US News rankings (and presumably others) use selectivity as one of the factors in rankings. Are more selective colleges inherently better? Most public universities are not as selective as private ones that (seem to) have the same quality of research, etc. For example, in Canada, the most prestigious, UofT has an acceptance rate of 69%, however in the US the prestigious universities all have extremely low rates. Does this mean they are better?
UofT has 67,128 students undergrad. Most top colleges in the US have perhaps 10,000 undergrad, with some notable exceptions.
Only 10,000 or so of those students are from outside of Canada. Do not know the international acceptance rate.
Harvard has 6,700 undergraduates. Stanford has 7,000 undergraduates.
Perhaps that can tell you why there are differences.
The simple answer is that selectivity is more accurate a measure of popularity than quality of education. The Ivy League and many other “top” colleges have always held a place in American history as being considered the elite institutions of higher education. Though this is and always has been highly debatable, the “top” colleges as defined by USNWR do not necessarily offer a better education than other schools (including public universities). I say “necessarily” because the definition of an ideal top college should be based on each individual student’s own needs and strengths, and some top colleges may be better for some people (a major example is a student who wishes to surround themselves with some of the most accomplished students in the world, etc.).
^^^
There are fewer universities in Canada, but I read somewhere that a greater percentage of Canadians attend university than American students (idk if that considers internationals at all). Prestige is built over time, and it’s impossible for a “prestigious” Canadian university to accept the same number of students HYPSM does. I don’t think selectivity is a factor in university rankings at all for Canada. Maclean’s does most of the uni rankings and they outline their definition of “reputation” or prestige here: http://www.macleans.ca/education/unirankings/introducing-the-2015-macleans-university-rankings/
Nonetheless, quality of education should be a more important factor than prestige when it comes to choosing a “better” uni. One thing the prestigious Canadian universities like McGill and UofT are known for are their large student to faculty ratios, which may decrease the quality of education you get, but mostly depends on personal preference, as some people prefer larger classes. In addition, the faculty need to balance research and lectures, so a lot of undergraduate assistance comes from TAs. As for whether more selective = better, I highly doubt it.