Bois de Boulogne or Dawson

[L0LLYP0P]

Hey y’all!

 

I’m hesitating between Dawson and Bois de Boulogne and I need u guys to guide me to make the best choice. 

So I’m Francophone, im not the best in English, I’m like basic. I do wanna go to Dawson because I heard a lot of good things about it and my friends that went into French colleges told me to go to Dawson, but I’m scared to find the English level too high for me and duck up my R score •_•.

 

Bois de Boulogne is good. A lot of students get accepted into med school. But I just don’t feel the vibe there. I heard that french teachers usually want their students to fail and they r more old school. 

 

 

so yeah, tell me what u think about these two Cwegeps plz . 

 

 

**Neither Dawson nor Bdeb are near my house. 

thank youu 

[capoo]

As someone who did his high school in French and who then went to Dawson just to improve his English (and had absolutely no plans of getting a high R score whatsoever, let alone going to med school at first), I survived the transition and honestly found it to not be that bad, it went MUCH better than how I thought it’d be! You just need to 1 - be strategic with picking your teachers, and 2 - try your best, and then sooner or later you’ll find yourself doing fine (even if it doesn’t seem so at first)!

if you want some tips my DM’s quite open, or you can ask me some questions here so that other people who happen to have the same questions as you can also see my answers

[L0LLYP0P]

Oh okie thank you, that’s very nice of u

Umm.. 

as a Francophone in an English College where almost everyone is anglophone, I am going to need sometime to adjust myself and be like en retard par rapport aux autres, will this be a disadvantage for my first session?

Also, do u think I should do English courses to be prepared? And are the philosophy courses obliged in Science Health program?

Also if u have time and want to do it, can u share with us ur experience like what was hard for u, what did u do to improve as a french student and what courses need more work? And ik that some physic signs are different in English, is it easy to adjust urself to all these changes?

Thank u very much for ur time ☺️

[Pharmavet2020]

Hi! I'm a francophone who graduated from Dawson last year. Sorry in advance for the long text

I wouldn't worry about adjusting to an english environment, a large population of students at Dawson are actually francophones or international students and teachers are aware of the fact that some students may struggle to adjust to english. I found that most teachers were super kind and patient with french students and took time to explain things in french when necessary! 

The first english course is meant to be an introductory course to college level english, so you will be placed in a class based on your level of english proficiency in the first semester in order to adjust to the required level of english proficiency. You're not obligated to take "philosophy" classes like the one you would encounter in french cegeps, instead you take "humanities" courses which are very broad and easy, they can cover any aspect of social life (I took classes on racism, law and childhood education) but typical philosophy courses can be taken as complementary courses. 

I'd recommend preparing for general chemistry as the nomenclature of compounds is very different and my teacher didn't spend any time explaining the differences between french and english nomenclature. I don't remember struggling to adapt for physics and math as most of what you see is new material and the majority of signs are similar. 

Overall, don't worry too much about adjusting to english, it only takes a few weeks and there is so much support and help for students transitioning to english learning that you'll get used to it quite quickly! Going to Dawson was one of the greatest decision I've taken and I really would recommend it  

[L0LLYP0P]

Omg thank u for ur message, u really reassured me, I’m really more confident now.

 

 

Thank u guys! I hope u achieve your dreams and have a gooooood liiife
 

 

[capoo]

5 hours ago, L0LLYP0P said:

as a Francophone in an English College where almost everyone is anglophone, I am going to need sometime to adjust myself and be like en retard par rapport aux autres, will this be a disadvantage for my first session?

Nope! You’re gonna do an English placement test, and they’ll put you in the level they deem appropriate for you for your first English class. Your English teacher in said level will do their best to get your English level up to par for the following English classes, and trust me they’re really, and I mean REALLY, supportive and are there to make sure that you succeed. Also, many people are actually Francophone/Allophone, and teachers know about this so they are SUPER accommodating so don’t worry about that!

5 hours ago, L0LLYP0P said:

Also, do u think I should do English courses to be prepared? And are the philosophy courses obliged in Science Health program?

