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Canadian high school applicants (outside Quebec and Ontario)

Admission review process - McGill calculation of the "Top 5"

Select the location of your school:

School located IN Canada

Admission is based on McGill’s calculation of your ‘Top 5’ academic Grade 12 courses, including the prerequisites for the program to which you applied.

  • In the case of repeated courses the best result will be used in the 'Top 5' calculation, as required.
  • For programs where science and/or math are prerequisites, these must normally have been completed within the last five years.
  • If you are applying on the basis of a Grade 12 diploma issued by the Nunavut Department of Education, the language course, Inuktitut, and the social science course, Aulajaaqtut, are regarded as academic courses and may be included in the top-five course average.
  • Grade 12 English or French will be included in the ‘Top 5’ calculation, depending on the language of instruction at your school.
  • You must have obtained, prior to the start of classes, a high school diploma that gives you access to university education in your home province or territory.

If you are completing the IB Diploma or individual IB Diploma Courses, you will normally be considered for admission based on your ‘Top 5’ average and you will be required to self-report marks in percentage format. You may subsequently be granted advanced standing credits based on your final IB results.

If you are completing College Board Advanced Placement (AP) examinations you may be awarded advanced standing credits based on final results.

School located OUTSIDE Canada

Prerequisites and previous grade ranges (2021 – 2023)

As a guideline, we have listed the range of the lowest grades admitted over the last THREE years. These values are given as a reference and do not represent the grades required for future admission.

Grades that are equal to or better than those listed below do not guarantee admission.

Admission to McGill is subject to availability of space. As such, minimum grades may fluctuate in any given year.

Agricultural and Environmental Science


These programs are offered on the Macdonald campus.

PREREQUISITES
  • Grade 12 English or French, depending on the language of instruction at your school;
  • Grade 12 math (precalculus or calculus);
  • Two of Grade 12 Biology, Chemistry or Physics
Minimum grade ranges over the last three years

Programs

 TOP 5
3-year minimum grade range		 MATH & SCIENCE COURSES
3-year minimum grade range

All B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.) programs

 80% - 81% 80% - 81%

Bioresource Engineering (B.Eng.(Bioresource))

 80% - 81% 80% - 81%

Food Science (B.Sc.(F.Sc.))

 80% - 81% 80% - 81%

Concurrent B.Sc. (B.Sc.(F.Sc.)/B.Sc.(Nutr.Sc.))

 80% 80%

Architecture

PREREQUISITES
  • Grade 12 English or French, depending on the language of instruction at your school;
  • Grade 12 math (precalculus or calculus);
  • Grade 12 Physics
Minimum grade ranges over the last three years
TOP 5
3-year minimum grade range		 MATH & SCIENCE COURSES
3-year minimum grade range
94% - 97.2% 88% - 92%

Arts

PREREQUISITES
  • Grade 12 English or French, depending on the language of instruction at your school.
Minimum grade ranges over the last three years
TOP 5
3-year minimum grade range		 ENGLISH OR FRENCH COURSES
3-year minimum grade range
90% - 92.5% 87%

Bachelor of Arts and Science (B.A. & Sc.)

PREREQUISITES
  • Grade 12 English or French, depending on the language of instruction at your school;
  • Grade 12 math (precalculus or calculus);
  • Two of Grade 12 Biology, Chemistry or Physics


Note: The B.A. & Sc. is a unique degree that is jointly offered by the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science.  It is rooted in both Arts and Science and carries roughly equal course weight in each faculty. It is an interdisciplinary degree intended for students who want to pursue simultaneously a Major in the Faculty of Arts and one in the Faculty of Science or one of the interfaculty programs in Cognitive Science, Environment or Sustainability, Science and Society.
Minimum grade ranges over the last three years
TOP 5
3-year minimum grade range		 MATH & SCIENCE COURSES
3-year minimum grade range		 ENGLISH OR FRENCH COURSES
3-year minimum grade range
91.5% - 93.8% 90% 87%

Education

PREREQUISITES:
  • Grade 12 English or French, depending on the language of instruction at your school;
  • Applicants to the B.Ed. Secondary Mathematics: subjects must also complete Grade 12 math (pre-calculus or calculus).
  • Applicants to the B.Ed. Secondary Science & Technology: subjects must include Grade 12 math (pre-calculus or calculus) and two of Grade 12 biology, chemistry, or physics.
  • CASPer Test: Not required for 2024 (see Additional Supporting Documents).
  • TESL applicants must also pass a language test (see Additional Supporting Documents).
Minimum grade ranges over the last three years
Programs TOP 5
3-year minimum grade range		 ENGLISH OR FRENCH COURSES
3-year minimum grade range

