<p>Applications for canadian universities take 20 minutes to complete, there aren't even any essays or personal statements. Applying there is definitely an option and their acceptance rates for US students are skyhigh.</p>
<p>I applied to McGill, UToronto and UBC in December and got acceptance letters/scholarships by January.</p>
<p>If you like big universities with 500-people classes, go for canadian universities. The undergraduate strength of McGill (which I attend) is about the same level as Michigan or Ohio State. The whole "Harvard of Canada" label is rather misleading...</p>
<p>There's nothing exotic about Montreal. As a Canadian to me Miami is exotic because of the Latin culture and
Spanish language. I never understood why Americans forget they have this rich culture in their backyard. Why not head to Florida if you guys want a to experience a different language and culture while in college? Montreal doesn't mean anything much to a Canadian nor does McGill. A lot to do with English culture vs French but that's the way it is. As for McGill It's a great school, but we generally think of Queen's and U of T as our tops school and Waterloo for computer geeks.
As for rankings, there are many rankings that have listed the schools worldwide and have directly compared canuck schools to american ones. Newsweek, Times of London and the Shanghai ones I believe. Newsweek listed U of T as 18 worldwide the top Canuck school on the list, as I recall. Also note that many Canadian schools including U of T, boycotted the Canadian Macleans magazine ranking this year. As a result U of T slipped from number one for the first time in 14 years. Acceptance rates are also misleading cause most schools have an automatic acceptance rate. and so those who have the grades apply and get accepted. Keep in mind the Canadian dollar is at par with the US dollar and you will pay a higher international tuition. I also personally believe top Canadian grad schools are better for US students over canadian undergrad programs. The programs are elitist and research intensive and are as difficult to get into as ivy league grad schools. But it seems that message isn't getting through. If you plan to stay in Canada for a while after graduating, employers don't care which Canadian or American school you went to. Harvard or Brock university, it's all the same to them. </p>
<p>Also, look into Mount allison and St. Francis Xavier on the East coast. These are wonderful schools much like top American liberal arts colleges. </p>
<p>There are guides to Canadian universities in some of the US college guides. Take a look at those. My friend just started UBC this month and so far its good. Canada has a ton of small school which are really cheap for US students for a small school. I don't know much about them but it's an alternative to a small liberal arts college for a middle class family who doesn't qualify for aid.</p>
<p>If you are planning to go to the U.S. for graduate school after studying in Canada for your Bachelor's, then don't go to Toronto or McGill. You will end up with crappy marks and no top U.S. school will accept you unless you're one of the top 1% of your class, because only the top 1% have a 4.0 GPA! I know this is true for engineering and the sciences, it might be different for arts programs.</p>
<p>Applying to schools in Ontario is a joke. No essays, no recommendations, no interviews, you can submit SAT scores but the admissions committee doesn't care about them. All they look at are your 11th and 12th grade marks: If they're mostly A's then you're in.</p>