<p>Hello,</p>
<p>After having read previous threads regarding Canadian universities it seems like many people are confused or have incorrect information about admission policies for Canadian schools. I have worked for several universities in Canada, and also having been a student in a Canadian university I will provide the most common questions and answers that many people have.</p>
<p>The first is the distinction between a college and university in Canada. The two are not the same. Universities offer only Bachelors degrees, Masters degrees and Ph.D. degrees (there are no such things as associate degrees in Canada). Colleges do not offer degrees of any kind (a small few have been granted the right to offer one or two degree programs but they are very limited) what they do offer is Diplomas and Certificates....so this would be something for someone who wanted to be a mechanic, plumber, electrician....etc. Graduating from a college, you wouldnt be able to do any further post-grad programs (like a Masters of Ph.D.) you would actually have to go to university and finish a Bachelors degree.</p>
<p>College: the programs are more technical in nature, the required grades to get in are a lot lower and requirements to graduate are a lot lower as well. Absolutely no advanced high school classes are required to be admitted in a college in Canada. (in fact many people that I went to high school with that didnt care about school, or good grades ended up in a college.....and usually had a slim chance of finding employment after graduation.....most ended up doing work that they could have entered by dropping out of high school).</p>
<p>Universities: the programs are more scientific and research oriented, the required grades to get in are very high, and is extremely competitive. Advanced level high school courses are a requirements for admission. The employment outlook.....with a bachelors degree....is 50:50 (when I graduated with my B.Sc. in biology it took me 2 years to find work in the same field)....with a Masters degree (guaranteed employement in your field in 1 - 3 months)....with a Ph.D. (guaranteed high salaried employment in your field within 1 week of graduation).</p>
<p>Admissions for universities: highly competitive! Ninety-nine percent of canadian high school students with a grade average in the 70% (B-) or GPA of 3.0 range will not get in. Most schools say minimum grade average requirement is 75% (B) or GPA of 3.2 , anything below that point and the application is automatically thrown out. But because its so competitive you are not guaranteed admission unless you have 85%-87% (A) or GPA of 4.0, some programs like engineering have cut-off limits of 92% (A+) so chances are really slim for admission into those programs unless your average is higher.
SAT/ACT are not looked at and are not required at all. But the important thing to note is that your entire high school background is counted. This means if you slacked off in the first 2 years of high school and got poor grades, eventhough you worked hard in the final 2 years the chances of getting admitted are really low!</p>
<p>Heres a GPA Conversion Table:
Percentage = Grade Point
100 = 4.00
99 = 4.00
98 = 4.00
97 = 4.00
96 = 4.00
95 = 4.00
94 = 4.00
93 = 4.00
92 = 4.00
91 = 4.00
90 = 4.00
89 = 4.00
88 = 4.00
87 = 4.00
86 = 4.00
85 = 4.00
84 = 3.94
83 = 3.88
82 = 3.82
81 = 3.76
80 = 3.70
79 = 3.60
78 = 3.50
77 = 3.40
76 = 3.30
75 = 3.20 </p>
<p>For Graduate (Masters or Ph.D.) studies: a 4 year bachelors degree is required for all universities. Associates degree are not accepted at all, in fact the universities in Canada dont even consider an associates degree as a "degree". Cut-offs for 98% of Grad. programs is 80% (A) or GPA of 3.70. Anything below will be thrown out. This is even more competitive than the undergrad programs. Admissions is given to exceptional students that show promise in their field. And most universities will give someone even more consideration if they completed their undergrad from the same university. </p>
<p>For both undergrad and grad studies, the other importanyt thing to note is that the actual number grade is looked at not the alpha (ex: 75% is looked at, not the B or B+). So if your school says a 75% is an A in the school, the universities in Canada dont look at it that way.</p>
<p>Cost wise: yes some programs are cheaper than US schools, but you have to remember that you pay the international student tuition, not the domestic one. So most Canadian universities set the prices of its international tuition fees to match as closely the US ones.</p>
<p>Priority for admission: Canadian citizens are given priority for admission. The overall percentage of international students in a university is 3%. So remember you are fighting to get a spot in the 3% range, so it might be even harder to get admitted than actually applying to an US Ivey league school. </p>
<p>Since no SAT/ACT or other standardized tests are required the main focus is academic grades. So even if you have a pretty good grade average, and have a really excellent extracurricular background, that wont matter if there is someone else applying for the same thing and has no extracurricular background but has a higher grade average because that person would be admitted over you.</p>
<p>Awards: The awards, scholarships are the hardest thing to get out of everything! Say you have a 90% average.....at most you'd get is $2000 or $3000 maximum for the four years of study. Now if you have an average that is in the 96% to 100% range then you would get $9000 to $11000. Again some universities dont give awards to international students no matter how high your grades are, and in fact many candian students with really high grades receive no award or scholarship at all.</p>
<p>Residence: Again this depends on the university. Some only offer guaranteed residence spaces for canadian citizens only. The the costs can vary from really cheap to really expensive.</p>
<p>I hope this clarifies some things for people that are wondering about Canadian schools.</p>
<p>David</p>