Intro to Canadian Universities- Ontario

College Search & Selection
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<p>As a Canadian browsing these forums, it's disappointing to see what little regard Canadian Universities get. And even when a Canadian school does get mentioned, it's usually paired with a comment that's either false or somewhat misleading. So, I've decided to help out any American that's trying to find out more about Canadian schools, or any Canadian that's trying to make a choice. Because I'm Ontario-grown, I'll only comment on schools in Ontario, however I invite other Canadians to post information about their province's colleges. </p>

<p>In Canada, we don't really have "top schools". We have schools that excel in certain faculties, but there normally aren't any schools that allow their alumni to carry a wad of prestige around in their back pockets. With this being said, I'll focus on each school's individual strengths.</p>

<p>Brock University - St. Catharines
"If you can walk and talk, you can go to Brock".<br>
That's the general idea that most Ontarians get from this mid-sized University. Although they're very well known for their excellent Kinesiology and Sport Management programs, and for any other sport-or-athletics related program, the general consensus is that Brock is a school for dumb kids.</p>

<p>Carleton University - Ottawa
Located in Canada's capital, Carleton is well-known for their Journalism program and their unique faculty of Public Affairs. They also boast Canada's best Political Science program.</p>

<p>Lakehead University - Thunder Bay
Although a very small University located in a very small city, the school boasts an excellent Nursing program. I also hear the bush parties are great.</p>

<p>McMaster University - Hamilton
An incredible university, sadly overshadowed in popularity by University of Toronto and strangely, McGill. Makes the top 100 list of international universities, when McGill does not. McMaster is the place to be if you're considering a major in Health Sciences, or any other biological science. Is also somewhat well-known for their Engineering program.</p>

<p>Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) - Toronto
Self-Explanatory.</p>

<p>Queen's University - Kingston
Although this school seems very prestigious, they don't regularly provide the important alumni to back it up, and rankings show this. However, if you're white, upper middle-class and interested in being a teacher, this school is for you. Queen's can also compete for a good spot in Engineering. Looks very nice on a resume.</p>

<p>Ryerson University - Toronto
This school used to be a community college, then a polytechnic university, but now they're just well-known for their competitive Radio and Television broadcasting programs. They also have a very competitive school of Architecture.</p>

<p>University of Guelph - Guelph
Situated on acres of beautiful Ontario farmland, this school is in the middle of butt***** nowhere. However, the town is very charming, and Guelph is well known for their Agricultural and (competitive) Veterinary Programs.</p>

<p>University of Ottawa - Ottawa
A research-extensive bilingual University, UofOttawa is well-known for their Neuroscience program, and falls shortly behind McMaster for their Health Sciences programs.</p>

<p>University of Toronto - Toronto
Situated across 3 seperate campuses, all in Toronto, each campus boasts it's own strengths for this world-renowned University. The main campus (St. George, located in downtown Toronto), is well known for it's Humanities programs, and the Engineering program is arguably one of the best in North America. The downtown campus is also well-known for their Law and Medicine graduate programs. The Scarborough campus is well-known for it's specialist programs, that are offered jointly with Centennial College, a nearby community college. They offer programs such as paramedicine and journalism. The Missisauga campus is well-known for their communications and media programs. It should be noted that because UofT is a city school, the vast majority of it's students are commuters, and because of this, the sense of a university community is lost. However, UofT students do maintain a sense of school spirit and pride. This is a very competitive school, and they're not scared to boot you if your grades aren't satisfactory. Remember: you're expendable, and an asian will be more than happy to take your place.</p>

<p>University of Waterloo - Waterloo
If you want to be an engineer, mathie, or scientist of any sort, this is the school for you. Ranked as the most comprehensive school in Canada for 14 years in a row, Waterloo is able to compete fiercely for the top spot in any Engineering competition. Waterloo also offers specialized programs, including Managerial Engineering, Aviation and Geography, and Nanotechnology. They also offer incredible Computer Science programs, and even has a building that has been designed to look like a computer chip from an aerial view. Called Waterwoo by the neighbouring university/highschool, Laurier, Waterloo also boasts a high percentage of international students--many of them hailing from East Asia. Waterloo is Ontario's ultimate nerd school. And we don't mind it one bit. A warning to the engineers, however: be prepared to have no social life. Seriously. Waterloo won't let you. They keep you segregated from the rest of the student body. But it's well worth it. </p>

<p>University of Western Ontario - London
If you're Jewish and like to drink, this school is for you. Nothing really stands out here, aside from their reputation as a party school and their MBA program at Ivey, the Business school.</p>

<p>Wilfrid Laurier University - Waterloo
A very small University, located directly across the street from the very large UofWaterloo. They're well-known for their keggers, an alright Business program, and making fun of the nerds down the street. Waterloo kids come to party here.</p>

<p>York University - Toronto
"If you can lift a fork, you can go to York"
Much like Brock, Ontarians aren't too fond of poor York. We all make fun of them. Even Brock makes fun of them. However, the Schulich School of Business offers a very serious, competitive, and well-respected Business program. Osgoode Hall also boasts a well-known Law program. York itself is known for it's competitive Fine Arts programs. However, much like UofT, York is a commuter school, and doesn't have a very strong sense of community.</p>

<p>Feel free to comment, add to, or argue any of my reviews of Ontario Universities. And as I stated earlier, please add your own reviews of other Canadian schools. I hope this guide is able to help you make a more informed choice about studying in Canada.</p>

2

<p>i will agree that there are great programs in canada, but i think what u may not be understanding is that, outside of canada, all canadian schools hold no prestigious value (name recognition)whatsoever, with the 2 big exceptions being McGill and UToronto, and a smaller being UBC (but mostly only known in US, not so much europe or asia).</p>

