<p>@coolweather Depends on the province and the revenue level. Quebec makes one pay less taxes when the income is not that great, but Alberta is better for someone with higher incomes.</p>
<p>"1 US dollar = 1.0199 Canadian dollar "</p>
<p>When you make an exchange through who ever you find, they will take 1-2% cut on the transaction. So 1.0199 is more like 1 if the rate stays the same. And earlier when I paid for my D tuition last year it was lower than 1, something like 0.98, so the rate does go up and down a lot.</p>
<p>“We should head to Canada to pay less taxes.”</p>
<p>Tax is higher there than the US. And their VAT tax is a lot more vast in terms of things they tax in general than the US. One of the reason why Canadian regularly come down to buy stuff in the US especially people that live near the border.</p>
<p>One of the reason why Canadian regularly come down to buy stuff in the US especially people that live near the border.</p>
<p>Do they ever!</p>
<p>[Canadian</a> rush on Costco milk frustrating Bellingham customers | KING5.com Seattle](<a href=“http://www.king5.com/video/featured-videos/Canadian-rush-Costco-milk-Bellingham-166254246.html]Canadian”>http://www.king5.com/video/featured-videos/Canadian-rush-Costco-milk-Bellingham-166254246.html)</p>
<p>As an American alumnus of McGill the low tuition was not the deciding factor for me, although my parents were pleased. If you go to university in Canada you need to have a sense of “adventure”, especially in Quebec. It is definitely not the “traditional college experience”. </p>
<p>When I was there in the late 1990’s international tuition was about $8000/year and the exchange rate was about 70%. </p>
<p>The NBC figures are off not only for current tuition but also the number of Americans at McGill. The 6% figure would be for visa Americans, there are almost as many dual citizens attending who pay the low out of province Canadian tuition rate.</p>
<p>Friends in Buffalo, NY used to holler to the hills about Canadians swarming NY grocery stores, stealing carts in front of you and declaring ‘I need this more than you; YOU live here and can shop at any time.’ LOL.</p>
<p>Taxes are higher in Canada mainly because they have a national health insurance program. People pay for health care costs mainly through through value added taxes instead of insurance premiums. At the same time, some US companies have found their employment costs are lower in Canada because they do not have to pay for employee health care.</p>
<p>If you’re considering applying to universities in Canada and the U.S., check the admission timetables. The Canadian schools do not use the same deadlines for notification and decision.</p>
<p>sent from my smartphone with my fat fingers</p>
<p>Canadian universities are absolutely terrible in every aspect imaginable. The only one I would even contemplate attending is McGill. I am desperately trying to leave a top 5 Canadian university.</p>
<p>Hey everybody,</p>
<p>So for the past few weeks I have been planning on attending Carnegie Mellon, where I would eventually plan to graduate with an undergraduate business degree from Tepper. Last night, however, I was accepted off the waitlist from McGill University in Canada for the BCommerce program. </p>
<p>Both are great schools, and I am very aware of that. I know that Tepper is really good with recruitment and jobs post-graduation and all, and is pretty small, allowing for smaller class sizes too, and good opportunities to get to know your professors. </p>
<p>I come from an upper middle class family, and we did not get much financial aid from Carnegie Mellon. Being a twin, and the oldest of four kids, going to CMU would put a major financial burden on my parents. </p>
<p>I am, however, a Canadian citizen, which allows me to get the Canadian rate for attending McGill- which would probably be possibly up to $25-30k less than attending Carnegie Mellon, a HUGE difference.</p>
<p>I have fallen in love with Carnegie Mellon the past few weeks- its got a great program with some uniqueness, and the school has a lot of things I want in a college.
When I visited the McGill campus, I didn’t really like it at all. McGill is also a huge school- there are 600 kids A YEAR in just the Bcommerce program (opposite of Tepper with less than like 90), which I’m sure will make for extreme competition (even after I’ve selected a major), and obviously means there will be huge class sizes</p>
<p>I know both schools are really good. CMU has alot of the things that I’m looking for, but I know McGill would really be the financial choice. I don’t know what to do. Any advice?</p>
<p>Personally, I would go with Carnegie Mellon.</p>
<p>@hockey…: As a Canadian or dual citizen you will pay $7600/year at McGill. At Carnegie Mellon you will pay $45,800/year. That is $38,200/year more times four, less any grants/scholarships you receive from CMU. Are your parents able and willing to pay the cash or take out $100,000 in parental loans on your behalf? If so, then go to CMU, if not, go to McGill.</p>
<p>You’ll be making big strides in your business program by making that choice. That’s a lot of money. Practice what you’ll be studying.</p>
<p>I love in SE Michigan by the Port Huron/Sarnia border, and I know someone who commutes to the University of Western Ontario! By saving money for R&B, it works out to be a good deal for them. (Though a bit of a drive, if you ask me) </p>
<p>Also, I heard that the University of Waterloo and Simon Fraser University have good stipends for grad school, even if you’re American.</p>
<p>*I live in SE Michigan</p>
<p>Spartan, I agree. It is easy to make university cheap if you:</p>
<ol>
<li>Enroll 40,000 students</li>
<li>Stuff 400 students into one giant lecture hall at a time</li>
<li>Hire ‘faculty lecturers’ to do most of the undergraduate teaching</li>
<li>Have an ugly campus without many athletic facilities</li>
<li>Have dorms so awful that you wouldn’t let your dog live in them</li>
<li>Have no research opportunities</li>
