<p>I'm quite happy to be a student in Canada but wouldn't mind if I were accepted to say, oh... Princeton or something. :D </p>
<p>However, for admissions in the US, you need to take the SATs (I and IIs), an essay, recommendations, and maybe an interview. This is an exceeding cumbersome process when compared to Canada where you don't need anything outside of an application and good grades. </p>
<p>And as if that wasn't enough, tuition in Canada is vastly cheaper. Between scholarships and part-time jobs I can prolly (with my qualifications) get a bachelor's degree in Canada from a top school without any money from my parents. In the US, I, as an int'l student, would need huge amounts of parental contribution and take on a well paying part-time job and basically scrape together every dollar I can find - and that's if I can get financial aid (another headache of forms). </p>
<p>Also, it's not like the quality of education is much better in the US. I mean, sure there are a few more nice campuses but I don't know just how much "better" it is in the States than Canada.</p>
<p>I guess the only appeal of US schools is the pretige. Knowing that I have an opportunity to go to Princeton or Yale and get that "ticket for life" is, I think, something worth fighting for. I wouldn't want to live out my college career knowing that I had a shot at the top schools in the world but didn't take it. Moreover, my parents don't think I can get in, they've even joked about paying for all my tuition if I do (which I know they won't). You can say that my biggest motivation is essentially to prove my parents wrong (pretty silly, I know). </p>
<p>So the question is this: After considering the above factors, is it worth it for Canadians (or any int'l students for that matter) to attend or even apply to US schools?</p>
<p>Well, I personally love the UBC and UofT campuses so you're not necessarily sacrificing beautiful campuses if you choose to stay here. </p>
<p>I never looked at US schools seriously (lack of money held me back) so I can't say for sure if US schools are THAT much better, but from what I was told from a McGill professor who taught at Yale for a couple years, in terms of quality of education, the schools aren't that far off. The only siginificance difference is that the "top" Canadian schools are $5000. You have to decide if the difference in quality of education is worth the extra $35K. I also talked to a buddy of mine who had transferred to Cornell, his basic rationalization for trasnferring to McGill was that it offered the same undergraduate education for cheaper.</p>
<p>For me, it's more of a freedom thing. If I went to school in Ontario (where i live now) my parents would be too much of a nag, and I frankly want to be independent -- can't rely on your mom and dad forever. Also, I think there are a lot more job opportunities in the US, especially for high-tech and engineering fields (most tech companies are based in the States as opposed to Canada).</p>
<p>Yeah, I actually meant he transferred to McGill from Cornell. For him it wasn't about money as his grandfather is loaded and would've paid for anything his mother couldn't afford but he didn't want to be too much of a douche to his mom. Plus, to him (he's taking business by the way) the differences in quality of education between McGill and Cornell, if any at all, were neglible and not worth an extra $15k a year (I think he pays 20K at McGill and 35K at Cornell).</p>
<p>got2run: I'm considering going to schools in California (either Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA or UCSD) but those schools are big reaches for me. My 2nd tier of schools are Georgia Tech, UIUC, and Purdue. I'm looking for good schools in engineering.</p>
<p>i have a question about univeristy of british columbia, when and if i apply, will i have to submit teacher recs and SAT scores and stuff to them? i am a canadian citizen living and studying at a high school in the US</p>
<p>does it apply to mcgill too? or do i need sat's for mcgill (oh, btw, sat's for ubc too?) remember, im canadian citizen living in US,so i have taken the SAT's for us colleges</p>
<p>You don't need any SAT's for cdn. uni's though they accept them. For mcgill I believe it was admission with a 1400 (though maybe 1200? can't quite remember). If you are applying as a cdn. you do not need them though if you are applying as an american you may. I'm pretty sure there is a specific section regarding this on mcgill's website.</p>
<p>ubc is like guaranteed admission iwth a 65 or a 75. When i applied to mcgill it was the year of the double cohort and their admission cutoff was like 87 or something. It's so stupid. I hate they don't admit people who have an average below 87 but have great ec's and rec's. Sometimes I just don't understand that country.</p>