U.S. high school applicants
Admission review process
Select the location of your school:
High schools located IN the U.S.A.
You must have obtained, prior to the start of classes, a U.S. high school diploma from an accredited* academic program leading to university entrance.
* accredited through a U.S. regional accreditation agency, f.ex. WASC, NEASC, Cognia, etc.
Grades 10, 11 and 12 academic results will be considered, including prerequisites for the program to which you applied. All results are taken into consideration, including those for failed or repeated courses.
You must have taken either of the following tests (optional for Fall 2022 and Fall 2023) (unless applying to Music):
- the ACT, or
- the SAT
As Subject Tests have been discontinued, they are no longer required beginning with Fall 2022 admission.
Fall 2022 and Fall 2023 applicants: The ACT/SAT test optional policy has been extended to students applying to undergraduate studies for Fall 2023, for the programs noted below. To exclude the ACT/SAT requirement from your admission review, see below.
*Applicable for: Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Arts, BA&Sc, Education (including Kinesiology), Engineering (including Architecture), Management, Nursing, and Science.
If you are completing the IB Diploma or certificates concurrently with a US diploma you will normally be considered for admission based on your US high school record and may be granted advanced standing credits based on final IB results.
If you are completing College Board Advanced Placement (AP) examinations or university courses you may be granted advanced standing credits based on final results.
High schools located OUTSIDE the U.S.A.
If completing an accredited US high school program outside the U.S.A.:
- You must indicate on the application that you are “pursuing these studies at High school outside Canada/US”.
- The deadlines for ‘High school outside Canada and the U.S.’ will apply.
- You will NOT self-report your grades; transcripts must be uploaded via Minerva.
You must have obtained, prior to the start of classes, a U.S. high school diploma from an accredited* academic program leading to university entrance.
* accredited through a U.S. regional accreditation agency, f.ex. WASC, NEASC, Cognia, etc.
Grades 10, 11 and 12 academic results will be considered, including prerequisites for the program to which you applied. All results are taken into consideration in determining admission, including those for failed or repeated courses.
You must have taken either of the following tests (optional for Fall 2022 and Fall 2023) (unless applying to Music):
- the ACT, or
- the SAT
As Subject Tests have been discontinued, they are no longer required beginning with Fall 2022 admission.
Fall 2022 and Fall 2023 applicants: The ACT/SAT test optional policy has been extended to students applying to undergraduate studies for Fall 2023, for the programs noted below. To exclude the ACT/SAT requirement from your admission review, see below.
*Applicable for: Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Arts, BA&Sc, Education (including Kinesiology), Engineering (including Architecture), Management, Nursing, and Science.
If you are completing the IB Diploma concurrently with a US diploma you will be considered for admission based on IB requirements, including your Predicted IB subject results and school transcript. Consult the IB Diploma information found in High schools outside Canada/US.
If you are completing College Board Advanced Placement (AP) examinations or university courses you may be granted advanced standing credits based on final results.
Prerequisites and last year's cut-offs
Below are the lowest grades used for admission for September 2021.
Grades that are equal to or better than those listed below do not guarantee admission in 2022.
Admission to McGill is competitive and subject to availability of space. As such, minimum grades for entry may fluctuate up or down in any given year.
Agricultural & Environmental Sciences
These programs are offered on the Macdonald campus.
| PREREQUISITES | |
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| LAST YEAR’S CUT-OFFS (2021) | |
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All B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.) programs |
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Bioresource Engineering (B.Eng.(Bioresource)) |
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Food Science (B.Sc.(F.Sc.)) |
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Concurrent B.Sc. (B.Sc.(F.Sc.)/B.Sc.(Nutr.Sc.)) |
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Architecture
| PREREQUISITES | |
|---|---|
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| LAST YEAR’S CUT-OFFS (2021) | |
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Arts
| PREREQUISITES | |
|---|---|
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| LAST YEAR’S CUT-OFFS (2021) | |
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Bachelor of Arts and Science (B.A. & Sc.)
