- Grades dont matter as long as you are above a 93. I had a 98, my friend had a 93, we got accepted in feb. Another guy I know had a 98, rejected. With grade inflation, 95+ is pretty common.
- ECs are only as good as your essay. My ecs werent crazy. Camp counsellor and DECA prez (chapter of 20). I just told a good story and displayed what I learned, and that beats a laundry list essay.
- Authenticity trumps everything. I see people with crazy ECs getting rejected, i can only imagine the admissions people sensed something was off. I wrote about my summer job and my founding and running a DECA chapter. My interview was pretty casual and unpolished.
- High school name might matter. Im not too sure but I think Ivey is taking less Toronto people. I heard that from my teacher. Idk. But my rural regular shmegular high school has had at least 5 people get in. And the people I know are not that "impressive". We are all just normal hard-working kids with part time jobs and some sort of leadership we stumbled into.
- I dont think they care about online courses or bird courses. Its a number calculated by Western, not Ivey. I dont think they care. Maybe they should, but Id be surprised.
- Awards. They help if you have them. Dont hurt you if you dont have any. Everyone who I know who has gotten accepted wrote nothing in that section.
- Dont waste your money on the application help services.
Side note: I applied to Rotman, Ivey, and Queens.
Ivey: insane process, essays take forever, interview was the longest and most challenging, by far the most comprehensive and detailed application of all the places I applied. I think Ivey gives the best chance to display the most about yourself
Rotman: Very fast, but decently comprehensive. Enough questions to get a decent snapshot of the applicant.
Queens: This one shocked me. I thought it was an absolute joke. It was like 1 or 2 questions and thats it. How can they possibly get a good reading of the candidate in 2 minutes. They are supposed to be one of the premier programs and yet their application process gives such a small opportunity to show what you've done or who you are.
For those wondering my stats:
98 avg
essays: DECA chapter founder and president, Camp Counsellor
No awards or achievements
Additional activites: various part time jobs and volunteer positions i held over the years