Your high school experience is almost over, and you’re planning your next steps. You’re looking into university programs and seeing which ones pique your interest the most. You’re booking student tours and walking through the grounds. You’re reading up on campus dorm options and picturing who you’ll be living with in the all-too-near future. Will they be nice? Will they become lifelong friends?
One crucial part of your research is admission requirements. You can’t assume that because you have all of your credits and a high school diploma you’re automatically going to be accepted by the university department that you apply to. Most departments will have more requirements that you will have to meet to even be considered a potential student.
What are some of these requirements and what can you do about them?
Prerequisites
Prerequisites are high school credits that you need to have under your belt in order to be accepted into a program. These prove that you have a baseline understanding of the program’s subject so that you can handle the introductory courses.
Say that you want to enroll in an Engineering program. You can expect the university to ask for Advanced Functions (MHF4U), Calculus & Vectors (MCV4U), Chemistry (SCH4U) and Physics (SPH4U) as prerequisites. You will also need to have received a relatively good grade for all of these courses.
How can you get prerequisites? If you can sign up for a prerequisite through your high school, you should do so. If that prerequisite is not available at your high school, don’t panic. You could visit an online school like Ontario eSecondary School and take the course there. Your credit will still go towards your high school diploma.
What if it’s too late? What if you’ve already chosen your courses for the year and can’t get into a prerequisite in time? Again, online school can help you. You can finish an online school course as short as 4 weeks if you’d like. So, if you need to cram that learning into a shorter timeline, you can do it and get that prerequisite crossed off your to-do list.
Recommended Credits
These are a little different than prerequisites. You don’t have to take these credits in order to apply — the university is simply suggesting that you have these credits under your belt before you submit an application. These credits will give you a better understanding of the subjects covered in your first year of classes, which can make your transition into post-secondary education much smoother. You’ll be bettering your chances of success — or at the very least, reducing your stress levels when it comes to studying.
Recommended credits can also make you look better as an applicant, especially if the competition is fierce. It could be the edge you need to get a coveted spot in the school.
Minimum GPA
University departments will have GPA minimums for their prospective students. Typically, this minimum will be a “B equivalent”. Certain competitive university programs will have higher minimums to meet.
So, check your GPA. At the very least, you will want the number to meet the minimum GPA for a university’s department. It’s better for your GPA to cross that minimum threshold. The higher your GPA, the better your chances of getting selected.
What if your GPA is too low? You have the power to change your GPA. One way to do this is to ask for extra credit work in your current courses. Your teacher may boost your grade for taking initiative and tackling additional projects.
Another option is to retake courses that saddled you with a lower grade. By taking the course a second time around, you could nudge your grade — and by extension, your GPA — a little higher. These are called upgrade or repeat courses. You can sign up for upgrade courses through an online school and complete them in a hurry.
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