<p>
</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the evidence for that is. Most people would argue about which schools should be in the 15-30 range in the first place.</p>
<p>bomerr: Canadian Unis don’t have Gen Eds at all so American universities would be better for that. If OP is unsure of his/her major, it would also be advantageous to attend an American university since students have 1-2 years to declare their majors whereas in Canada they have to declare it when they apply. I agree that for a Canadian it makes no sense to study law in the US considering law graduates are unemployed and underemployed at high rates in the US and in demand in Canada (especially students who are bilingual or trilingual)!
However in that sense it would make sense to do undergrad in the US and law school in Canada.</p>
<p>OP: The guides are produced independently (they’re not created by the universities) - they interview students, report the CDS (official, verified numbers) etc. There are 3,700 universities, the “Best Colleges” guides tend to have about 300 so that should be fine for a first start. They provide a description of the colleges and include important factors for daily life (like: would you rather go to class in shoerts&flipsflops or in a suit and tie? is the food excellent or merely average ie fast food level? do students drink a lot, ie, get drunk a lot? is there a lot of discussion with professors? etc.)</p>
<p>
There may be some element of truth to this statement, though of course it depends on how you define and measure “quality of education”.</p>
<p>Consider the kinds of factors US News uses. These include (in addition to the subjective Peer Assessments and Guidance Counsellor assessments) student selectivity, class sizes, graduation rates, and financial resources. Most of the top ~20 national universities have admit rates below 20%, average SAT scores above 2100, < 10% of classes with 50 or more students, and 4 year graduation rates >= 85%. Almost all of them claim to provide need-based aid covering 100% of determined need. UC Berkeley, the only public university in the top 20 (at #20), seems to be the only school that misses several of these criteria (but apparently is pulled up by its very high Peer Assessment score).</p>
<p>Past the top ~20, very few national universities claim to support 100% of determined financial need. The percentage of classes with 50 or more students may be 2x or 3x the numbers you see in the top ~20 (e.g. ~23% at Ohio State). 4 year graduation rates fall below 80% or even below 60% for some schools in the 21-75 range (e.g 54% for Wisconsin, 51% for Texas).</p>
<p>A much higher percentage of universities in the ~21-75 range are state schools, compared to the top 20. Generally, the state universities are much larger than schools in the top 20. They usually draw the majority (often a large majority) of their students from their home state and surrounding states. Compared to the top 20, typically a much higher percentage of undergraduates at these schools major in business, communications, agriculture and other pre-professional fields (v. arts and science majors such as English, history, or physics). </p>
<p>Nevertheless, it is very hard to measure and compare the quality of instruction, or learning outcomes, from college to college. Good data just doesn’t seem to exist. So we aren’t necessarily comparing “quality of education” when we point to average SAT scores, graduation rates, and such.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I was thinking of getting into finance with law at the side? Like corporate or international law? Would I still be unemployed? I know this sounds very short-sighted, but I just really want to work in New York. I’m not even Canadian (don’t have Canadian passport), so would that make a difference regarding work visas for the US?</p>
<p>Why do you want to work in New York? Yes, there are a lot of opportunities, but it can also be a very expensive place to live. Many of the same companies with offices in New York also have offices in other large cities, like Toronto (I know that the company my dad works for does). I’d say not to base your college choice (and spending) on an I<3NY mentality.
Are you originally from here? (Just me being curious on why specifically here…)
Full disclosure- I live in the suburbs and go to high school in NYC- I will also be attending college here. It rocks in some ways but really, really doesn’t in others, IMO.</p>
<p>Yes it makes a huge difference for work permits. Canadians have some privileges other internationals don’t have (it doesn’t apply to college admissions, only to work). The first thing you’d need to try and get is Canadian citizenship.
Corporate law is law, not finance.
It’s also fairly prestige-oriented, so you’d need to get into top colleges. Your best bet would be to get into McGill, UT, or UBC, do extremely well there (top 5%), then attend one of the top law schools in the country.</p>