Canadian University help - Page 3

I did my undergrad at the Ivey Business school at UWO.

Feel free to PM me with questions -- one of the great strengths of Ivey over other CDN b-schools is the willingness of the alum to genuinely help each other out. I can honestly say that without the help of the alum, there is no way I would've gotten my first job (at CIBCWM).

I may be biased here, but please -- Penn is far more selective than Ivey or UBC.

My marks and extracurriculars?

89% HS average (top 12% in my honors program; top 6% overall)
1560 SAT
SAT IIs: Math Level 2 - 770; Literature - 760; Writing - 710
Extracurriculars: Student newspaper editor, literary journal editor, pee wee hockey coach, quiz team member.

I also wrote very good essays and got stellar recommendations from my teachers and guidance counselor.

Coast capital? ROLF. Coast capital isn't a bank - its a subpar credit union. If you do go ubc, they have the PMF program which places pretty much all of its candidates in i-banks (canadian and us); however, its tough as shit to get into.

Yes, the PMF program is the only respectable thing at UBC -- it only takes 6-10 students a year and they're all very smart and hard-working (though too "west-coast" for my taste). I worked with two this summer.

UBC ain't UPenn but c'mon, no need to lump it in with ITT Tech.

No, you're right, that wasn't fair. I take it back.

why are canadian schools being compared to american (mostly) ivy league schools? the mentality towards education is much different (which is better or worse is up to you). that being said ubc is not that tough to get into, whether the program is- thats a different story. it seems american schools often depend on 'who you know' to get in, which i dont think is the case with ubc. I would be skeptical if your friends grades are as good as they say they are (who doesnt exagerate their marks), but nonetheless if you want to get into any program at a school the best way to do it would be by taking the classes - if you do well enough you can transfer in, and if you don't do well enough, then pick something else. I haven't spoken with anyone in Canadian universities that really care how people do in high school, the key is proving ones self in an academic setting.

Your incoherent and incomprehensible post does a disservice to universities everywhere.

your insensitivity does a disservice to my feelings

I graduated from Churchill (I'm sure you're aware that Canadian Universities have a black book where they adjust scores of students from various high schools depending on their secondary schools). SWC is a decent high school, nothing special but with less grade inflation compared to other schools in the East. I was decently strong academically with extracurriculars and my average was not 90%+, just around the low A marks (86-88, I can't remember). For the classes used for averaging (of school marks, not provincials) I was rated highly in my graduating class of 400 for regular (non-IB students) - highest mark in English, 2nd highest of History, top 5-10% math, etc. No recommendations from any teachers or anything like that. I never was a teacher friendly student, not into the whole brown-nosing thing my peers were into. While at UBC, I studied abroad at a good English school. I had to do some paperwork to get credits for it at UBC since they aren't on the same tier (LSE > UBC) but it was worth it. The experience of going to a good school is not the same as going to a decent University because the quality of students are different. I made friends with students from Harvard, Oxford, the big 3 TokyoUs, etc and they seem to share a strong work ethic compared to the ethic in Vancouver. I actually visited my friends in Asia during this summer to catch up. The network of friends you make at a good school is important. I will disagree with scenesreplayed and say the quality (lectures, students, material) of good schools versus Canadian schools is that good (Ivey, etc) > Canadian.

Can it help if your parents are alumni? Yes. Does admission "often" depend on this? No. The fact is that Penn, Harvard, Yale, etc...still reject over 60% of legacies -- many of whom are extremely qualified (think about it: Most of these kids have good genes, since their parents were smart, and had good upbringings, since their parents also likely are relatively well-off). Sure, UBC doesn't give preference to legacies, but they also don't reject 65% of valedictorians. So... In any case, stop talking out of your ass. Even you admit you're speculating (as evidenced by you qualifying your statement with "seems"). And VINSON, nice, balanced post.

Another SWC grad