This Week In University Counselling: Grade 12
November 22-December 2
Appointments to see YOUR university counsellor
To see your assigned University Counsellor, you must make an appointment using our on-line booking system.
To book an appointment, you need to be logged into the Brentwood system through your school email account. Also, you must ensure that you have opened your Google Calendar at least once to ensure that the times between the two systems are in sync.
Click the button to proceed to our Appointment Booking page:
Please Note: Ms. Hall will be away this week from Tuesday onward.
University of victoria: explore uvic
We will be organizing a bus to take down Grade 12s who are interested in attending Explore UVic on the afternoon of Saturday, November 30 (during sport).
If you would like to attend (and have permission from your coaches to miss sport), please indicate your interest by filling out the Form on the University Visits & Presentations page (use the button below...)
university counselling's one commandment
Remember what was said during the University Counselling Orientation Presentation:
All applications must be submitted in our offices with your university counsellor
You may be tempted to fire off the simple applications on your own. Please DO NOT. Follow our guidance and work with us on this all-important process.
university counselling's golden rule
Remember what was said during the University Counselling Orientation Presentation:
For any application requiring any supplemental writing, ALL APPLICATON MATERIAL MUST BE COMPLETED ONE MONTH BEFORE THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE!
YOUR DO-DATE = 1 MONTH BEFORE THE DUE DATE!
We will be reminding you about our DUE DATE-DO DATE policy very often over the course of the fall, but it is important that you sear it into your brains now! Plan ahead and get the work done in a timely fashion! It's a proven approach, so adhere to it, and your applications will thank you!!
Do dates/Due Dates
Here are some key DO DATES/DUE DATES coming soon:
University of California/California State Universities
University of Texas, University of San Diego
University of British Columbia Early Admission/Scholarship Consideration*
Submission deadline = this WEEK!
*If you are not ready, then it is far better to ensure that your Personal Profile is of the best quality rather than trying to rush this in. The Regular Admission Deadline of January 15 is a practical alternative!
MOST US Regular Decision (Jan 1-10)
Submission deadline = before you leave for december holidays!**
**If you applied Early Decision, then we don't necessarily want to SUBMIT before you get notification of your decision, BUT we want to ensure that ALL application material is ready for submission in case you need to pull that trigger.
University of British Columbia
DUE DATE = January 15 / YOUR DO DATE = November 25
Richard Ivey School of Business HBA Application
DUE DATE = January 15 / YOUR DO DATE = November 25
University of Toronto Engineering Supplement
DUE DATE = January 15 / YOUR DO DATE = November 25
UK
DUE DATE = January 29 / YOUR DO DATE = December 9
University of Victoria Commerce Application
DUE DATE = January 31 / YOUR DO DATE = December 9
University of Waterloo Admission Information Form (AIF): Engineering
DUE DATE = January 31 / YOUR DO DATE = December 9
University of Toronto Supplements for Commerce, Computer Science, Architecture, Kinesiology
DUE DATE = Ferbuary 3 / YOUR DO DATE = January 7
University of Waterloo Admission Information Form (AIF): Programs other than Engineering
DUE DATE = February 14 / YOUR DO DATE = January 14
canadian university applications
In most cases (UBC is a notable exception), the application is straightforward and involves the submission of biographical and academic information, along with the application fee. While that sounds simple, it is still critical that it be done accurately and thus why it is non-negotiable that ALL applications be submitted with one of the University Counsellors.
In some cases, it might be worth waiting on some specific applications in order to see where you stand when your first term marks are collected; teachers will be submitting them THIS WEEK.
There are almost no application deadlines that fall before your December holidays for Canadian universities, although we would like to get the bulk of applications submitted by then. All the information you need about application accounts and deadlines can be found on the Canadian Universities Application Resources page... click the button below to access the page:
Let's get moving along with all your Canadian University Applications!
Time to Self-Report marks? ...Should I be worrying about marks?!
