<p>I was wondering if you all could offer me some advice on something I've been considering. I've been looking at Canadian colleges and universities lately on the interent and like what I see. A lot of them seem to have much cheaper tutition then their American counterparts, and a surprising number offer pharmacy schools. My family is middle class (1 kid in college now), and I worry we won't have the resources available to pay for college without taking out loans, something I really want to avoid. The flagship public U here is fairly well respected, but I don't care much for the culture of the state. I'm an okay student (AP classes, A's, a passion for foreign languages and an interest in medicine, community service) with a rather unique and challenging background, but I don't consider myself to be a merit aid recipient. Would it be a viable option, in your opinion, to go to college at a Candian college/university than return to the U.S.? Do you have any experience with people who have done this?</p>
<p>Yes, I personally know two students who have gone to Canada, there are parents here whose kids are there, and it is a definite trend -- so much so that U.S. citizens at McGill are organizing vote drives for the upcoming election. If you don't mind the cold, the opportunities are terrific, and you certainly won't be the only U.S. citizen there.</p>
<p>wolfpiper, Canadian universities are definitely a viable option to U.S. students. It's always been the case but sort of a well-kept secret. :) We lived for many years in Canada and thus are fond of many things Canada-related, including the many members of our family who live there. My D3 who is now in the application process is planning on attending a Canadian school. I have nieces and nephews at several Canadian schools. You're correct in that the costs are very low, even for international students, and you definitely will not be alone as an American. There are many wonderful options there.</p>
<p>aparent, it's funny you should mention the vote drive at McGill. My niece is a member of the U of T democrats and has worked for Democrats Abroad all summer getting U.S. citizens in Canada registered to vote in the presidential election. She told me recently that if Canadians could vote, Kerry would win in a landslide! :)</p>
<p>hey, i can give you a lot of insight into the Canadian school system.. I have an exam tomorrow, and it's getting late, so ill post more later!
which specific schools are you looking at?</p>
<p>UBC, in Vancouver, isn't in a 'cold' climate. It's a lifestyle mecca with skiing, hiking, boating etc at the doorstep. Campus is....unattractive, but who cares. Location is divine!</p>
<p>I know a dual citizen who went to UBC. It is tough to get into certain programs and the coursework is rigorous.</p>
<p>No offense to UBC. But i would not recommend it for americans. UBC and SFU (where i am actually taking courses) are not worth going to in my opinion if you are from USA. Firstly, the intl tuition is much much much more than they are for Canadians. Secondly, most of the students to go to UBC or SFU live in Vancouver, where i live; so very few will live on campus. It does not promote the kind of social atmosphere that many American schools do. In addition, the teaching quality is very poor. My Physics Prof does nothing but put notes from text book word for word on a powerpoint and read it to us in class. Lastly, the student quality at SFU and UBC is not very high. People with a 70% average(C+) can even get into UBC and SFU. At my school, we are so geared toward sending students to UBC that teachers and counselors will manipulate first term marks just to help a student get a full scholarship and such...
I do agree with cheers on that SOME courses are rigorous, but most are very easy to get into.</p>
<p>I would recommend, Queens, Mcgill, and maybe UT over UBC and SFU. </p>
<p>It's kind of funny how people from Canada are dying trying to get into an American school while there are many Americans who wants to come up to Canada. =p</p>
<p>Poor UBC! That's not the impression I got from (top prep school) dual citizen UBC student. Tons of friends--some from Toronto--good weekends up at Whistler, good honors programs. All in all, a good college experience.</p>
<p>As a prospective student, I wouldn't go to Canada for school. They don't seem to have the political diversity i would like. They all seem anti-republican/conservative/captalist up there in the north. I could be wrong. Any Canadians to correct me?</p>
<p>lol. honestly, having so many friends now attending ubc, i learned that no one relly cares about politics... at least none of my frds cept for one, who is a George Bush lover b/c he went to Yale.</p>
<p>UBC honors program is very easy to get into... even as a high school student, i am in the SFU honors program now. I didn't even have to do any testing... It's almost a shoe-in for anyone if he or she shows the motivation. </p>
<p>I agree, whistler trips can be fun and there obviously are intl students at ubc. BUT, greate majority comes from the local area. i don't read stats about the cultural diversity, but i hate to say this, almost 50% of the ppl are asian, ir not more... very little culture diversity. UBC is more for ppl from Canada who don't want to spend money going down to the states.</p>
<p>cheers, my take on UBC is similar to yours. It has a very good reputation in Canada, particularly in the west. It's a large school, with many excellent programs. Tuition for international students varies by program but ranges from $16,000-20,000 in Canadian dollars. I actually think that the campus is very attractive. Vancouver is a beautiful city and the campus is surrounded on three sides by water, with the mountains off in the distance. Most first year students live on campus and after that they find off-campus houses and apartments. This is common at every Canadian university. There are 7,000 dorm rooms on campus. There are students from every province in the country and from 120 different countries. There are approximately 4,000 international students there so it's definitely not just a commuter school. My D3 isn't applying there because she doesn't want to be that far from home but we have visited the city several times and love it there.</p>
<p>potato, it's not true that there is no political diversity. I think what you'd find is probably typical of any college or university campus these days. Most tend to be more to the liberal side of the political spectrum, rather than the conservative side. It's the nature of the academic world. This applies to U.S. colleges as well. Although, as I've said before if Canadians were allowed to vote on November 2, Senator Kerry would be a shoo-in, by a landslide. I think that would be true of any other international country voting. ;)</p>
<p>Princeton, What's your meaning on the 50% asian comment? That's a racist suggestion in the US and most other countries and probably counts as an 'offensive' post.</p>
<p>It is not a racist suggestion. It's simply a fact. All i am saying is UBC does not have the culture diversity that most of the american schools have. Due to the overcrowding of Asian communities in Vancouver, it is undoubtable that they are the majority at many BC universities. I am Asian myself. And i'm simply stating an obvious observation.</p>
<p>Asian. I believe the term encompasses Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Singaporean, Indian, Sri Lankan, Indonesian and so on into the hundreds. Hardly a lack of 'diversity'.</p>
<p>I'm not going to bite further because I was hoping the race threads had evaporated but if I were you Princeton, I would tone it down--lest some P 'Asian' adcom see that offensive remark.</p>
<p>Princetonwannabe, I echo the advice from cheers to lighten up on your comments. It also might be beneficial for you to actually do some research so that you have your facts straight. Approximately one third of the city of Vancouver's population is of Asian descent. The Asian component of UBC's student population mirrors that. It's not 50%.</p>
<p>I'm only going to comment on McGill, because we just came back from Montreal. On the plus side, Montreal is wonderful and the area around the campus was lively day and night. I'd love to go to school there. On the minus side, there was much discussion on the radio about the impact of having kept McGill's tuition capped for decades. The university is desperate for resources. We talked with a recent graduate who said that because of that, many good professors had left and she didn't feel she'd received a great education. She did say, however, that whatever resources the university has go into its medical program. So, pharmacy might be ok. But you should probably check out the situation with current students if you can.</p>
<p>Potato, your prettey much right that the majority of Canadians are very anti-american, and very liberal. I am not (but I feel like part of the minority) so that's why I'm leaving Canada to go study in the US! But overall, Canadian schools aren't THAT bad, but US schools are definetely better.</p>