TOPS PROGRAMDAVID LU, RICHARD DU, FRIEDA RONG

DAVID LU

• WEB DESIGN AND PROGRAMMING TEACHER AT OLYMPIADS

• ENJOYS PROGRAMMING, GAMING, WEB DEVELOPMENT

• IN CHARGE OF WWW.TOPSPROGRAM.CA

• PLANS: SOFTWARE ENGINEERING @ UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

RICHARD DU

• MATH TEACHER AT OLYMPIADS

• ENJOYS MATH, RUNNING, MUSIC

• PLANS: MATH & CS @ UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

FRIEDA RONG

• ENJOYS SCIENCE, MATH, RUNNING

• PLANS: HONOURS MATH @ UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

ABOUT TOPS

• MATH, SCIENCE AND ENGLISH ENRICHMENT PROGRAM

• MARC GARNEAU COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE

• 60 STUDENTS PER YEAR

• HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL IN SCHOLARSHIP AND UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS

APPLICATIONSSTUDENT PROFILE

EXAM

STUDENT PROFILE

• WEIGHTED 50%

• ACTIVITIES WITHIN SCHOOL AND OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL

• MAJOR CERTIFICATES AND AWARDS

• “WHY DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE TOPS PROGRAM” – ESSAY

• FOUND AT WWW.TOPSPROGRAM.CA/APPLY-2014

ACTIVITIES LIST

• RECENT ACTIVITIES

• NOT MORE THAN 3-4 YEARS IN THE PAST

• PLACE “STRONGER” ACTIVITIES FIRST

• SHOW BREADTH, NOT DEPTH

EXAMPLES• CLASSES AT OLYMPIADS

• MATH

• PROGRAMMING

• CLUBS

• CHESS

• ROBOTICS

• MUSIC/SPORTS

• SOCCER

• PIANO

• ORGANIZATIONS

• SCOUTS

• CADETS

• SPECIAL INTERESTS

• SCIENCE FAIR

MAJOR CERTIFICATES AND AWARDS• MATH CONTESTS

• GAUSS

• PASCAL

• CIMC

• AMC8

• MUSIC

• ARCT

• PROGRAMMING

• CANADIAN COMPUTING COMPETITION

• ARTS

• COMPETITIONS

• ESSAY COMPETITIONS

ESSAY• “TELL US MORE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR INTERESTS. WHY DO YOU WANT

TO JOIN THE TOPS PROGRAM?”

• BE CREATIVE AND INTERESTING

• NO FORMULAIC ESSAY WRITING

• BE A LITTLE HUMBLE (TEACHERS LIKE FLATTERY!)

• WORD PROCESS

• NO GRAMMAR/STYLISTIC/SPELLING MISTAKES

SAMPLE STRUCTURE

• I LEARNED HOW TO BE A LEADER IN ACTIVITY X

• I DISCOVERED MY INTEREST IN MATHEMATICS/SCIENCE/ANYTHING IN ACTIVITY Y

• ANECDOTE ABOUT SOMETHING THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE

• “I WANT TO JOIN THE TOPS PROGRAM BECAUSE…”

EXTRAS• EXTRA MATERIAL CAN BE ATTACHED TO STUDENT PROFILES

• TO SHOWCASE SPECIAL INTERESTS

• SAMPLES OF WORK

• PROGRAMMING

• WEB DESIGN

• ART

• WRITTEN WORK (NO ESSAYS)

• NON-TEACHER REFERENCE LETTERS

• SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS

REPORT CARD

• HIGH MARKS NOT NECESSARY

• MIDDLE SCHOOL MARKS ARE ARBITRARY

• LOW 80S GRADE 7 AVERAGE RECOMMENDED

• LEARNING SKILL EVALUATIONS PLAY A PART

SELECTION COMMITTEE

• PRIMARY DECISION MAKERS

• MR. MCMASTER – CURRICULUM LEADER/MATH TEACHER

• MR. VAN BEMMEL – PHYSICS TEACHER

• MS. SPEIRS – ENGLISH TEACHER

• OTHER TEACHERS MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS

EXAM

• 3 PARTS

• MATH

• SCIENCE

• ENGLISH

• 40 MINUTES EACH

• DESIGNED TO BE CHALLENGING

REGISTRATIONWWW.TOPSPROGRAM.CA/APPLY-2014

MATH• DESIGNED TO BE HIGHLY

CHALLENGING

• MULTIPLE CHOICE “SCANTRON”

