When working with students and reviewing their transcripts, an incredible trend stands out – the vast number of courses that they take outside of their regular day school. Now, I have no statistics to support that this trend is on the rise, however, I do know that it is happening and at a high rate. Schools are concerned that their students are going elsewhere for certain courses but should this really be a concern for students or families? Or is it simply a hit to the ego of a student’s “home-school”? Do they really offer better educational programs? Do they really have more integrity? Should their courses be taken more seriously by admissions departments at universities?
Every year, the collection of Ontario universities hosts a conference called Regional Dialogues, where they provide updates on admissions and programs to the guidance counsellors that represent public, independent and private schools and the students within them. During the question and answer period, without doubt, many questions arise about how universities handle students who take courses outside of their day schools. The real question being asked is: “How are students who get 90s in credit mill type institutions where you pay for your grade assessed as part of the admission process?”. There are concerns of fairness and tainted statistics (e.g. a student gets 65% in grade 11 English class and then gets an 85% in their grade 12 course at one of the aforementioned institutions) and there are concerns of gaps in learning. Ultimately, here are the TOP 3 things you need to know about earning a credit outside of your day school.
1. The general university policy states that all grade 12 U or M courses are considered equivalent regardless of where they are taken so long as the school is approved by the Ministry of Education. Do a quick search and you can see that over 1000 private institutions exist in Ontario alone! Much to the chagrin of every school that believes their educational program is superior, for admission purposes in Ontario, it does not really matter where the students earn their credits (there are a few exceptions to this – e.g. U of Waterloo’s mathematics programs).
2. Repeating a course is the danger!! If a student retakes a course to improve their grade (no matter what school it is at), this can have a negative impact on their application. For the University of Waterloo’s Engineering programs, the policy states that “you may have 5 percentage marks (5%) deducted from your total overall admission average, and repeated courses may also impact your eligibility for scholarships.” At the University of Toronto, they do “not recommend that students repeat courses and reserves the right to give preference for admission and scholarship consideration to students whose marks are the result of a single attempt at each course.” Basically, do you research on your target university’s policy on repeated courses and if you are considering taking a course outside of your day school, do it there the first time!
3. Some students DO return from summer, night and online courses with gaps in their learning and really struggle with the next grade level. Some independent schools have gone so far as to forbid students from taking certain courses outside of their programs (usually English and Math - the two most common courses taken outside of day school). However, these schools generally ensure the quality of their education and provide a certain level of self-determination from their students – that is, they communicate that students all have the “potential” to earn a certain grade if they use the abundance of resources provided and put the work in. Most of these institutions pride themselves as being University Preparatory schools and stand by the value of their academic programming. As a contrast, most of the students I meet with from public schools share anecdotes about teachers telling them that “no one gets 90s” in their classes. While these statements are most likely taken out of context and are meant to convey the message that a 90% is a difficult grade to attain and cannot be had without a lot of effort, I can understand why they come to me with anxiety about remaining in their day school program. There is a high level of academic inflation and the grades needed to get into university programs is on the rise – these students want to at least have a chance of gaining admission to their first choice program.
Every time I think about this topic, I am reminded of a former student of mine who needed a 70% in the grade 12 English course to maintain his offer to his first-choice university program. This student had the potential to improve their reading comprehension and writing skills, however, put little effort into this development. His goal was to get IN to his university. My inclination is to always remind students and families that this is not the real goal and that they need to shift their mindset. Shouldn’t the end goal be to graduate university and not simply get in?
For all students who are considering taking a pre-requisite course online, through summer or night school, I encourage you to make sure that you are well-equipped to handle the subject at the university level and know the admission policies that surround these types of courses!
If you need help figuring out university policies, planning your course selection and completing your applications, contact Best Fit Educational Consulting at info@guidingyourfuture.com or follow us on Twitter @educationalfit.
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