canadian university programs recognized by the states?

<p>hey everyone,</p>

<p>I was wondering about the "prestige," i suppose, of particular canadian university programs.
From what I've read on the forum, it seems that the two foremost known canadian universities in the states are university of toronto and mcgill. But in terms of say, applying to med school, do universities in the states (harvard, yale, uc, etc) recognize universities such as McMaster University (which has the best pre-med program in canada, way harder than university of toronto's pre-med), or queen's university?</p>

<p>it'd be kind of disappointing to choose McMaster's pre-med program over University of Toronto's, only to find out 4 years later that the Toronto students have a better chance of getting into grad schools in the states.</p>

<p>Thanks for your input!</p>

<p>I don't know specifics, but its my general understanding that, McGill wise at least, the undergraduate program is not just recognized, but highly respected, in general. The only case I know of where Canadian colleges are not "recognized" is law school- students from Foreign law schools cannot be called to the bar in some states. </p>

<p>But that's no problem for you. :)</p>

<p>so it doesnt matter much to US grad schools whether a student came from u of t or mcgill, or mcmaster, or queen's?</p>

<p>I don't know the answers to your questions, but McGill, UToronto, and UBC seem to all be the "most respected" in the states. Don't know about grad school placement. I also think Waterloo and Queen's are awesome schools, too, but don't know that much about them.</p>

<p>Are you at UToronto now??</p>

<p>The London Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) ranks McGill # 11 and Toronto # 14 in North America (i.e US + Canada). I'd say both are excellent schools with the inconvenience however that Toronto in particular is a HUGE university (with over 50,000 full-time undergrad students), which normally translates into large class sizes, distant faculty, etc. McGill is also reasonably big (approx. 24,000 undergrad students) , but not as bad as Toronto. English is the language of instruction in both universities, but McGill is located in a majoritarily Francophone city (Montreal) and a (very) small number of classes may be taught in French instead .</p>

<p>Yeah, that's what I keep hearing - mcgill and u of t. Not much people know about McMaster or Queens, or Waterloo. And that's what I'm worrying about, since McMaster/Queen/Waterloo have smaller programs that are more competitive and harder to get into. </p>

<p>Another thing just came up too - someone told me that for things such as engineering, or even accounting, a US undergraduate degree would not be accepted in Canada, but a Canadian one would be accepted in the US. Is that true? :S
If I were to go to the US and come back to Canada to work, would I actually be at a disadvantage compared to the students that stayed in Canada for their education?</p>

<p>Thanks a bunch!</p>

<p>From what I've heard, GPA is critcial for Med School Admission, as well as the MCAT test, the interview, experience, etc. And getting A's at Canadian schools is much less likely than in the USA. </p>

<p>There might be certain certifications (such as for teaching) that only the home country would recognize.</p>

<p>But again, from what I've heard, many top Canadian students try to attend college in the USA, if they can afford it.</p>

<p>I have a master's degree from U of Toronto, so I'm a bit familiar with the quality of Canadian universities. I'm sure med schools would consider Queens and Waterloo on par with McGill and Toronto. McMaster is respected but not legendary; it's probably on par with respectable schools like Michigan State, Iowa, and the University of Massachusetts.</p>

<p>What about medical school at McGill? I seem to recall that McGill medical school graduates are treated exactly as though they graduated from a US medical school.</p>

<p>mcmaster not considered?
ahhh... but the thing is, to get in a university of toronto pre-med degree or mcgill pre-med degree requires 80% averages and the classes are huge... 2000 pre-med?
while mcmaster only accepts about 60 and requires averages of 90% with long essays and other requirements.</p>

<p>(sorry about the term "pre-med." It's actually life science and health science, but since most people arent familiar with the two programs I used pre-med to simplify things)</p>

<p>you should maybe ask the school itself whether it has success placing it's students in US medical schools. i'm not sure how much posters here know about the subjecct.</p>