This Week In University Counselling: Grade 12

November 29-December 9

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:

University Counselling Appointments

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:

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 WAS NOVEMBER 25

Richard Ivey School of Business HBA Application

DUE DATE = January 15 / YOUR DO DATE WAS NOVEMBER 25

University of Toronto Engineering Supplement

DUE DATE = January 15 / YOUR DO DATE WAS NOVEMBER 25

We suspect that many of you are behind on this! You need to get moving so that you have enough time to edit and refine your writing to be submission ready!

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:

Canadian University Application Resources

Let's get moving along with all your Canadian University Applications!

supplemental applications - Canadian Universities

While most Canadian universities have very simply applications, initially, many of them do require supplemental material to complete the application process. It is critical that you review the communication that they initiate with you to ensure that you fully understand the supplemental requirements and associated deadlines.

Here are JUST A FEW of the notables...

University of Toronto

Each of these programs has a requirement to submit supplemental material. The final deadline to complete it is February 3.

For Commerce: Rotman Commerce Supplemental Application This supplemental includes a video interview!
For Engineering: Online Student Profile This supplemental includes a video interview!
For Computer Science: Supplemental Application for Computer Science.
For Architectural Studies: One Idea Supplementary Application.

McMaster University

For Arts & Science: the deadline for the Supplementary Application is February 1.
For Health Sciences: the Supplementary Application system will open in February and be due a few days later.

Queen's University

The deadline for the Supplementary Essays required for Commerce and Health Sciences and strongly recommended for Nursing is February 15.

University of Waterloo

The deadline for the Admission Information Form is February 14. It is required for anyone applying to Engineering, your deadline is January 31.

University of Calgary

The deadline for the Supplementary Application required for the Health Sciences programs is March 1.

If you are uncertain whether the program that you applied has a supplemental application, please review its admission requirements carefully and look out for instructions from the university. If you are still uncertain, come and see us in University Counselling.

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. You are NOT to complete the process of Self-Reporting on your own. Make an appointment with one of the University Counsellors for assistance.

If you are wondering about how different Canadian universities get your marks data, this document will help...

Canadian University Interim Marks/Transcript Requirements

Marks from Ministry Transcripts

If the university you have applied to requires your transcript to be sent from the Ministry of Education, use your BCeID to get it ordered ASAP! See the Canadian University Application Resources page for guidance on getting that done or see us in Univeristy Counselling.

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 2 weeks to get nearly all us applications fully submitted!

US College Application Resources

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:

UK Universities Application Resources

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:

Scholarships

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!

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