It might help but by no means it is a must, you can thrive even without any preparatory English classes (I personally did not do anything before starting cegep, and everything went well). Like I said your English teacher is basically there to help you adjust to an English learning environment, so just make an effort to learn and they’ll be able to help you with basically any difficulty you might have. 

For the philosophy courses, yes, but not really (because just as mentioned earlier you actually have “humanities” classes, and depending on your teacher it’s either a really fun class or it’s just philosophy under a different name), but your last humanities class (out of 3 classes) will actually be ethics so whether you want it or not it’s basically philosophy. But again, if you’re with a good teacher, it’s a very fun class, and it would certainly be useful for your CASPer (and MMI to a lesser degree), don’t forget!

As for my personal experience, English and humanities were definitely tough because my English level was not there yet, but both of my teachers were sweethearts and always offered me help whenever they feel like I’m having difficulty! General chemistry was definitely tough for me because all of the terminology/nomenclature changes (but my teacher was horrendous and almost 1/3 of the class were failing so it’s more about my teacher than me failing to adapt, my Francophone friends in other chemistry classes did okay-ish), and other classes went average (so not too bad, but not stellar neither). That said, I continued to worked hard during my other semesters, and with hard work + strategy + a bit of luck, everything turned out pretty well!

[L0LLYP0P]

I thank you again very much. Your answers are very useful  and helpful. 
 

But I just got a last question (after that imma stop bothering y’all •_•) 

Is it hard to get into Dawson? Do I need to get 90s and above to get into this college or just basic grades will allow me too to get into Dawson? 
 

 

[hamsterman11]

34 minutes ago, L0LLYP0P said:

I thank you again very much. Your answers are very useful  and helpful. 
 

But I just got a last question (after that imma stop bothering y’all •_•) 

Is it hard to get into Dawson? Do I need to get 90s and above to get into this college or just basic grades will allow me too to get into Dawson? 
 

 

Dawson kind of requires you to have a high average. When my friend applied two years ago, he got refused with an 86 average (90s+ in science though). If you have around 88-90 average for sciences I think that you're chill. BdeB is different, I got in with an 87 average when I applied and decided to do my first session there. 

I can tell you more about my experience there. Firstly, its so fucking far. If you live 1h+ away, I would highly advise against going to BdeB unless you take the train. The library closes super early, the buses come every 30min past 6pm so imagine at 6pm during a winterstorm, you finish class and leave to wait in a line full of students who finished at the same time only to have to wait for another bus because the buses are obviously full at 6pm.. like always. One thing I liked about bdeb are the teachers. They're really good, especially science teachers but you can always fall on one bad apple that makes you regret taking his/her class. I disliked the toxic attitude that people at bdeb had, if you didn't have a group of friends from high school and you lived far away, it was hard to make friends that would be willing to help you. Most kids there come from international de laval so they know one another and there's always those bright kids. I remember when I found out a dude in my class had a 98 average by the end of the session and 100 in french and I was there doing 2h+ of transport every day and sleep deprived trying my best for every class. It was tough. 

Feels like I'm rambling on.. To be frank, the school and teachers are chill, the vibe is friendly but very competitive. They have a great tutoring system to help you out. 

BTW! A lot of people at bdeb have looked into/taken the ''Black book'' classes from coter expert over the summer before they began school so ils avaient une longueur d'avance sur les autres.. consider checking it out!

Choose the school that's closest to you tbh, both schools are good and dawson has direct access to the metro + its in english so 100x more ressources online if you don't understand. Transport really is key when you're trying to maximise your study time and getting home at 8pm after having to wake up at 5:50 to get to school isn't too optimal to get work done.

Hope it helped

[capoo]

1 hour ago, L0LLYP0P said:

I thank you again very much. Your answers are very useful  and helpful. 
 

But I just got a last question (after that imma stop bothering y’all •_•) 

Is it hard to get into Dawson? Do I need to get 90s and above to get into this college or just basic grades will allow me too to get into Dawson? 
 