Kindergarten/Elementary Education

 80% - 82% 80%

Physical Education

 80% - 82% 80%

Secondary Education

 80% - 82% 80%

TESL

 80% - 82% 80%

B.A. (Education) Global Contexts

 80% - 82% 80%

Engineering

PREREQUISITES
  • Grade 12 English or French, depending on the language of instruction at your school;
  • Grade 12 math (precalculus or calculus)
  • Grade 12 Physics
  • Grade 12 Chemistry
Minimum grade ranges over the last three years
Programs TOP 5
3-year minimum grade range		 MATH & SCIENCE COURSES
3-year minimum grade range

Bioengineering

 97% - 98% 91% - 93%

Chemical Engineering

 93.5% - 96.5% 90% - 95%

Civil Engineering

 92.5% - 94.5% 90%

Computer Engineering

 96.5% - 97% 90% - 95%

Electrical Engineering

 97% - 98% 90% - 95%

Materials Engineering

 87% - 90.5% 87% - 89%

Mechanical Engineering

 96% - 98% 92%

Mining Engineering

 87% - 90% 87% - 90%

Software Engineering

 97% - 98.3% 92%

Human Nutrition


This program is offered on the Macdonald campus.  

PREREQUISITES
  • Grade 12 English or French, depending on the language of instruction at your school;
  • Grade 12 math (precalculus or calculus)
  • Two of Grade 12 Biology, Chemistry or Physics
Minimum grade ranges over the last three years
Program TOP 5
3-year minimum grade range		 MATH & SCIENCE COURSES
3-year minimum grade range

Nutrition

 80% - 83% 80%

Kinesiology

PREREQUISITES
  • Grade 12 English or French, depending on the language of instruction at your school;
  • Grade 12 math (precalculus or calculus)
  • Two of Grade 12 Biology, Chemistry or Physics
Minimum grade ranges over the last three years
TOP 5
3-year minimum grade range		 MATH & SCIENCE COURSES
3-year minimum grade range
87% - 88.5% 85% - 87%

Management

PREREQUISITES
  • Grade 12 English or French, depending on the language of instruction at your school;
  • Grade 12 math (precalculus or calculus)
Minimum grade ranges over the last three years
TOP 5
3-year minimum grade range		 MATH COURSE
3-year minimum grade range		 ENGLISH OR FRENCH COURSES
3-year minimum grade range
95.5% - 96.2% 90% 87%

Music

For information on admission requirements, see the Schulich School of Music website.

Nursing

PREREQUISITES
  • Grade 12 English or French, depending on the language of instruction at your school;
  • Grade 12 math (precalculus or calculus)
  • Two of Grade 12 Biology, Chemistry, or Physics
  • Proof of French proficiency
Minimum grade ranges over the last three years
TOP 5
3-year minimum grade range		 MATH & SCIENCE COURSES
3-year minimum grade range
80%  80%

Religious Studies

Bachelor of Theology (B.Th)

For information on admission requirements and applying, see Theology. 

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

See: Arts

Science

PREREQUISITES
  • Grade 12 English or French, depending on the language of instruction at your school;
  • Grade 12 math (precalculus or calculus)
  • Two of Grade 12 Biology, Chemistry or Physics
Minimum grade ranges over the last three years
Programs TOP 5
3-year minimum grade range		 MATH & SCIENCE COURSES
3-year minimum grade range

Biological, Biomedical and Life Sciences Group

 95.5% - 96.5% 90%

Bio-Physical-Computational Sciences Group

 97.4% - 98% 90% - 92%

Physical, Earth, Math and Computer Sciences Group

 93.5% - 95% 90%

 

​What is considered an “academic" course?

Academic (considered for inclusion in the Top 5 average)

  • All Advanced Placement (AP) courses
  • All International Baccalaureate (IB) courses
  • Most first language English and French courses
  • All foreign language courses
  • Most mathematics courses
  • Most locally developed social science/social studies courses
Note: Only one Fine Arts course can be included in the Top 5 average, excluding AP and IB courses. Fine Arts courses include: Drama, Music, and Visual Arts.

Non-academic (excluded from the Top 5 average)

  • All computer courses (except AP and IB Computer Science courses)
  • All English as a Second Language (ESL) courses
  • Most technical, professional, and applied courses
  • All career courses
  • All physical education and health courses
  • All work experience and co-op courses


Specific courses used by McGill in the calculation of the Top 5 average:

Note: This list is not comprehensive as it does not include most locally developed courses. Where applicable, “Challenge” exams for academic and foreign language courses are recognized and can be included in the Top 5 average. 
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