Hi, to whom sees this question.
I am a newcomer to Canada who have been here for 10 months. I am an ESL student now studying in Grade 10. I start to think about how can I get in a great school in North America. I am not the best student in our school, but I am excellent. I really expect to be the most excellent figure. But I have no idea what should I focus on. What fields of knowledge I must be know(and good at)? What do I need to start to prepare? Tell me everything I need to do for getting into a great university and improving my life. Tell me every detail. I'll do whatever I need to do no matter how hard is it. My family is not rich at all, we borrow some money to support our family actually.
I will be very grateful if you could provide precious information.
Thank all of you who see my question.
p.s. Tell me some material or books I need to read. Tell me some places I should visit(or work) for improving myself. Thank you.

Hi,

I cannot answer you for the entirity of NA, but I can help you out on Canadian schools.

Getting into a Canadian school depends on one thing: marks. Getting into specific programmes depends on marks and sometimes essays (ie I believe Science One at UBC requires an essay for entrance).

You need to decide for yourself what field you are interested in. Nobody here can help you with that! What courses in school do you enjoy? what career can you see yourself doing?

Be a well-rounded person. Study your school topics, but also keep up to date on current events. Read the newspaper, watch the news, ask questions of what you see. If you're interested, then do a bit of investigation into what you see - what led to the current situation? What does it affect? Excercise your brain with 'what ifs' - what if the cost of oil quadruples in the next five years? What would happen if the polar ice caps melt?

Keep a journal. Question your responses to what you see happening around you. This will help you to learn introspection.

Best of luck!