<p>
<p>I heard it was as good, if not better, than MIT.
Who/where did you hear this from?</p>
<p>As much as I desire to, I'm not going to deride your post.</p>
<p>Academics is not everything. Agreed.</p>
<p>I never implied that academics is everything.</p>
<p>I'm referring to the general atmosphere - the desire to change the world - the belief that one can change the world.</p>
<p>People that desire for higher ideals, that are not content with living in the rat race of our capitalistic society; that have fun by contributing to humanity. </p>
<p>Visionaries that believe that they can make a difference - people that are passionate about learning new knowledge, new skills, keeping an open mind - people that are passionate about contributing to humanity.</p>
<p>These characteristics manifest themself in a variety of forms that are not limited to academics.</p>
<p>I think it is fair to say that Harvard has a much higher concentration of these individuals that Canadian universities. When I wrote my post I was primarily referring to Harvard - perhaps I'm excessively glorifying it, but I don't think it's internationally renowned prestige is without any merit.</p>
<p>With regards to your statement, </p>
<p>"I rather be with people who know how to have fun and not study all the time and anyway academics is not the only important thing in life, obiviously you havent experienced any of the others"</p>
<p>That is your choice as to how you wish to live. As stated earlier, which university you go to ultimately depends on what you value.</p>
<p>I'm only suggesting that going to an institution like Harvard would most likely be beneficial to individuals that desire to live every minute of their life with purposefulness and desire to contribute something to humanity.
Clearly, academia is only one of the characteristics that allows admission to such institutions; one requires a combination, but I believe that fundamentally what underlies the motivation of THE Harvard student as I see it is a passion for humanity and a passion for knowledge; this is something that I see lacking in my peers - lacking that vision (I respect their choice) and desire to simply do something meaningful in life beyond one's own selfish desires.</p>
<p>Obviously there are exceptions to this, but I think generally one is more likely to meet such individuals at an institution like Harvard versus University of Toronto (not to say there aren't individuals like that there - just that they are harder to find).</p>
<p>Anyways, this is probably my last post.</p>
<p>The point being that...</p>
<p>Visionaries exist everywhere, but are often scattered apart from each other - going to Harvard perhaps affords a higher probability that perhaps finally one will meet another visionary that perhaps sees the world and how one should live it as you do - that is an opportunity I doubt any visionary that has not been fortunate enough to meet another should give up.</p>
<p>By the way, I concur entirely with your decision of choosing McGill over Cornell, although your justification and characterization is rather flimsy. I would choose McGill as well, it is an excellent institution.</p>
<p>Harvard versus McGill is another story, I think, but in the end I think it matters very little - if you're good, you're good anywhere, nothing can stop you.</p>
<p>Let's leave it at that.</p>
<p>you one of those visionaries? </p>
<p>actually i think the majority of people you will find harvard and ivies dont really care about any of the things they said. most of them go to these prestigious schools because they are "selfish" and basically just want to make more money. These are the smart people who knew what to put on the applications, who have done countless hours of community service and ECs JUST for college, not tat they give a damn about any of it. I doubt the adcoms can pick out those so called "visionaries." It is extremely hard..if u know what i mean...you cant tell from just reading the apps
Although i agree you will find more "visionaires" in the ivies than any canadain schools. to be honest i am one of these selfish people, i dont really care about contibuting to humanity or knowledge (i am suprised i made it through school so far)...I just want to get a decent job after I graduate. Thats pretty much the only reason i am going to college...and having fun ofcourse..I value that greatly as well. Franking I dont care about having an intellecutally stimulating atmosphere and all the rest of the things you like about the ives....I only ever cared about my grades in school and I worked hard to keep them high. The IB program was quite easy if u ask me...just memorize the damn book and you will be fine...there is nothing very intellectual about that yeh i admit i am "selfish" and i dont care about learning that much...although i realize studying and geting high exam scores are the best way to get good career with a nice paycheck...and i think most people in this world are like me if I am not mistaken</p>
<p>Anyway good luck finding more people like yourself, they are very hard to come by and i dont think i have actually met people like that in my whole life (although there seems to be a lot of those people on these boards)</p>
<p>i mean i admire those people but they definately dont live in the real world as far as i can see...anyway goodluck..</p>
<p>dkm - we have discussed value several times on this thread. Canadian universities are better deals (slightly) for internationals but that statement doesnt hold true if you are comparing domestic canada and domestic, in state america. Check some stats are go back and read. I surprised alot of people when I read out some tuitions.</p>
<p>Also, you might be confusing University of Florida with Florida State or some other state schools. You would need an extraordinary circumstance to get in with an 1120, 3.1. McGill and UoF are probably on-par in selectivity, not enough for either of them to be superior...but I was using UofF as an example</p>
<p>Finally, i never said american schools are better, i was arguing that canadian schools are not as amazing as people think they are. I find the ontario schooling to be terrible. There is no way ontario high school is on the same level as IB, you have no idea.</p>