• NO CALCULATORS

• PENALIZES GUESSING

• UNREALISTIC TO PREPARE FOR

• CALCULUS

• VECTOR GEOMETRY

• EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRY

• TRIGONOMETRY

• FUNCTIONS

• COMBINATORICS

SCIENCE• HUGE BREADTH OF TOPICS

• MULTIPLE CHOICE “SCANTRON”

• PENALIZES GUESSING

• CAN BE PREPARED FOR

• ASTRONOMY

• MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

• MACROSCOPIC BIOLOGY

• ELEMENTAL CHEMISTRY

• ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

• NEWTONIAN PHYSICS

• ASTROPHYSICS

• GEOGRAPHY

RECOMMENDED PREPARATION• NO GUARANTEES

• IMPROVES BREADTH OF KNOWLEDGE

• WWW.SCIENCEDAILY.COM

• WWW.REDDIT.COM/R/SCIENCE

• WWW.REDDIT.COM/R/ASKSCIENCE

• WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

• WWW.GIZMODO.COM

• GRADE 9/10 SCIENCE TEXTBOOK

ENGLISH• RESPONSE WRITING

• TOPICS UNPREDICTABLE

• TOPIC FORMATS CAN VARY

• BE CREATIVE

• NO FORMULAIC WRITING

• NO “FILLER”

• ANECDOTAL LENGTH: 300-500 WORDS

GENERAL TIPS• DO NOT RUSH

• STANDARD MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST PRACTICES APPLY

• SKIM THE EXAM BEFORE YOU START

• BE NICE TO YOUR PROCTORS

• NO ONE GETS PERFECT

• WRITE NEATLY (ENGLISH)

PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS• COME PREPARED WITH MATERIALS

• PEN(S)

• PENCIL(S)

• ERASER(S)

• NON-GRAPHING CALCULATOR(S)

• WORD PROCESS ENTIRE STUDENT PROFILE

• BRING REFRESHMENTS

• WATER

• SNACK(S)

• GET A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP

• EAT A NUTRITIOUS BREAKFAST

• COFFEE (IF YOU DRINK IT)

• ARRIVE EARLY

LIFE IN TOPSCOURSEWORK

EXTRACURRICULARS

SOCIAL LIFE

COURSES

• TOPS STUDENTS ARE CORED FOR MOST CLASSES

• ~20 TOPS COURSES REQUIRED TO GRADUATE

• ALL TOPS COURSES ARE ENRICHED

• TOPS STUDENTS HAVE AN ADVANTAGE IN UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS AND IN UNIVERSITY

MATH

• STUDENTS LEARN MATH FAR BEYOND THEIR GRADE LEVEL

• COVERS THREE YEARS OF MATH IN TWO

• CALCULUS IN GRADE 11, LINEAR ALGEBRA IN GRADE 12

• EMPHASIS ON PROBLEM SOLVING

• STRONG FOUNDATIONS FOR UNIVERSITY

SCIENCE

• ENRICHED WITH EXTRA OPPORTUNITIES, NON-CURRICULUM TOPICS

• SPACE SCIENCE, QUANTUM MECHANICS

• LAB ACTIVITIES

• FIELD TRIPS

• INVESTIGATIONS

ALGONQUIN

• 4 DAYS. NO SHOWERS. SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION

• OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT REAL RESEARCH, DATA COLLECTION IS LIKE

• BONDING EXPERIENCE

• SCENIC VIEWS, OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY NATURE

AP PHYSICS

AP PHYSICS• HIGHLY ACCELERATED BEYOND AP PHYSICS LEVEL

• “VAN-BEMMELIZED”

• EMPHASIS ON CALCULUS KNOWLEDGE

• VERY INTRIGUING LABS

• INTENTIONALLY MADE TO CHALLENGE YOU, “UNFAIR COURSE”