 

By memory you need a 88 to get into Health, but the trick is you can go to Pure & Applied (which requires a slightly lower average) and ask for a transfer after your first semester (the first semester is almost the same in both programs, the only difference being in Health you take French in your 1st semester and in Pure you take it in your 2nd). My friend got refused to Health at first but got accepted to Pure and Applied, so he did his first semester and asked for a program transfer after that and it worked (basically everyone who asked for a transfer got their transfer approved, unless they were failing classes or something like that). If the transfer trick’s not working anymore, you can continue in Pure & Applied, just remember to choose Bio 2 and Organic 1 as 2 of your 3 optional science classes (these 2 are prereqs for med/dent/pharm/opto/vet/etc.), and you will basically do the exact same classes as those in Health!

[L0LLYP0P]

Okaaay Thanks. 
So I need to get 88 and above in moyenne générale to be sure I’ll get accepted in Health Science. 
But moyenne générale is the sec 4 marks + the first semester of sec 5 marks?

if yes which one counts more. Because I’m pretty sure that my science sec 4 are more higher ( 99,93 and 89) than my sec 5 physics & chemistry (cuz physics are killin me O_o). 
 

Have a  nice daaay

[hamsterman11]

1 hour ago, L0LLYP0P said:

Okaaay Thanks. 
So I need to get 88 and above in moyenne générale to be sure I’ll get accepted in Health Science. 
But moyenne générale is the sec 4 marks + the first semester of sec 5 marks?

if yes which one counts more. Because I’m pretty sure that my science sec 4 are more higher ( 99,93 and 89) than my sec 5 physics & chemistry (cuz physics are killin me O_o). 
 

Have a  nice daaay

Well its usually the exams of the ministère that they take into account. Like your sec 4 maths exam if i recall. But both your averages (at the end of the sec 4 and start of sec 5) are pretty important to get in. You can also consider applying to Vanier if that's a college you think you can perform well in and do your best

[L0LLYP0P]

Oh yeah Vanier totally forgot about it. I should consider it too, thanks for that. 

Okay, so I really need  to work hard this semester .

Last question I promise. 
umm do they consider something if u r in an IB program in secondary school, like does it change anything on your application? 

 

[capoo]

6 minutes ago, L0LLYP0P said:

Oh yeah Vanier totally forgot about it. I should consider it too, thanks for that. 

Okay, so I really need  to work hard this semester .

Last question I promise. 
umm do they consider something if u r in an IB program in secondary school, like does it change anything on your application? 

 

No if I recall correctly, but you can ask your academic advisor (conseiller d’orientation) they’ll be able to help you with that  

[L0LLYP0P]

Okie thank uu

[Sunshine!]

I'm not sure if it's still the case or even if it ever was at these Cégeps, but we were told we had a small bonus to our average if we did IB (like 0.5 or something). I'm not sure as it's been a while but it's worth asking your academic advisor about!

[L0LLYP0P]

Yeah I heard that too, but I’ll ask to be sure  

Thanks

[capoo]

6 minutes ago, Sunshine! said:

I'm not sure if it's still the case or even if it ever was at these Cégeps, but we were told we had a small bonus to our average if we did IB (like 0.5 or something). I'm not sure as it's been a while but it's worth asking your academic advisor about!

OP was talking about getting accepted to a cegep from high school, but yeah doing IB in cegep used to get an extra 0.5 on your R score, but they updated the R score formula (after 2017) so now the bonus is no longer needed!

[Sunshine!]

1 minute ago, keipop said:

OP was talking about getting accepted to a cegep from high school, but yeah doing IB in cegep used to get an extra 0.5 on your R score, but they updated the R score formula (after 2017) so now the bonus is no longer needed!

I remember our advisor in high school telling us that we were getting an extra something for our cégep applications  It was a while back though!

[cotecc]

Perso j'irais dans un Cégep francophone

Le cégep n'est pas le moment d'apprendre une nouvelle langue.

Si tu veux rentrer dans un programme contingenté, le cégep est le moment pour focuser sur sa cote R et ses implications.

T'as 3 sessions pour obtenir la meilleure cote R possible. Si tu perds 1 session sur 3 à t'adapter dans un environnement anglophone, c'est le 1/3 de ta cote R qui est sous optimale.

