<p>Hi, I am a Singaporean student currently studying in a local polytechnic, majoring in financial trading. I would like to pursue a liberal arts education in college, majoring in economics. I hope you guys can recommend me some canadian colleges with good arts faculty. USA liberal arts colleges are out of the questions as they are too expensive.</p>
<p>Also, do international students go to small LACs in Canada? I don't really wanna be the only international student there. </p>
<p>I have done some research and found out that St. Francis Xavier and Mount Allison are good LACs. And University of Toronto has the biggest arts faculty in the country. How about Alberta, McGill, Western, Queens, McMaster, Simon Fraser and Saint Marys'? Any other comments? Guys please help me. </p>
<p>From what I know, admissions into a US LAC is a no-no for poly students because Liberal Arts doesn't go well with Poly education. </p>
<p>Canada maybe... not very sure. Yeah, I have heard of St. Francis Xavier and Mount Allison. The ones you have listed are quite good. So no worries. =)</p>
<p>Eh, this is a tough one. I don't really know much about Canadian universities, let alone Canadian LACs... But if I am not wrong, Canadian universities are more like British universities in that they go for depth rather than breadth. So you won't really get to enjoy the breath of a liberal arts curriculum in Canadian universities such as UoT, McGill, Queens, etc. (This is my impression... correct me if I'm wrong!) </p>
<p>The LACs might not be such an expensive option if you can actually get financial aid from them, and a lot of them actually offer financial aid to international students like us. But like kenyon_10 said, I am not sure if LACs accept poly students. Perhaps you can email some of them and ask?</p>
<p>Zimmerman, you should try for US LACs because they give a lot of aid. LACs usually have a lot of endowment and few students. Thus, the endowment/capit's large. Take Grinnell for instance .Its got $1.4billion and just 1500 students. My friend going to Grinnell is recieving 80% aid in scholarhip and he isn't a stellar candidate or anything. If US LACs do accept poly students, I would definitely adivise you to apply to a few US LACs</p>
<p>I know virtually nothing about Canadian LACs but if what woebegone said is true, you will definitely not enjoy the true liberal arts experience if you go there.</p>
<p>I also don't think that U.S. LACs are that unaffordable. You would be surprised at how much a school could be willing to assist its successful applicants. You just have to find a school that is commensurate to you abilities and talents. It may end up being less expensive than paying full tuition in a Canadian institution.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I don't think that U.S. LACs accept students that had previously enrolled in tertiary institutions. But don't give up. It's still possible to find some that do.</p>
<p>eh actually i was talking about Canadian Unis and not LACs... I know nothing about Canadian LACs too! </p>
<p>hmm i don't think Singapore polytechnics are considered tertiary instituitions... it's not like Ecole Polytechnique (whatever you spell that), it's just an alternative pre-u education (apart from Junior College) for Singaporeans but instead of studying many subjects like we do, poly students go in-depth into their specific majors. So in that respect, it is somewhat like a tertiary institution. I'm not sure how the US unis see it but Canadian ones are definitely fine with it coz I know of several who did/are doing bachelor's at canada after finishing their poly education here.</p>
<p>my best friend is now residing in canada and applying for ubc... so i will try to help you to my fullest extent.</p>
<p>mcgill, ut, ubc are all hugehugeHUGE universities with smaller, individual schools. go there if u like loads of international students, a somewhat recognized university degree, and depth in courses. it's nothing like a liberal arts education, you can be sure.</p>
<p>no doubt alberta is also a college.. but it is noted to be one of the least selective colleges. something like 84% of the applicants are successful. you can always apply to it as a backup plan. my bf's brother is studying there and he claims the academics aint too bad. </p>
<p>cant help u with st francis and allison as my bf was only considering big colleges! sorry :)</p>
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I was just trying to say that it isn't hard to get scholarships from LACs and that u don't need to be really brainy to get one.
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<p>I didn't know that, to be honest. For example, Bates' acceptance rate for internationals requesting for financial aid is 30/1000 = 3%? While Cornell's one is in the low twenties? So which is more selective or who is more brainy to quote you? I seriously have no idea...</p>
<p>I thought most liberal arts colleges in USA look at your admission essays instead of just your test grades. I scored pretty well in Polytechnic and I am confident with my attitude and determination. I really wanted to enter a LAC in USA as I wanted a general education, one which teaches me life skills and not work skills ( Im not your typical singaporean, I don't chase MONEY. I feel that with the right attitude and mindset, willing to work hard.. Money will come to you automatically.)</p>
<p>Anyway, my GPA in poly is 3.6/4.0 . Is it good enough?</p>
<p>You guys mention bout LAC giving out generous financial aid. Can you list some of them? What bout Colby, Swarthmore, Reed?</p>
<p>Also, someone mention that poly education don't go well with a liberal arts education. I was thinking.. Why not? My Olevels allowed me to go to a junior college but I opt for polytechnic. I am learning the "work skills" in polytechnic, and if i am enrolled in a LAC, I will learn the "life skills". </p>
<p>I emailed McGill regarding admission requirements for polytechnic students. And they replied that polytechnic students are considered transfer students and they require a GPA of 3.0 to apply. Maybe the LAC will consider me as at transfer student?</p>
<p>Seriously, I really doubt US LACs will consider you as a transfer student because all your poly credits cannot be transferred to a LAC. It's not about you making into JC or not. The crux of the issue is that without your A level cert, most LACs will based admissions into their schools using your O level results. And that is hard especially if you applying to a top tier LAC. For your information, Mcgill's acceptance rate is 50 something percent whereas Swarthmore is 18 or perhaps even less %. Even Kenyon's acceptance rate is 32% (and is less than 10% for students seeking financial aid). Plus, you will be competing with all the JC people. </p>
<p>I will tell you to go to McGill. It sounds like a good school and it accepts transfer credit from Polytechnic.</p>
<p>I didnt find any admission requirements for international Students ( i am referring to A levels scores ). All they required is TOEFL and SATS score and essays.</p>
<p>No, McGill doesn't even look at Polyechnic diplomas. McGill is very stats related, over-representated by the top 5 JCs, I know cause I been in touch with the MASSA(Malaysia and Singapore Student Acc) McGill. They probably misunderstood the Polytechnic as a community college. I don't think they consider poly grades as GPA.</p>
<p>Your only chance to get in is through your O levels. Perhaps 4-7 As will do the trick. Recomendations would help too. McGill accpetance rate is 50% because the local students Quebecians have a certain cut off point to get in. & most don't even apply if they don't meet them. It similar to U Michigan. They got a huge pool of very qualified students. </p>
<p>Try using your O levels to apply. Mcgill is a very good school but it doesn't accept transfer credits from Poly, you got to start from U0 freshman.</p>
<p>oh man... thats so discouraging... what bout the liberal arts colleges? I don't mind having to start from year 1... what I do mind is financial aid.</p>
<p>If you don't mind prestige, look lower down the list. You have a higher chance of being admitted, especially if few from Singapore actually apply. I'm sure you will be able to find a good LAC that suits you.</p>
<p>Schools like Swarthmore, however, are going to be very hard to get in even without financial aid. They only took two from Singapore this year, and one of them was a PSC scholar.</p>