@57special , you are absolutely right that there are lots of great universities in Canada. My D and I have looked pretty hard at some of the others, like Queens, Mt Allison, and UVic. The drawback to many of these schools is accessibility. For us, in middle America, The Big Three only require two flights plus a short jaunt on public transportation. Mt Allison requires three flights plus a two hour drive or bus ride. That’s just too much for us, and probably for many others Americans who are thinking about going north.
D and I spoke at length with a very helpful advisor at UBC last week. I asked her how American students do there, in general. She gently said that many of them really struggle. They think it’s going to be a lot easier than it is.
I keep hearing that U of T is huge and impersonal, but that is not at all the impression we got when D and I visited in Aug. The residential college system and first year seminars are very appealing to my D, and in her eyes give U of T an edge over the other Big Two. We will return to U of T in March, so D can visit classes and get a better picture of what student life is really like.