<p>aca</p>
<p>i am 100% sure my friend got into UoF not florida state with those stats...anyway he is going to purdue for management now (i have no idea how he got in there either)...but he did do the IB...so that could be why he got into UofF...they really like IB people</p>
<p>In my opinion, Queen's, McGill, U of T and maybe even UBC, can compete academically with the HYPs. So does US News who wrote a few years ago they these Queens McGill and U of T have: " the academic rigour of Harvard and Yale". (Thats a real quote from the article.)</p>
<p>Does that mean it's the same experience. NO. HYP, have smaller class sizes, more money and more driven bright students and better relationship with their profs due in part to the low student faculty ratio ---and of course considerably more prestige. </p>
<p>To say that Canadian universities as a whole are more equal to US public universities is doing them a disservice. Most Canadian universities, Alberta, Ottawa etc, would be more equivalent to the top U.S public colleges, but McGill, U of T, Queen's and Maybe UBC and Western stand out quite clearly from the rest of the Canuck pack, at least in the quality of the education that you will receive. </p>
<p>Most base their appraisal of Canuck schools on admit rates, their public funding, large classrooms and lack of a name factor, due in part because those are major factors in how US colleges are judged.</p>
<p>The Canadian university system (though provincially run) is set up to be a meritocracy: If you have the marks you will go to the university of your choice, no matter what your finances or your parents connections are. Which means Canuck universities try to make it easier for students to attend NOT harder. </p>
<p>But once you get in you will find it sink or swim, and if you were just lucky or just did well your last couple of years in high school youll sink very fast. U of T engineering is notorious for weeding out mediocre students after theyve enrolled. On the other hand, US schools and especially the Ivy League want to weed out students before they are admitted, hence the emphasis on ECs, legacies, SATs etc. So at an Ivy League school youll be surrounded generally by very driven bright students who didnt luck their way into the school (though thats not always the case.)</p>
<p>If you attend MTQ (the new Canadian acronym) and are an extremely bright driven US student, you'll find the experience very rewarding academically and challenging and you might get lower marks than you would at Harvard or Yale. Because the mediocre students werent weeded out during admissions the brightest students wont always surround you, but you wont have to hunt for bright students either, they will be there in abundance. And granted you won't get the prestige or WOW factor of HYP student, but you'll leave knowing you got an education that was second to none at less than a third of the cost of an Ivy.</p>
<p>Though an interesting note: when I told my professor at Columbia I had attended U of T, I got the wow factor. So it can happen.</p>
<p>But the thing is the fact that they DO accept so many students lowers their academic value to the world. It's just like the current situation of Oxford accepting more int'l students because they have to pay higher tuition.</p>
<p>Perhaps, but it's not always about prestige and how you look in the minds of other institutions. The admit rates don't interfere with the high quality of the education at Oxford or Cambridge or U of T and McGill.</p>
<p>If Canada had more colleges perhaps then we could lower the admit rates. Still U of T generally has 45000 application for 9000 first year spots ( in its non double cohort years) and Queen's admit rate is eqivalent to HYP because they DO cap their admit rates at that school. So were not doing too badly. And remember the grade deflation is giving our schools some prestige in academic circles. the whole "a C at U of T is a A at Harvard" is almost a catchphrase now.</p>
<p>I was talking about prestige lol...and what was the wow factor?</p>
<p>She was impressed I attended the top school in Canada I assume or found her previous students who attended there very bright.</p>
<p>Do you mind private messaging me with your AIM or MSN?</p>
<p>I'm interested in discussing this with particularly, as I'm a junior student that's decision will inherently be...</p>
<p>Rejected Harvard and peers... go to University of Toronto or McGill.</p>
<p>I agree with chancellor_phoenix's original post concerning the intellectual atmosphere of canadian universities. As a canadian myself who currently resides in saskatchewan I find that the majority(99%) of the kids at my high school are only preoccupied with clothes, video games, and the lastest movies. Those are the materialistic propencities that lead to the downfall of the future generations of young canadians.</p>
<p>I'd also like to take this opportunity to comment on the quality of canadian teaching institutions and of course the teachers themselves. I find that the canadian education systems lack the facility to nurture students' abilities to actively think ideologically and theoretically. Without those abilities, canadian students cannot expect to be future leaders of developed or even developing nations. We'll forever remain a shadow while developing nations such as china and former world powers dash ahead ecnonmically wise. Canada is socialist, that's pretty obvious, I know that in a socialist system, they don't want to see a distinct or fine line between capitalists and the have nots. And i'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, it has its pros and cons, but should it be the same for the education system? Is it justification for the slower kids dragging the motivated kids behind thus causing them to become highly frustrated? We're dragging behind as a nation as a whole due to our universities lacking the prestige and reputation needed to attract top students from around the world. It's sad, because one day canada may run out of the natural resources it's economy has always depended on and by then, they'll have nothing to fall back on because they fell behind in the technological aspect. </p>