Reporting/Self-Reporting of Marks
If you have applied to some Canadian universities, you may be getting instructions about next steps, including the Self-Reporting of marks. Until your Fall Term marks come in, there is nothing to report!
University of Toronto and Western University, for example, will allow you to enter Grade 11, completed Grade 12 marks, and in-progress Grade 12 courses.
Those schools that require interim Grade 12 marks... we will report them once we get Fall Term marks at the end of November.
If you are unclear about reporting, see one fo the University Counsellors for assistance.
Grade 12 Marks: "Everyone Just Needs to RELAX!"
With fall term marks being collected very soon, the anxiety and nervousness from some Grade 12s is running hot! …Everybody just needs to relax!
On the issue of Marks and what is being sent to Universities, here’s the official word:
While the marks collected for the Fall Report Card are reported to the Ministry of Education, and many Canadian universities have the ability to consider these marks for admission, Universities look at marks throughout the next several months for admissions.
Some universities put more weight into marks that are only available at midyear (end of January) or at the end of the Winter Term (like UBC).
Some universities only consider marks that you report to them, and their systems may not open until midyear for you to do so (like McGill).
US universities to which some students have applied will receive a transcript that includes those marks, BUT…
...US universities will also receive a Midyear Report at the end of January that includes updates marks, and those are the marks that are more relevant to the admissions process.
Updated marks will be requested from teachers at the end of January—6 weeks or so after the upcoming collection—and tend to be ones that universities consider most seriously.
There will be more opportunities over the coming months for universities to consider your marks data. Keep working hard to improve your class marks!
Scary emails from ouac
If you have applied to OUAC, you may have received an email from OUAC soon after submitting the application that says something is wrong/missing involving your BC Ministry transcript or PEN. They do this every year... and it is a silly email that they send!
OUAC will eventually be handling and distributing your BC Ministry transcript to the universities to which you have applied.
You need not worry about the email; it just means you did not order your transcript to be released to OUAC before you applied... nobody does that!
All of you created your BCeID on during the Alternate Academic Day, so you can proceed with ordering your transcript to OUAC.
UC Logins Form
While you are always advised to protect your login credentials for websites on which you establish accounts, it is vital that you share those credentials with University Counselling so that we can fully support your applications. We do promise absolute discretion in protecting your credentials... you can put your trust is us!
To easily share your Application Account Login Credentials, please use this Form:
Applicants to us colleges
Those students planning to apply to universities in the US should be well on their way to getting their applications in order. Here are some key matters to be thinking about:
Those of you who submitted Early Decision and Early Action applications... you cannot ease off on your applications, you must work to complete all that remain. For ED applicants, you must be ready to submit the second you hear the news about your application (in case its not the news you were hoping for).
There is only 3 weeks to get nearly all us applications fully submitted!
applicants to UK universities
The application deadline for courses in the United Kingdom is January 29.
The main component of the UCAS application is your Personal Statement, thus following the DUE DATE/DO DATE Policy...
You need to have it and the rest of the application ready for review by December 9.
Please check out what you need to do by accessing the UK University Application Resources page:
scholarships
We will keep our Scholarships page updated with all the information we have on national, provincial, and local awards. Click to the button to proceed to our Scholarships page:
International Students whose First Language is Not English
Students whose first language is one other than English, you may very well have to prove your English proficiency to universities by means of a test like TOEFL or IELTS. If you have been at Brentwood since Grade 9, that is often enough for many Canadian universities. If you have been at Brentwood for 3 years or less, and/or you are planning to apply to universities outside of Canada, you must come in to review the Proof of English Proficiency policies of your universities of choice. These policies can vary wildly, and if require a test at even one university on your list, then we need to make plans for you to write TOEFL or IELTS sooner rather than later.
TOEFL and IELTS tests are available locally in Victoria, Nanaimo, and Vancouver, as well at locations around the world. Please come in to discuss options. If you are in doubt about whether you will need to write, come in. IF ENGLISH IS NOT YOUR FIRST LANGUAGE, COME IN TO CONFIRM REGARDLESS!