If you choose to write any of the optional provincial exams for your grade 12 courses, a blended mark that includes your provincial exam results WILL APPEAR on your official transcript, whether the exam’s results would help your school mark or not.
To the best of my knowledge, this does NOT affect your application and/or your registration chances for UBC and SFU; both have told secondary counsellors very specifically that they will look at your BEST mark (school % or blended %). However, the blended mark, whether it is higher or lower than your school percentage, will appear on your official transcript that is a part of our permanent student record.
The following diagram would illustrate my point (click on image to see an enlarged version): 
In this scanned image of an actual transcript from 2009, this student had chosen to write two optional provincial exams, biology 12 and Principles of Math 12. He had also chosen to NOT write his optional exam for Mandarin Chinese 12. In Biology 12 (circled in red), his school percentage was 76%, and his exam mark was 49%. As you can see, his final percentage, a blended mark, appeared as 65%, which was substantially lower than his school percentage. Had this student applied to UBC, UBC would have looked at and used his school percentage of 76% for all application and registration purposes. However, the 65% would remain on his permanent transcript. Had this student chosen to apply for a post-secondary institution outside B.C. and/or a school advised him that his final mark would be used to determine whether he would have been admitted into a program, his decision to write the provincial exam can have a significant consequence.
In the case of Mandarin 12 (circled in green), this student had chosen to not write his optional exam. Therefore, his 93% mark from school would be the only mark that is available for anyone to see.
In light of this, I would urge you to consider very carefully whether to write an optional provincial exam or not. Here are some points worthy for consideration:
- You need to write English 12 and AT LEAST TWO other provincial exams to qualify for provincial scholarships (two if you use your English 12 mark too; three if you don't use English 12). If you want a provincial scholarship, then you must write two (or more) of these optional exams in addition to English 12.
- If you have been advised by a post-secondary school that your admission would be based on your final mark, and you fear that your current school mark is not high enough, writing a provincial exam can potentially help you achieve that mark.
- If you have already been accepted, unconditionally or conditionally, into a post-secondary program, and you want to write one or two provincial exams “just to see how well you can do,” you will take the risk of having a lower final percentage appear on your permanent student record, but this will not affect your admission into UBC and SFU.
Please come in to speak to me, or e-mail me, if you have any questions on this. I hope I have explained things clearly to all of you here. Please also urge others in your grade to take a look at this post.
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