Parce que si tu ne rentres pas en med après le Cegep, ta prochaine shot va surement être après ton bac(aka 3-4 ans de grind de plus).

Une fois rentré à l'uni, c'est le temps de faire ce que tu veux.

[L0LLYP0P]

12 hours ago, cotecc said:

Perso j'irais dans un Cégep francophone

Le cégep n'est pas le moment d'apprendre une nouvelle langue.

Si tu veux rentrer dans un programme contingenté, le cégep est le moment pour focuser sur sa cote R et ses implications.

T'as 3 sessions pour obtenir la meilleure cote R possible. Si tu perds 1 session sur 3 à t'adapter dans un environnement anglophone, c'est le 1/3 de ta cote R qui est sous optimale.

Parce que si tu ne rentres pas en med après le Cegep, ta prochaine shot va surement être après ton bac(aka 3-4 ans de grind de plus).

Une fois rentré à l'uni, c'est le temps de faire ce que tu veux.

Oui c’est vrai. Mais je ne vais pas apprendre une nouvelle, mon but c’est de m’améliorer en anglais. Je trouve qu’étudier en anglais, c’est avantageux parce que t’as plus de ressources. 
Mais à ton avis quel CEGEP francophone serait le meilleur ? 
 

[capoo]

3 hours ago, L0LLYP0P said:

Oui c’est vrai. Mais je ne vais pas apprendre une nouvelle, mon but c’est de m’améliorer en anglais. Je trouve qu’étudier en anglais, c’est avantageux parce que t’as plus de ressources. 
Mais à ton avis quel CEGEP francophone serait le meilleur ? 
 

Selon mes expériences personnelles, BdeB/Brébeuf (privé) sont les best, suivi par Maisonneuve/St-Laurent ou Grasset (privé), mais sinon les autres sont corrects aussi! Comme le BCI le dit, ton choix de cégep ne devrait avoir aucune influence sur ta cote R (ce qui est vrai, autant que tu ne choisis pas un cégep que même un 99 te donne 32 de cote R (hmm Ahuntsic hmm)), alors le plus important serait de choisir ton cégep selon 1 - si l’environnement (autrement dit, le “vibe”) de tel cégep te va, et 2 - si c’est loin de chez toi, ce qui fait que tu vas gaspiller beaucoup de temps pour le transport que tu pourrais facilement utiliser pour étudier ou prendre soin de toi-même.

Dans mon cas, Dawson était vraiment loin de chez moi (1h de trajet en transport en commun, donc 2h de perdues par jour), mais comme je me voyais juste pas continuer à étudier en français, j’ai pas du tout hésité à choisir Dawson, mais le choix revient à toi et tes priorités (c’est pertinent de noter que j’ai eu une mauvaise cote R à ma 1re session à cause de cette transition + le fait que j’étais pas assez proactif pour essayer de “sauver” ma cote R durant la session, et donc j’ai dû travailler plus fort pour mes autres sessions pour récompenser cette cote-là). Un autre point pertinent c’est que perso je connais quand même beaucoup de monde de Maisonneuve et de Grasset avec des résultats similaires aux miens qui se sont fait accepter dans les doctorats, alors si t’es prêt à mettre tout l’effort nécessaire, tu vas bien réussir peu importe ton cégep!

[L0LLYP0P]

Okay parfait! Merci Beaucoup pour les précisions ça m’aide beaucoup!  

[barisss]

deleted

[Mel96b]

Real talk here, I didn't go to any of these schools, mais en bout de ligne ça ne changera pas grand chose à ta vie. Choisis l'endroit qui te semble mieux pour toi. Parce qu'après ça, tout le monde s'en fou d'à quel cégep t'es allé. Pour l'anglais après 2-3 semaines tu ne verras plus la différence, et en bonus tu vas en ressortir bilingue. Bonne chance!

[L0LLYP0P]

Okay thanks! 
mais vous pensez quoi de Maisonneuve, puisque c’est le seul collège public à côté de moi!