<p>Thus, there is no good american/european/asian connections for getting a job straight out of college with all canadian schools except the ones i mentioned (this is for a US citizen).</p>

<p>They are definitely great schools though if you plan on living in canada. But they arent practical for Americans (except McGill,toronto, and UBC of course) because when moving back to the US, employers generally have no knowledge whatsoever of specific values of undergraduate education in canada. (although many big businesses know McGill and Toronto quite well).</p>

3

<p>only comment: U of T. School pride is actually quite strong. I know people who went there just so they could act like academic snobs like the rest of the students.</p>

4

<p>Suppose I go to Canada for my undergrad, do I still have a good shot of getting into a US grad school ?</p>

5

<p>Dear MChartra: Can you give a characterization/thumbnail review of Trent University (I believe located in Peterborough?)</p>

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<p>PS-what is a bush party?</p>

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<p>MChartra--</p>

<p>Would you please tell me a little more about Ryerson? I understand it's an urban campus in Toronto. S is interested in journalism and has mentioned Ryerson more than once. How are its other journalism programs, like magazine or print? What kind of reputation does Ryerson have? I'm having trouble finding out a lot of information about it.</p>

<p>Thanks! :)</p>

8

<p>bigtwix--</p>

<p>Most Canadians are aware that if they want to be competitive for an American job, they'll either need to study in the US, or obtain their Master's or a graduate degree. I'm personally planning on attending Law School in the States. However, like I stated in the original post, just because some Canadian Universities carry a bigger name than others, doesn't mean you'll be getting the best education for your field. I'd take Waterloo engineering over UofT engineering any day, and international employers do recognize Waterloo as having one of the top engineering programs in North America. I'd also say that York's Schulich School of Business is not only more competitive, but a much better experience than UBC. I have a friend at UBC for commerce, and he thinks the profs are idiots.</p>

<p>ivyleaguer--</p>

<p>I don't know much about Laurentian, but if another Canadian does, maybe they'll speak up. All I know is thats its a very small University, like Trent, Lakehead and Nip****ing, with a student body of <7000. And yeah, I said they DO have pride, and they're definitely snobby, however they don't have a strong sense of community, because few people actually live on campus.</p>

<p>20GRAD--</p>

<p>Yes. Keep your GPA up, and ace your standardized tests, if applicable (LSATS, MCATS, etc), and you'll have as good of a shot as anybody. Possibly even better, if you're a Canadian, because Universities normally have to meet a quota of international students (or at least that's how it works in Canada).</p>

<p>Weldon--</p>

<p>A bush party is just that-- a party in the bush. It's usually at a campgroun or in a hollowed out area in the woods. Campfire + Beer = Bush Party. Trent is...small. They're not very well known, even in Ontario. Very comparable to Lakehead, except they're very liberal-arts focused. I believe they don't offer any science programs on their main campus, they're partnered with UOIT (another tiny school in Oshawa) and have their science programs on that campus. They're not really notably strong in any particular area.</p>

<p>Oregonianmom--</p>

<p>I'm surprised I didn't mention this in my original post, but yes, Ryerson does have an incredibly well-known and extremely, extremely competitive Journalism program. Ryerson is usually overlooked (most Toronto universities are, they're all living in the shadows of UofT), but it is very well-respected for their all of their media arts/communications programs. And again, because it is situated in downtown Toronto, it is a commuter school. If S were to live here, I'd reccommend staying in residence all 4 years, unless you have the money to pitch for a Toronto apartment (which could run you anywhere from $600-1000 per month for a bachelor's 30 minutes away from Ryerson by subway, to $1800-2000 per month, for a bacherlor's on the doorstep of the school). Toronto is an expensive city.</p>

9

<p>McMaster is VERY VERY easy to get into and McMaster also has extremely easy curriculums. </p>

<p>Everybody knows McMaster is a second tier school and is no where near the top schools like McGill, U of T, Queen's, Western or even Waterloo.</p>

<p>Go to McGill, U of T, Queen's or Western if you are serious about your education.</p>

10

<p>How's Waterloo's health sciences program?</p>

<p>Hmmm. Ottawa U's good for it's Neuroscience program?? OwO</p>

<p>News to me. I never heard a thing about it from anyone who goes there.</p>

11

<p>I know this is an old thread but I wanted to point out how flaw this post was. His/her view on many programs in Canada are not only misleading but very untrue. </p>

<p>Note: Had to write this in case any was doing a search on Canadian schools and came across this.</p>

12

<p>A "very small" university is <7000 students???</p>

<p>In the US, "very small" means <1000 students.</p>

13

<p>you didn't follow up. I looked your postings and you never went on to any other province. only ontario, MChartra.</p>

14

<p>
[quote]
McMaster University : An incredible university, sadly overshadowed in popularity by University of Toronto and strangely, McGill. Makes the top 100 list of international universities, when McGill does not.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>In fact, the truth is exactly the opposite of what you've written ! McGill is ranked # 21 in the world (#12 in North America) according to theQS/THES ranking of world universities. McMaster on the other hand is ranked #155 !</p>

<p>The Chinese Academic Ranking of World Universities is somewhat less favorable to McGill, ranking it # 44 in North America and # 63 in the world. Still, McGill ranks above McMaster, which is placed at #52 in North America and #83 in the world according to the ARWU.</p>

15

<p>I am thinking of going to Western Ontario for Sports Management. How is their program. Also what are the top law schools in Onario</p>

16

<p>I’ve been looking for info on Canadian schools, but seeing as people have been saying this poster has skewed information, I’m not sure what to do.</p>

<p>Anybody want to help?? :/</p>

17

<p>What schools/programs are you looking for?</p>