<p>I have a very different opinion than yours. </p>
<p>As an undergrad I went to Carleton University (which I would compare to UIC) where I received an outstanding education. When I was there, students that transferred to Carleton from Queen's and McGill would complain that they had to work much harder to get good grades at Carleton than at the more selective schools that they moved from.</p>
<p>While I would not have wanted to be an undergraduate at UBC (because of the size of the school), I had an excellent grad school experience. Having taken graduate courses in the same field in the US, I have no doubt that I received a better education at UBC than I would have in the US--and at much less cost.</p>
<p>Certainly, schools differ in quality by field, and there are some areas where Queens, McGill, U of T and Waterloo offer better a better education than UBC. But to dismiss all of Canada's other universities as being unworthy, I believe, is to ignore some wonderful educational opportunities offered by a variety of Canadian institutions.</p>