Americans apply for Canadian student visa

Is it true that Americans don’t have to apply ahead of time for a student visa?

You will need a CAQ from Québec that you must apply for ahead of time. You will also need a student visa from Canada. As an American you can obtain that at the border.

If you have not applied for the CAQ for this August get cracking!

http://www.mcgill.ca/internationalstudents/pre-arrival/immigration-documents

Perfect I already have CAQ. I heard Americans could just apply at the border for the Canadian student visa but couldn’t find anything stating that on the Canadian website.

If you’re from the US, you do NOT leave a visa. However, you will need a study PERMIT. Don’t get these two documents confused, since there is a difference between the two.