The administrative team of my school constantly brags about how the school is one of the highest-ranked schools in the school board. However, these rankings are merely based on the scores on standardized tests, and in actuality have little to do with how "good" the school is.
No Physics Textbooks
Due to a lack of funding, there is not enough grade 12 physics textbooks for all the students. So to be fair to everyone, no one got a text book. We actually have to go online and download illegal copies of the textbook, or else we would be unable to do our homework!
This is ridiculous, given that textbooks are one of the most basic things that a school should provide. And this is grade twelve, the most important year of high school! I don't think I need to say more to illustrate how outrageous this problem is and how shameful the school should feel.
OUAC Reference Numbers
The OUAC system is essentially a system that allows Ontario students to apply for universities online. Students choose their programs using the system, and their marks are automatically submitted from the system to the various universities that they apply to.
Each student has a unique OUAC reference number, and this number is obviously required for students to log into their accounts and apply.
Normally, schools give out the reference numbers to students in November, and many schools even give out the numbers during late October. However, my school is giving them out on December 5th!!
This is actually a serious issue, because many universities state that the earlier you apply, the better your chances. If our school gives out the reference numbers so late, isn't it putting students' future at risk by lowering their chances of getting admitted to their programs of choice?
Calculus
My calculus class has 32 students, which may not seem too bad. But the classroom is extremely small, and there aren't even enough desks for everyone. I think the problem is self-explanatory.
Course Selections
I don't know whether it's because our student population isn't big enough, or because the course selection software sucks, but our school is definitely bad at granting students the courses that they have chosen.
At the end grade 11, I chose a finance course because all the people who have taken it said that it was the easiest courses that one could possibly expect. Given the competitiveness of the programs that I am applying to, I really wanted to take that course and increase my average.
However, I was unable to take that course, because it collided with my AP calculus course, both of which have only one available class.
Many of my classmates are even more unfortunate than I am. Some of them couldn't take enriched physics, and others couldn't take enriched English. Really, what's the point of having an enrichment program if students end up not being able to take enriched courses?
Guidance Counselors
To put it bluntly, our guidance counselors are not very helpful.
Last year, I wanted to take an online accounting course. One of them didn't know about such a thing, and the other simply refused to let me take that course, because apparently you could only take an online course if your school didn't offer it.
If this is the case, how would you explain the availability of civics and careers courses? I seriously doubt that any school would not be offering these courses, which are mandatory for every students to take!
Also, whenever I asked a question about university application, my guidance counselor told me to "check online...."
Finally finished my rant...