<p>I believe in secular humanism, meaning i believe that i don't believe we are born with a purpose, rather "we" make a purpose out of our existence. Tragically, I cannot hope to utilize canadian education as a tool to bring meaning to my existence. (hope i don't sound like an cynical jerk)</p>
<p>One last note, although i usually refrain form criticism as it's never to any avail anyway, the teachers in saskatchewan are quite proficient with facades of competency despite their ineffieciency at understanding the materials they teach and at teaching it to us. Think about it, phys. ed teachers teaching chemistry, physics and biology. What a cruel, cruel joke. </p>
<p>p.s. I'm not an elitist, please don't flame at this post. I just think canada's education system needs drastic changes. And, I like also find that i'm in essence have my own curriculum, due to the fact that I'm not taught a sufficient amount at school. A tip to canadians, read often, read lots, and read ahead.</p>
<p>Seth Blue your post is a bit off topic and highly hypothetical. Canadian leaders can' t be leaders of developing countries or developed, is a gross generalization. if you mean leaders as in politicians, well leaders from a country are usually born and raised in that country. If you mean leaders as in business leaders, we have many business leaders who were born and raised within Canada and have stayed here.</p>
<p>But it sounds like you are one of those Canadians who believe we should be more like Americans. I could go into a while diatribe about this, about again I would be digressing</p>
<p>in response to seth blue's "I find that the majority(99%) of the kids at my high school are only preoccupied with clothes, video games, and the lastest movies": after reading the posts on this thread, it seems safe to say that this is not the norm for students across canada. It's not like the opposite (where students think only of grades, sat scores and impressing university admissions boards) is any better.</p>
<p>I know my post was off topic. Look, I despise canada's corrupt political system and the fact that I rarely find kids who have aspirations other than going to community college or uofs. But don't get me wrong, i'm still proud of canada. Nevertherless, I think that in some respects(education and politics), on some level, we need to amercanize ourselves slightly.</p>
<p>Reading through this thread, it seems that a lot of the comments are straight out of the PR machine. If you're being fed a very general opinion about anything, it's simple to regurgitate it.
Look at your needs for your desired program and do the research, I'm sure you'll find that numerous Canadian Universities are highly regarded around the world as being among the best. This notion that Canadian Unis as a whole are inferior is ridiculous, particularly the completely uninformed point that the schools don't offer as competitive or intelligent a student body.</p>
<p>First of all, regurgitate means to reiterate or repeat somrthing. I think the word you were looking for is more like contradict or invalidate. :) anyway, off topic. </p>
<p>"This notion that Canadian Unis as a whole are inferior is ridiculous, particularly the completely uninformed point that the schools don't offer as competitive or intelligent a student body."</p>
<p><em>ahem</em>, of course no one thinks that. It would be unperceptive of anyone to say so. However, I think it's safe to say that the ivies do offer a more diverse student body(is this not what harvard undergrad is so famous for?), thus allowing one to be exposed to a less "parochial"(I hope you don't mind me borrowing your word) understanding of the world. </p>
<p>I believe that all sources of knowledge and how one utilizes that knowledge are at least partial harbingers of how successful one will become in the near and distant future. I value education to an immeasurable extent, therefore, i believe hat one should always seek to acquire themselves the best universities that are available. as for high school....bahhh, who needs it, I've been sleeping away my frashman and sophomore years anyway. :D</p>
<p>Can anyone explain the acceptance rates at canadian universities to me. I have no idea why their rates are so low when everyone knows they really arent that competitive to get into (for most programs). Queens Arts is something like 20%...and i believe if u have over 82% ure in (ECs dont matter much for Arts). Is it because everyone just applies everywhere on OUAC?</p>
<p>Also...hows Queens' international rep? I have heard that UofT and McGIll are much more well known in the states but Queens can hold its own outside of North America.</p>
<p>Im curious because Ive narrowed my search to Queens Western and McGill. I like Queens but ive heard it isnt too well known.</p>
<p>Queens isn't too well known. Western ONLY for business. Mcgill for almost everything else.</p>
<p>They say for business, go to Queens or Western. McGill is well respected overall, and their medical and law programs are among the top in Canada. Queens is also a very good school overall as well; I've heard that some people who don't know what they want to specialize in/major in want to go there because Queens is strong in most areas. I don't know very much about it, but my understanding is that Queens is pretty well-known (contridicts what you, aca0260, heard...). </p>
<p>Why do you say that Canadian schools aren't competitive to get into (not arguing with you, just want to know the reasoning behind your comment)? If the acceptance rates are low, it's because many people want to get into that program/school, and there are only so many positions. The minimum for Queens Arts is around 82%, like you said, but that does not guarentee acceptance. Much like how in the US, meeting the minimum standard at most universities will not guarentee you a position due to the high number of applicants that surpass the minimum.</p>
<p>By the way, what does OUAC stand for?</p>