<li>Don’t buy enough public computers for students to use on campus</li>
<li>Don’t provide enough library area and study area for students</li>
<li>Have food facilities that consist of Subway and Edo Japan </li>
</ol>
<p>You want cheap? That’s the sacrifice that you make, and that’s what it is like everywhere in Canada.</p>
<p>I just finished a degree at the University of Toronto, so maybe I could chip in. I used to lurk in these forums 3 years ago when I was applying 3 years ago (yes, I’m graduating a year early! And I get to start graduate school a year early! :D). I actually did get into Cornell for undergrad, but due to complications, I ended up at Toronto and I do not regret it. </p>
<p>There are pros and cons for each school, and personally, I found Toronto to be a great school. For one, I am graduating with zero debt (actually, I think I’ve earned some money! And I get to starting graduate school with awesome funding next year! :P). There are so many courses and majors offered, and I could pretty much get into any course I wanted to. </p>
<p>Based on 13transfer’s list, I agree with #1 and #2. Yes, there are 40K undergrads here. As for #2… the first year classes are actually “a bit” bigger than 400 students. So? That just means there are more opportunities. </p>
<p>Yes, there are “faculty lecturers” who do a lot of the undergraduate teaching, but I don’t have an issue with that. In fact, I love it and I do my best to enroll into their classes, because they’re the ones who love teaching and have time for their students. I learn so much more from “faculty lecturers” and have a much better learning experience. </p>
<p>There are like 20 libraries at the University of Toronto, so I’m not sure what he means by “not enough studying space” or “not enough public computers.” </p>
<p>There are plenty of research opportunities. If you’re not smart enough to get a research gig, then you’re not smart enough to be doing research. (Nope, I didn’t do any research in undergrad). </p>
<p>It’s hard to tell what a school actually is like unless you’ve actually been there, and what’s good for someone is different from what’s good for someone else. Please don’t be quick to criticize, but likewise, don’t be quick to say that the grass is greener on the other side.</p>
<p>I went to a top five Canadian university for one year and there is no way I am going back. I should have been on the ball in high school (in terms of applying) so I could have got into a good college. I could count the number of nice things that I have to say about that place on one hand. That’s just my experience; sorry if it offends anyone.</p>
<p>As far as dorms are concerned, at least four of the top-5 Canadian schools are commuter schools (unless Queen’s is somehow a top-5 and a residential college; I don’t know who exactly occupies the one spot in the top-5 I’m not sure about, it can be one of McMaster, Queen’s, UWO, U Waterloo or U Montreal) I know for a fact that U Alberta, UBC and U Toronto are commuter schools, McGill is a commuter school as far as upperclassmen are concerned. </p>
<p>However, I concede that Laval University (my sister attended Laval but didn’t graduate), while outside the top-5, is a top-10 Canadian school, and has horrible dorms. Yet they’re still $306 monthly as of Winter 2013… Plus, the very schools that have Edo Japan or Subway for food joints likely offer no food plan whatsoever.</p>
<p>For faculty lecturers: I never had that experience, since I was in an impopular program (other than perhaps U Waterloo, and, in the US, Harvey Mudd or Caltech, physics isn’t exactly that popular), everyone that taught me were tenure-track faculty, except for one advanced course that was taught by a faculty lecturer because the one originally scheduled to teach that class died during the holidays. </p>
<p>Athletics aren’t a big thing in Canadian universities, but at least we aren’t seeing student-athletes that are given admissions favors to play for a given university. No football coach, even Constantin (Laval University’s football head coach; that school is a Vanier Cup contender every year) doesn’t have the admissions clout to admit a football player that wouldn’t normally get in on his own.</p>
<p>13transfer actually made some points that US students should be aware of when considering Canadian universities. From my standpoint, as a parent, taxpayer, and ex-pat, Canadian universities offer a high quality of education. But as a federally funded institution with comparatively low tuition, the model assumes that young adults are capable, for example, of living in an apartment nearby (not much of a dorm focus at most of them), navigating large weeder classes, (and taking initiative via labs, instructor hours, etc.) and relying on the nearby community for restaurants, entertainment, etc.</p>
<p>Many people here in the US complain about the rising costs of tuition ad COA, and some of those who complain recognize that it’s due to the “edifice complex” whereby universities compete for students via superficial means such as gleaming infrastructure and an abundance of amenities. They do it because of the expectation of students such as transfer13.</p>
<p>But don’t be fooled into thinking that superior amenities necessarily equals a superior education. It’s just not true. And if you can’t afford a full-pay private, don’t assume you’ll have any less fun, make any fewer friends or have any fewer vocational opportunities because you studied somewhere that approaches university with less of a “consumer” emphasis ;)</p>
<p>Also, be sure to look at CURRENT tuition and all fees for your major, not just an outdated incomplete number in a poorly researched news article. From what others have written, Canadian universities used to be a great financial deal for US students. However, many of the most popular Canadian universities have greatly increased tuition and fees for non-Canadian students, and many charge more for the most popular majors. </p>
<p>The exchange rate can also have a big effect, and it has changed greatly over the years.</p>