Applications and deadlines for univs in US,UK and Canada

[Black Bird Lockheed]

Hi there!

I would like to know the applications and deadlines for univs in US, UK and Canada. I will start my IB 2 in July and I will also have to give give my SAT exams. Problem is I have heard that we have to give 3 SAT exams ( which is one main SAT test and rest 2 SAT subject test). Problem is that I am focusing on business management and I can only see Science subjects in the SAT list. I had already gave AP exams for micro and macro. I would also like to know the requirements and deadlines for univs in UK and Canada .

Thank you!

Edited May 25, 2013 by akash jishnu

[-._._.-]

For UK universities, it's 15th of January through UCAS, unless you're applying to Oxford, Cambridge or medicine/dentistry. Then it will be in October. For US and Canada, I think each uni/college has its own deadline.

[Matsu]

From what I know, in general all the deadlines are around the same time. October-March seems to be the general deadline for most college applications. What seems to be problematic (at least for my friends) are the release dates for results, which might force you to confirm for a university before you've received your other results. In my friend's case, he had to confirm for USC rather than wait for his UBC results because they hadn't been released yet by the time the confirmation deadline was.

Also, the 3 SAT exams are just a rule of thumb. For the UCs, you don't really need the SAT 2s. Your personal statement and accomplishments are more important, though it doesn't hurt to submit those as well. For your two subject tests, Math 2 is a pretty solid subject test that lots of unis respect. Just pick 1 other subject you're fairly confident in and will help you get admitted for the major of your choice. Taking a third subject on test day won't hurt as well as you can just choose to send whichever tests you did best in later on.

[alefal]

From my experience, the application deadlines for most universities are between January and March, though the deadlines vary quite a lot from university to university, in particular in North America. In the UK, the deadline is 15 January, except if you want to get into Oxford, Cambridge or medical studies, as the deadline for those are in October. For the North American universities, you'll need to check the deadlines at each university. I know that Ontario (a state) in Canada has a similar system as UCAS, but I am not sure how this applies to the other states in that nation.

As for requirements: In the UK, there are no standardised requirements such as the SAT tests. However, the programme might require a certain subject or two (for instance, maths-heavy programmes often require maths HL), and you'll need to check these requirements at all the universities you are applying to. They might vary slightly from university to university, so you should make sure you have checked at all the universities. The same is valid in Canada, and, as far as I know, SAT tests are not required there either. However, programme-specific requirements may apply for certain programmes.

In the US, the SAT tests are required, sometimes also accompanied with a English proficiency test (though this varies from uni to uni, some universities do accept English at IB as a good enough qualification as long as you're awarded a certain grade).

Regarding your specific SAT test question, someone else has to cover that bit.

[Emmi]

Not all US universities require SAT II exams. There are two parts to the SAT, SAT I (which is the main one and is required anywhere) and SAT II, which are the subject tests. Some universities do require them, but most don't. The ones that don't will consider them if you do submit them. There are a lot of SAT II tests, and since you get to pick which ones you submit, you can pick the subjects that correspond best to what you're good at and for what you're applying for (i.e. engineering might submit math 2 and physics, pre-med biology and chemistry, international relations history and a language). The only difficulty is finding a place to take the SAT subject tests in, and if you talk to your school and explain that you need them I'm sure they'll arrange something for you. You'll want to have these done by October at the LATEST. If you feel the normal SAT is a bit too difficult or want to try something else, you can also take the ACT which is accepted almost everywhere.

And like stated several times before, deadlines vary from university to university. Some will have a deadline of mid December, others not until February. Pay attention to when these are. There are usually two deadlines, an Early Action/Early Decision deadline and a Normal Deadline. Early action/decision just means that you find out your decision sooner, although typically (especially with early decision) these are binding, meaning that if you are accepted through early decision, you must attend that university no matter what. You'll want to check to see if early action/decision for that particular school is binding, and if it is, decide if you are confident enough in your decision and have enough finances ready to commit to that school if you got in. Normal decision is just that, and is not binding, so even if you were to get in if you decided to go somewhere else it's ok. Financial aid deadlines are usually in mid March, but I'm not sure how much of that would apply to you as an international student. And typically acceptance decisions informing that particular university where you're planning to go are due in late April or early May. The exact date varies.

[by.andrew]

I know for most Canadian Universities, most domestic students will submit applications any time from December to March. In terms of deadlines, I would say your applications will differ by Universities, but you should be safe if you submit it before March.

I'm not sure how international students will be looked at, but like the US, there is something called Early Acceptances where you can get accepted based on your grade 11 and half of grade 12 grades. Basically you submit your report cards as soon as possible, and if you're lucky, you can get your acceptances from January to March. Regular acceptances usually get sent out during May.

[carpediem]

Just to reiterate US deadlines:

Early Action, Early Decision, Early Decision I*: ~early to mid November

Normal Admission, Early Decision II*, Early Evaluation**: ~early January

*There IS difference between ED I and ED II. Some universities offer this option, and the only difference between two is that one deadline is earlier than the other, and when you are told of your admission decision. (So if you suddenly like a uni and you feel you MUST attend and you experienced this epiphany on Christmas day, there is still time to apply ED II.) One such example of a uni doing this is Wesleyan. Note that ED is binding and if you are accepted you must go, as opposed to EA (but there is such thing as single EA where you can only apply EA to one school.)

**Some universities offer Early Evaluation. This is where you are evaluated as an applicant, e.g. likely, maybe, unlikely, but it's not an official admissions decision. (At least for Wellesley.) Universities tend to get back to you on EE/Early Eval earlier than the normal admission, and the deadline for EE can be earlier than normal admission.

As always, check with the specific university for more precise information. Deadlines vary.

As for SATs, SAT IIs are not required by all universities. If you want to take the SAT IIs, there's also an option to do languages (with or without listening - with listening is the highly preferred option, and only offered once a year in November), history (world or US) or literature. Unfortunately, there is no business or economics SAT II tests. (Link: http://sat.collegeboard.org/about-tests/sat-subject-tests) There is an alternative testing method, the ACT, which can replace SAT I AND SAT IIs. (Personally I found ACT better for me, so make sure you test both to see which one you can score best in. Link for helping choose between the two: http://www.ibsurvival.com/topic/22484-act-or-sat/)