>>Top Six
What does the phrase “Top Six” mean for Ontario university admissions?
“Top Six” refers to the six senior (12U) high school courses that are averaged (with equal weighting) to determine your “university admission average” (like a GPA) by Ontario universities.
Which courses/grades are included in the Top Six?
Your Top Six average is calculated based on a combination of required and elective courses and your individual admission average varies from school to school, and even from program to program! All university programs require a total of six 12U courses, but they generally don’t dictate exactly which six courses you must have. Typically, an arts program will have only 1 or 2 specific requirements, and the remaining courses can be any 12U courses, as long as there are six in total. Science programs, however, may specifically list four, five or even all six requirements, thereby limiting your ability to “fill up” your six credits with electives.
All the required 12U courses for your program will be automatically included in the Top Six. If your program requires 12U English, for example, then your English grade will be used in your university admissions average. After all the program’s required courses have been included, then the university will take your highest remaining elective grades until the six courses have been filled. So, when it comes to required courses, you have no choice but to use those grades. As for electives, they will give you the benefit of the doubt and use the highest grades available to fill out your Top Six. Of course, if you only take six credits, all six will be used. It is only in the event that you take more than six credits that you have the pick of your highest elective marks.
An example “Top Six” Calculation
Assume a student earns the following marks in the following 12U courses:
English 82% Calculus 79% History 93% Art 87% French 88% Data Management 81% Chemistry 92% Biology 62%
Here’s how his Top Six average would be calculated for different universities/programs:
Life Sciences (Required courses: English, 2 sciences, 1 math)
Top Six average is 83% based on:
English (required)
Chemistry (required as 1 of 2 sciences)
Biology (required as 2 of 2 sciences)
Data Management (required as 1 math — this is the higher mark so this one will be used as the requirement)
History (highest remaining mark after requirements are included)
French (next highest remaining mark after requirements are included)
Business (Required courses: English, Calculus, Data Management, 1 social science)
Top Six average is 85.8% based on:
English (required)
Calculus (required)
Data Management (required)
History (required as a social science)
Chemistry (highest remaining mark after requirements are included)
French (next highest remaining mark after requirements are included)
English (Required courses: English)
Top Six average is 87.1% based on:
English (required)
History (highest remaining mark after requirements are included)
Chemistry (next highest remaining mark after requirements are included)
French (next highest remaining mark after requirements are included)
Art (next highest remaining mark after requirements are included)
Data Management (next highest remaining mark after requirements are included)
So you can see, the courses included in your Top Six will vary from program to program. Therefore, knowing which programs you’re applying to and ensuring the highest mark in those courses is the best way to the highest average.