• EXCELLENT PREPARATION FOR UNI

ENGLISH

• EMPHASIS ON CRITICAL THINKING AND RESPONDING

• BUILDS STRONG WRITERS AND WELL-READ STUDENTS

• PREPARES YOU FOR SATS, OTHER STANDARDIZED TESTS

STRATFORD

STRATFORD – LATE OCTOBER

• CULTURAL ENRICHMENT

• DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF WORKS

• BONDING EXPERIENCE, DE-STRESSING

• SLEEP IS OPTIONAL

COMPETITIONS

MATH/PROGRAMMING CONTESTS• MULTIPLE MATH CONTESTS PART OF CURRICULUM

• PASCAL/CAYLEY/FERMAT

• FRYER/GALOIS/HYPATIA

• OTHER CONTESTS HELD THROUGH MATH/COMPUTER SCIENCE/PHYSICS CLUBS

• EUCLID

• CS/IMC

• COMC

• CTMC

• CCC

• ECOO

MATH/PROGRAMMING CONTESTS• EXCEPTIONAL PERFOMANCES

•6 CANADIAN MATHEMATICAL OLYMPIAD QUALIFIERS

•19 AIME QUALIFIERS

SOCIAL LIFE

• VIBRANT SOCIAL NETWORKING

• VALUABLE CONNECTIONS ARE MADE

• TOPS BONDS STUDENTS TOGETHER

• ALWAYS A BIG FAMILY

UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS

• INCREDIBLE SUCCESS

• PREPARATIONS IN TOPS

• EXCELLENT STUDENTS

• MOTIVATED TO GO WHEREVER YOU WANT

• US AND CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES

AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES

• NATURAL SAT PREP THROUGH TOPS COURSES

• EXCELLENT PEER NETWORK, ADVICE FROM SENIORS

• ESSAY WRITING FEEDBACK FROM TEACHERS

SCHOLARSHIPS

• THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP

• LORAN SCHOLARSHIP

• SCHULICH LEADER STEM SCHOLARSHIP

• TD COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIP

• MOREHEAD CAIN SCHOLARSHIP$1.3 million

BENEFITS OF TOPS

OPPORTUNITY

PROGRAMS

• SUNNYBROOK SUMMER RESEARCH

• HAMILTON HEALTH SCIENCES

• SHAD VALLEY

• 40+ ALUMNI IN THE LAST 3 YEARS

• DEEP RIVER SCIENCE ACADEMY

CLUBS+ORGANIZATIONS

• THE RECKONER

• DECA

• MARC GARNEAU MOONBUGGY TEAM

• GTA-WIDE EVENTS

• AND MORE...

TEACHERS

• PASSIONATE ABOUT TEACHING

• ENRICHED COURSES

• ORGANIZE FUN TOPS EVENTS

• MCMASTER HEALTH SCIENCES – 8

• QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY COMMERCE – 3

• NANOTECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING – 3

• MECHATRONICS – 7

• SOFTWARE ENG – 6

• WESTERN IVEY BUSINESS SCHOOL – 6

• U OF T ENGSCI – 9

• SCHULICH

• MCGILL LIFESCI – 2

• BERKELEY – 5

• UPENN – 2 (WHARTON)

• YALE

• CHICAGO

• CAMBRIDGE

• DARTMOUTH

• STANFORD

• HARVARD – 2

• CORNELL

• UNC – MOREHEAD CAIN SCHOLARSHIP

UNIVERSITIES

FAMILY

• TOPS IS A FAMILY

• SUPPORTIVE

• CONNECTED

• UNLIKE ANY OTHER PROGRAM

IN CONCLUSION:

• EXEMPLARY STUDENTS

• ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER

• EXEMPLARY TEACHERS

• CHALLENGING COURSES

• FUN

CONTACT US

• CO@TOPSPROGRAM.CA – GENERAL APPLICATION QUESTIONS

• BUSINESS@DAVID-LU.COM – DAVID LU

• RICHARDDU1226@GMAIL.COM – RICHARD DU

• ADEIRFF@GMAIL.COM – FRIEDA RONG

QUESTIONS?