| PREREQUISITES | |
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| LAST YEAR’S CUT-OFFS (2021) | |
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Education
| PREREQUISITES | |
|---|---|
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| LAST YEAR’S CUT-OFFS (2021) | |
|---|---|
| Kindergarten/Elementary Education |
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| Physical Education | |
| Secondary Education | |
| TESL | |
Engineering
| PREREQUISITES | |
|---|---|
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| LAST YEAR’S CUT-OFFS (2021) | |
|---|---|
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Bioengineering |
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Chemical Engineering |
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Civil Engineering |
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Computer Engineering |
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Electrical Engineering |
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Mechanical Engineering |
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Software Engineering |
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Materials Engineering |
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Mining Engineering |
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Human Nutrition
This program is offered on the Macdonald campus.
| PREREQUISITES | |
|---|---|
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| LAST YEAR’S CUT-OFFS (2021) | |
|---|---|
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Kinesiology
| PREREQUISITES | |
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| LAST YEAR’S CUT-OFFS (2021) | |
|---|---|
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Management
| PREREQUISITES | |
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| LAST YEAR’S CUT-OFFS (2021) | |
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Music
For information on admission requirements, see the Schulich School of Music website.
Nursing
| PREREQUISITES | |
|---|---|
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| LAST YEAR’S CUT-OFFS (2021) | |
|---|---|
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Religious Studies
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Bachelor of Theology (B.Th) |
For information on admission requirements and applying, see Theology. |
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Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) |
See: Arts |
Science
| PREREQUISITES | |
|---|---|
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| LAST YEAR’S CUT-OFFS (2021) | |
|---|---|
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Biological, Biomedical and Life Sciences Group |
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Physical, Earth, Math and Computer Sciences Group |
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| Bio-Physical-Computational Sciences Group |
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Applying as ACT or SAT 'Test Optional' *
In response to the continued interruption of testing services brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, test optional assessment for ACT/SAT will be available to students applying for Fall 2022 and Fall 2023 admission to most undergraduate programs*. Applicants who choose ACT/SAT ‘test optional’ will not be disadvantaged in the admission review process.
If you wish to exclude the requirement for ACT/SAT test scores from your application review, you will indicate this when you are filling out your McGill application. This will apply to all the programs to which you apply for Fall 2022 (or Fall 2023) and is final once you submit your application.
If you choose to not exclude your ACT/SAT scores, then test scores (the ACT or the SAT) will be considered in the review of your application.
* Applicable for: Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Arts, BA&Sc, Education (including Kinesiology), Engineering (including Architecture), Management, Nursing, and Science.
Minimum ACT and SAT score requirements
Applicants must present the ACT or the SAT
Fall 2022 and Fall 2023 applicants: The ACT/SAT test optional policy has been extended to students applying with a U.S. high school diploma to undergraduate studies for Fall 2023, for the programs noted above.
McGill requires those applying on the basis of a US high school diploma to provide ACT or SAT results by the published deadline. Minimum values for admission are set annually for the ACT composite and section sub scores for each program as well as for the SAT tests.
Applicants taking the ACT test provide McGill with the ACT composite score and four section sub scores: English, Math, Reading and Science Reasoning. Some applicants retake the ACT test and submit multiple composite scores and sub scores to McGill. In such cases, to be considered for admission, the applicant must achieve the composite score determined by McGill in at least one of the test sittings.
Applicants taking the SAT test provide McGill with SAT Evidence Based Reading & Writing, and SAT Math scores at the threshold set for the particular test and program for that year. Applicants can take tests and submit scores multiple times. McGill will consider the highest scores in each SAT test in its admission decision.
We cannot precisely predict minimum scores in advance.
SAT |
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| Evidence-Based Reading and Writing | 670 | |
| Math (for Engineering and Architecture) |
580 (620) |
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ACT |
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| Composite | 26 | |
| Individual subject scores | 24 | |