<p>I am looking into U of Toronto, U of British Columbia, Queens University, McGill University, Dalhousie University, U of Prince Edward Island and U of Western Ontario. Are there any others along this line that I should consider?</p>
<p>U of Alberta is pretty good...a bit on the chilly side, though. U of Prince Edward Island is probably a really interesting place, but it's usually not considered among the top Canadian universities.</p>
<p>PEI is a terrible province and their school has zero reputation, don't know why you're thinking of going there, or anywhere on the East coast.</p>
<p>UBC is tough to get into, but a highly regarded school. Vancouver is overrated though, SO many immigrants speaking crazy languages and it rains 4 or 5 times a week during the school year. McGill and U of T are similar in that they're the two highest renowned schools in Canada overall, and both have big party scenes and are in big cities with lots to do, but lots of people. </p>
<p>Don't know much about Dalhousie.</p>
<p>Western and Queen's are both strong in Business, and Queen's is actually the top undergrad business school in Canada (that and York, in Toronto). Kingston (where Queen's is located) is a pretty boring town most people don't enjoy though. Both schools have pretty large, nice campuses, and also have good party scenes if you're into that (Western arguably #1 in Canada along with McGill.)</p>
<p>I would dismiss UBC, PEI, and Dalhousie. Look into McGill or Toronto if you like big cities, and Western and Queen's if you are looking into business.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. </p>
<p>Can you tell me a bit more about the U. of Alberta. What are their strongest programs? What is the surrounding area like? Etc.- anything else you think I need to know about the school. </p>
<p>Is York U. good at all? What is the reputation of that school? How hard is it to get into? Is there a certain strength of that University?</p>
<p>What exactly is Kingston, where Queens is, like? How boring is it? What is there to do in the town? Is it historic or just run down? It it charming and quaint or not?</p>
<p>I did find that U. of Prince Edward Island did not have a good reputation a bit ago, but supposedly the Maclean's rankings of Canadian Universities has given it high rankings for the past couple of years. Is this true? Should I include this as a safety or is there a reason for me to just toss it out?</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>I'd forget about UPEI. If you need a few safeties, there are always places like U of Ottawa, McMaster U, U of Windsor, and U of New Brunswick. Memorial U of Newfoundland is pretty far away from just about everywhere, but it must be somewhat interesting out there. York is in the enormous shadow of the U of Toronto. Its business school is supposed to be good, but overall if you're in Toronto, and you're not intimidated by a huge university, you'd be much better off at the U of T. I don't know many particulars about Alberta, but I knew some people who went there who thought the quality was quite high.</p>
<p>Are you from Canada? A lot of the Canadian Universities (McGill, Alberta, for example) are in cities whose winters are really brutally cold. While others (UBC, Victoria) would be mild by Canadian standards. Most of the others are somewhere in between. I have a master's degree from U of Toronto, and while the winter there was long, cold, and windy, it wasn't THAT much worse than a Chicago winter.</p>
<p>Trust me on this: UofToronto and McGill are head and shoulder above the rest. You might also consider Waterloo (Home of the Maple-Symbolic Math Software)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. I will consider everything very carefully. </p>
<p>Tourguide446- Thanks for the advice on safety universities! To answer your question, I am half Canadian (my dad is Canadian) and although I have lived my full life in Southern California, I have visited quite a few times and really do enjoy cold, cold weather. Since you attended U of T, perhaps you can tell me truthfully what you felt of the school and your time there? Thanks.</p>
<p>Rabban- I have heard that those two are the best and I love them both a lot. How does Waterloo compare to U of T and McGill and to top American Universities? Is it strong in humanities? Let me know. Thanks!</p>
<p>Just so to put terrifictom's peculiar comments in perspective:</p>
<p>If you don't like immigrants then you would absolutely hate Toronto and Montreal even more than Vancouver. In fact you probably wouldn't like any major city in Canada, or in any other country for that matter. (The population of Toronto is over 40% foreign born, and more than 50% of the city's population is non-white. It is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, moreso than New York, LA, and Chicago.) Toronto Montreal and Vancouver are three largest cities in Canada, and they are home to the three best universities in Canada: U Toronto and McGill, followed by UBC. Those cities are also home to the three largest immigrant populations in Canada.</p>
<p>So if you prefer to be surrounded by white people I recommend Queen's University in Kingston.</p>
<p>Regarding the comments about weather, you need to realize that the major cities in Canada get hot in the summer and cold in the winter, just like in Chicago, New York, Boston, etc. If year-round warmth is very important to you then don't bother applying anywhere in Canada, the northeastern US, the midwest, or northwestern US. Unfortunately that rules out the majority of high quality universities on the North American continent, but priorities are priorities I guess. ;)</p>
<p>Not that it would matter that much in your decision, but just so you know Vancouver is hands-down most beautiful city in Canada. Ask any Canadian. I'm from Toronto and I'll admit it too. It's also the most expensive city in Canada, essentially because so many people in Canada and abroad want to live there.</p>
