<p>Hi there! I'm a Asian-American Canadian citizen that currently lives in the US with my family for about 5 years now. We've settled down here, bought a house and such. I've recently found that I won't be getting my green card in time for college so I'll become an International Student once I hit 18. I used to aim for the Ivy Leagues in the US but with the economy and my non-citizen status the tuition is going to be pretty pricey. I have a 4.7 weighted GPA but I've only finished freshman year. (I'm not sure what the equivalent of that is in Canada) I basically have no EC's though. So now I'm considering going to college in Canada.</p>
<p>My question is are my chances better to get a scholarship at a top college in Canada (like UoT) or a scholarship at a top university in the US? If I do end up going to Canada to study, will all of my credits transfer? I'm planning to go to the health area or international relations. Are there any specific schools in Canada that are good for those areas?</p>
<p>Canadian unis will be cheaper regardless of whether you receive scholarships or Financial Aid(called bursaries in Canada).</p>
<p>However, I would recommend you go to US, because there are many schools that will give you financial aid (Ivy leagues, and many liberal arts colleges) and may even be need-blind for (international students). Also, since you’re applying from the US, you’ll be considered as a domestic student (in terms of admissions), but an international (in terms of financial), so you have a huge leg up here.</p>
<p>Canadian universities generally don’t give that many scholarships since most are public and have very small endowments (relative). Typically, there will be very few large amount scholarships and those will only be reserved for usually domestic students. </p>
<p>Btw, you can still do some EC’s, you’re only a freshmen. My tip is to get good stats and try to procure financial aid.</p>
<p>Agree with ^. All Canadian university tuition is subsidized by provincial governments (albeit to varying degrees.) McGill receives a good amount of American students because international tuition to McGill is roughly the same as in-state tuition, yet the quality of education is significantly higher at the former. The observation regarding small endowments is also fairly astute.</p>
<p>If your overall concern is finance, then your best bet is to boost your ECs now, and wait to see what offers you get in your graduating year. The Big Three in Canada - UoT, UBC, McGill - would all be top-50 equivalents, and most other Canadian research unis would still be fairly competitive. McGill’s life sci program is extremely competitive, and their medical school is undisputedly the best in the country. Other names you might be interested in are University of Alberta and University of Calgary; the former has poured massive funds into health sci recently, and the latter still has a decent security program. Both have some of the highest spending per student ratios of Canadian research unis, and their relative rankings probably would translate into better chances at scholarships. If you’re into critical theory, York used to have a reputation for postmodern/Marxist IR.</p>
<p>One last thing regarding ^: I’m not sure scholarships are “reserved for usually domestic students.” At McGill, international students earn a disproportionate amount of available funding (they make up 20 percent of undergrad pop, but earn 25 percent of scholarships, which makes sense given that the offer might be the make-or-break factor in their decision to come here.)</p>
<p>Edit: Not sure what you mean by “will all of my credits transfer?” Most uni sites will have fairly clear guidelines regarding US applicants.</p>
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<p>You realize that private universities (Ivy League and others) aren’t any cheaper for citizens, right? If you apply to the ones that have need-blind admission and generous financial aid for Canadians, you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I think now is the wrong time to worry about this. You shouldn’t try to pick schools until junior year. Just enjoy high school and work hard.</p>
<p>Even if you were a rising senior, my advice would be to apply for both and wait for admissions decisions and financial aid letters to arrive before deciding.</p>
<p>You should join a few ECs that interest you. Apart from improving your resume, they can also be a lot of fun and contribute to your experience in high school.</p>
<p>No, canadian scholarships are measly compared to the ones given out in USA. McGill considers a major scholarship anything over $3000, and you will rarely find any full scholarships to any university in canada (except for a select few which are extremely hard to get (TD and Loran comes to mind)).</p>
<p>^ No one’s doubting that. What I question is your claim that even this “measly” money is “reserved for usually domestic students.”</p>
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Canadian tuition is measly compared to American tuition, even in-state tuition at the top state schools.</p>
<p>At McGill, entrance scholarships are $3000. Major scholarships are $8-10,000/year which is full tuition for a Canadian student.</p>