know tons of traditional friends and people who love to get drunk and/or get high. It's just part of being a teenager in the US: you'll find those things. Now for the asking out, I think that's just IB. These relationship things are a bit advanced for us IB guys ^.^

But seriously, stop worrying about this petty shit. You have excellent SAT scores, a great GPA, and probably loads of extracurriculars. You'll get into places, now you just have to apply for scholarships.
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Meh, it's just drinking for IB kids sounds so... cool. I don't see the huge stigma behind it. IB kids think its so rebel to drink. During english class: "Dude, last night, I was so drunk. Didn't want to come to class this morning," with all the IB kids clinging onto the person like he's God or something.

Anyways, that's one of the reasons why I want out of my city, which is one of the reasons that's motivated me to study harder.

Extracurriculars are meh. I'm a senior officer of the Health Awareness club, head of the SAT prep club (lol), Community Band 1st chair member, Jazz Band playing Baritone sax, which I've just started, and a bit more volunteering stints. Not too great.

And my teacher recommendations are what's worrying me a bit. My math and physics teacher from last year left or retired, and can't get in touch with them for some reason. I got my chem teacher who I'm really cool with writing me one, and my music teacher who has known me for 4 years. Other than that, I have no one else. My math teacher refuses to write recommendation letters for schools in the US. I sleep during physics, which doesn't look too good. English I'm doing well in, and I'm friendly with the teacher, but I don't know how colleges look at letters from a teacher teaching a subject I have no interest in at all. Plus he's only known me for 3 months (funny story about my former english teacher, she's gone for the semester, which kind of sucks). 3 teachers gone, 3 teachers who I don't want letters from/can't get any, and 2 that I will get most likely.

Right, now i'm sounding like a whiny little bitch. I'll cut it off now. Good luck to everyone else's college applications. Hope you all get into your schools.
 
Danyul said:
Just regarding your thing about recs from teachers in subjects you aren't interested in, if anything I would think that would probably be a benefit as long as that teacher knows you well. Colleges don't really like kids who have pigeon-holed themselves as "a math and science person" or a "history and English person" and I think they would find it refreshing to get somebody with broad interests.

On my application, my main academic angle was that I am really interested in studying literature and philosophy, I even wrote one of my essays about that, so for my first rec I went straight to my 11th grade English teacher who I had a great relationship with; she was a natural choice. For my other rec though, I had to make a really tough decision. I had done well in other English classes and I probably could have convinced one of those teachers to write me a rec, but instead I asked my Physics Honors teacher from last year. While that class wasn't my absolute best grade, it was probably the class I worked the hardest in and was most involved in during the year, and I knew that my Physics teacher knew that. With that rec, I was able to show that I'm able to work and excel outside of my natural element and that I'm not just one of those kids who is ONLY interested in English.

So I think if you have a good relationship with your English teacher you should get a rec from him.
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Again, the only problem is that I've known for a brief 2 months and a bit before. He was a substitute for my philosophy and english 11 classes, and was an awesome sub at that. Got to know him a bit. And then now, I talk to him frequently, contribute in his class, and actually try to act when we do theatrical presentations. But I'm afraid the short amount of time that I've known him for will hurt me and that it won't seem like a legit letter.

In the end, I think the IB coordinator will go to each and every one of my teachers for recommendations. I have to get him to write me one (it's mandatory), and I think the last year's grads told me that he goes to each of my teachers in gr 11 and 12, and asks for their opinion.

W/e, go with whatever happens. I had no control over which teachers retired and left other schools, and I'm not gonna let that pull me down. Just keep on trucking I guess.
 
Here's the thing about personal references: They're not looking for references for your ability. They have the numbers for that; they have your results.

References are for judgment of character. It doesn't matter what your marks are in the class, especially if it's unrelated to what you're applying for. What they're going to ask your reference is stuff like "Is he dedicated? Works hard, independantly, diligently? Good outlook and positive attitude?".
 
Oh god, going over the college apps process, one of the most soul crushing things about HS.

Lemme just say, never take yourself too seriously in that. It's a really big part of your life, but if you go totally crazy about it, you'll just burn yourself out.

As for general advice, I think most of the posts here have it fairly well. You gotta make yourself out to be the best thing since sliced bread without actually sounding like you know everything. Annoying line to walk, but that's life.
 
MrIndigo said:
Here's the thing about personal references: They're not looking for references for your ability. They have the numbers for that; they have your results.

References are for judgment of character. It doesn't matter what your marks are in the class, especially if it's unrelated to what you're applying for. What they're going to ask your reference is stuff like "Is he dedicated? Works hard, independantly, diligently? Good outlook and positive attitude?".
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Yeah, I got two teachers who can answers these questions well. My chem teacher and my music teacher know me well, and know i work hard, and practice hard. My music teacher has known me for 4 years, and even with my heavy workload, I started a new instrument because their Jazz band needed one, and when he was deciding on my marks, he said "I know you've been working hard on this, so don't worry about the marks." Oh and I'm the first chair clarinet for the senior band. Me and my chem teacher joke around a lot, and he knows that I work hard (except for the part when I talk to my friend in class, and occasionally don't take notes, but just watch).

Thank God I'm not applying to an engineering department, because they require a math teacher's recommendation, and I sure as hell can't get one. (My current math teacher refuses to hand out recommendation letters based on the fact that we're probably not ready for higher level mathematics, even though we're taking the hardest math possible >.> We don't have the "mathematical background") and my previous math has retired. I'm off the hook there :)
 
Just received my acceptance letter to Georgia Tech, and god I'm so happy!

Also a semi-finalist for their Presidential scholarship, so pretty darn happy about that as well!
 
Just got first term report card, god I hate this one.
english: 70
french: 73
computers:87
math:51
physics: 82
ancient civ: 80
biology: 67
introduction to anthropology, psychology and sociology: 76

First term marks are always based off of like 2 assignments since they come so early. No idea how I got an 80 in history, considering I haven't handed in one of the two assignments we have done and our teacher hasn't come to class in a month or so.
also 51 in math may not seem that good but hey its an increase of 26% so I'm fairly pleased.
 
Could be that physics is covering things like distance is velocity times time and math is covering something he's never done before.
 
Report card:

Physics HL : 85 (True mark: 70 lol.)
Math SL: 93 (Top 3)
History HL: 92 (I laughed when I got this, considering my horrible essays)
English HL:94 (The teacher believed my bullshit about Antigone)
Chemistry SL: 97 (Very proud of this. I really love chemistry, and probably will pursue a chemistry undergrad major)
Peer Tutoring: 92 (LOL. Need I say more?)
Senior Band: 92 (LMAO.)
Volunteering: 85 (I'm glad I didn't fail, considering I don't hand in journals regularly)

Very very happy with my report card.
 
for some reason I found sl physics harder than hl math.

It's probably because I had a crazy physics teacher back in high school; he used to make tanks for the Iranian army and has a PHD in physics, yet for some reason he's teaching IB physics. The IB exam was way easier than any test he devised, though he was kind enough to give a significant boost with our predicted marks (somehow my low 80s was enough for a 7).

But I still found hl math exam easier than the physics sl.
 
I really love the irony in it, but its just because I bombed the first two quizzes and first test in math (7%, 7%, and 26% respectively) but my more recent two quizzes and second unit test (70%, 95%, and 80% respectively) have been quite a bit better, causing me to balance out around 50%. Also so far this year phisics just seems like the practical application of grade ten math (trig/quadratics).
 
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