<p>UofT, McGill and Queens are the three best in Canada. Add Waterloo to that list if you're into math/engineering.</p>
<p>I got a master's degree in philosophy at U of T. There was exactly one Asian grad student in the department. In the engineering school and med school I think it was like 90% Asian. So the impact of the Hong Kong exodus depends on your field of study.</p>
<p>Cjk, I too had one parent who was Canadian, so I felt a bit at home at U of T. There is a bit of a subtle dislike of folks from the USA in Canada, but if you're not loud and pro-USA (like I was--I went to U of T right after finishing a 10-year stint as a US Navy officer, so I wasn't ready to apologize for the US foreign policy as readily as they seemed to want)--it shouldn't be an issue. I thought U of T was first class. The faculty was superb, the quality of life was amazing. The music, culture, restaurants, bars, etc. in Toronto were endless. I'd HIGHLY recommend it for grad students. For undergrads the lower-level classes in some subjects are pretty big; but probably not any worse than you'd run into at Michigan or Cal-Berkeley. The overall feeling among the students seemed to be that we were doing the most exciting thing a student could do in the country of Canada (sorry, McGill). And since Toronto is regularly ranked as one of the top universities in the world, we felt as though we were on par with just about anything offered in the US.</p>
<p>Thanks TourGuide446! I am very excited to hear of your feelings for the university! So far, this is my number one choice. Everything about it meets my wants and needs as far as a school goes.</p>
<p>We are also cold weather people and in the college search process have noted many good things about U of Alberta. The weather is not a concern for us. The dark makes us nervous, though. During the winter, I think it stays dark late and gets dark early - light only at lunch time?!? Does anyone know?</p>
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The overall feeling among the students seemed to be that we were doing the most exciting thing a student could do in the country of Canada (sorry, McGill).
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</p>
<p>Sounds like those people never visited Montreal... Not to say that UofT is a bad school or how it compares to McGill, but on the exciting student life scale, or just pure excitement scale, Toronto doesn't compare to Montreal.</p>
<p>cjk7389: Forget about Waterloo if your interests lie in humanities. Now I just said Toronto ain't that exciting a city, but compared to Waterloo it's freaking Vegas.</p>
<p>University of Victoria is very nice, you should check it out. Probably the nicest campus in Canada and it doesn't get as much rain as Vancouver, or have as many people. Also pretty strong academically.</p>
<p>University of Alberta is located in Calgary, but not very close to the mountains. It is cold, and there's not much to do, I wouldn't really recommend it. The cost of living is shooting way up in Alberta too.</p>
<p>U of T has a very small "campus life", somewhat like a NYU in that sense. There's lots of stuff to do in the city if you're into that, but the campus is just 40,000 people you hardly socialize with or anything. I'm not into that, but some are.</p>
<p>I think U of Alberta is Edmonton...U of Calgary is in Calgary. U of Alberta is usually considered the better school academically.</p>
<p>Blob, I was referring to the on-campus academic and social stuff, not the city. The enormous library system, the separate "colleges," and the high quality of the faculty all made for a great atmosphere. Also, there are so many museums, government offices, and institutions (e.g. the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies) that are on or adjacent to the campus.</p>
<p>I've been to Montreal and think it's wonderful. A higher % of beautiful females than I've ever seen anywhere else--too bad so many of them leave town and scatter across Canada to "dance."</p>
<p>Hmmm... so you're right. Edmonton is even further north, wow, real cold. Edmonton is pretty flat too, pretty much the same as Saskatchewan, cept a big river and a valley. They really should put a school out in west Alberta in the mountains, that'd be real nice, kind of like a U of Colorado, Idaho or Montana.</p>
<p>Which are considered to be the most beautiful campuses as far as architecture goes?</p>
<p>Guelph and McGill I know are at the top, Queen's a notch below, and Western is nice too. St.FX for a less known school, and although I haven't heard UVic mentioned for such accolades, it looks very sharp. I may be missing some though.</p>
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It is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, moreso than (...) LA(...).)
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<p>Heh. Ho ho ho. Spent a lot of time in Los Angeles have you? Like the 42 years I spent there? Here's a quiz for you:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How many languages are spoken in LA City schools?</p></li>
<li><p>In how many languages are driver's education materials printed in California?</p></li>
<li><p>What percentage of people in LA County are of white, European ancestry?</p></li>
<li><p>How many different religions are practiced by at least 1% of the population in LA?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Actually, you don't really know what you are talking about, do you? Toronto may be very "multicultural" but as far as "more" -- I seriously, seriously doubt it.</p>
<p>Actually Rick Tyler, stats show that Montreal is THE #1 mulitcultural city in the entire world, followed by Toronto. Canada is terrible, face it. Although L.A. is pretty bad too I hear.</p>