<p>All these so-called activists at McGill are protesting a proposed rise in tuiton. Quebec tution currently stands at 1900/yr. McGill is underfunded by about 350 million. What's worse, the protestors now want free tuition all together! Who do they want to pick up the slack? Quebec tax payers of course, some of whom pay 58% of their income in tax already. These idiots don't realize that they are simply degrading the quality of their degree along with everyone else's education with their childish idealism. If Quebec was more fiscally conservative and a better place to find employment post-graduation, paying off 10k in student loans wouldn't even matter! Instead, they want to futher harm their future earnings power because of their short-sightedness. Raise tuition, then use the excess funds to create need-based grants! Let the rich college kids subsidize the poor, not the working class Quebecers!</p>
<p>Uhh. 1900/yr ?
According to google: 1 900 Canadian dollars = 1 606.76533 U.S. dollars</p>
<p>A private school in the US costs $30k per SEMESTER that's 60k per year! Damn!</p>
<p>On the Princeton Review it says tuition is $3,438. If you're going for that cheap then why does it matter - unless they're upping it by thousands. </p>
<p>Scorp- private schools are often $30k/year, not semester. Per semester would be insane.</p>
<p>why socialism doesn't work.........</p>
<p>Quebec is special. I think that 1900/year figure only applies if you're an in-province student. If you're out-of-province, it's probably closer to the 5000/year that most Canadian students pay. But yeah, they definitely have the lowest tuition in the country, mostly due to provincial transfers. </p>
<p>PS: Do any Canadians here know if they still get inflated federal transfers for education?</p>
<p>colincsl the private school I go to (in the US) is certainly 30+k per semester.</p>
<p>McGill has the ability to be a top notch public university, on par with the likes of UMich and UCLA. It's sad, because 40 years ago McGill was on par with the very best in the world. I have faith in the current school administration's lobby power to overcome the protestors and end the freeze. If we can get back on track, McGill will again be far and away the best school in Canada with the most competitive research grants, thus attracting some of the best proffesors from the states and abroad. Without continually bringing in talent who like to publish, the prestige of a research based university like McGill will deteriorate, as the undergrad education already leaves much to be desired.</p>
<p>No offense, scorp, but that is simply not possible. No college, either in the US or aborad, costs upward of $60,000 per year. In fact, the most expensive college in the US is Sarah Lawrence College, with a comprehensive fee of $47,904 (including tuition, room, full meal plan, fees, etc.)</p>
<p>First, I will ignore the fact that you are ignorant of the political structure of Canada and just jump to the basics.</p>
<p>For decades, the price of post-secondary in Canada was very minimal; the entire Baby Boom Generation would pay maybe three bucks, get a top notch education and then recieve enough change to buy a two-four and a lap dance from SuperSexe. They'd do this for about four years, receive a BA in some ridiculous subject like Operatic Studies and then became bigshot corporate whores at companies like Molson and such. So it is a bit of jealousy that I pay about $5000 per year to go to McGill and on top of that, getting a Bachelor's will not gaurantee me any job security whatsoever. Think of it like gas prices, for decades, Americans used to pay for their gas by the dimes, they have to budget it like it was a non-renewable resource or something. A lot of people are gonna complain whether warranted or not.</p>
<p>Second, since all Canadian schools are publicy funded, it actually is the responsibility of the government to fund them, otherwise privatize them already and stop pussyfooting around the bush.</p>
<p>Third, I don't think many Quebec students are complaining about the tuition freeze. This was a Canada wide event, the average Canadian pays $5000/yr for school and completes their undergraduate degree with a $30,000 debt, give or take. Most Quebec students were probably out just to show their support.</p>
<p>Fourth, can I get a Canadian in here to support me?</p>
<p>^^^ actually, with my financial aid statement from boston college, they said that estimated cost for my first year would be about $48,500 including all the fees and stuff like that. and i think george washington in dc is somewhere around $52,000 per year</p>
<p>ICrisis, you actually proved my point. You should really sit down with an econ proffessor and have them explain to you why Quebec is poorer than every single state in the U.S. The whole reason a BA in Quebec doesn't secure you a job at all, while a degree from McGill in the states is actually very respected, is because you live in a fiscally mismanged welfare state. Why would you want a decent job in Quebec when over half your earnings go to the government? That probably explains the tremendous brain drain out of Quebec. The money that funds higher education comes from somewhere. Schools don't run on magic and hippie ideals. They need money. These SSMU morons who only got in because of the 60% quota want to get rid of all sources of non-government funding. Um, why does it matter if corporations donate money? Why are they active participants in the economic disintegration of Quebec? Clearly the state is not some how more responsible or ethical than a corporation. But if you would rather have your degree be from a community college, go ahead. But as you can see, nobody else in the world is going to feel sorry for you, as you were repsonsible for being shortsighted and naive.</p>
<p>BTW, people graduate from Harvard with 200,000 in debt. Guess what? It doesn't matter, because their degree means something. If you're not willing to make a sacrifice, continue living in the state of perpetual mediocrity that is Canada.</p>
<p>P.S.S.-Supersex sucks. They don't let you touch their boobies.</p>
<p>Don't take any of this too personl, either. Most of my friends are Canucks and support the tuition freeze. I yell at them all the time.</p>
<p>There are a number of reasons for Quebec's financial crisis. The first of which was the botched handling of the '76 Olympics. The construction of the Big Owe and much of the olypmic facilities was handed to Italian "Construction" companies who perceded to steal building materials from the stadium to and build new homes in St.Leonard.</p>
<p>The second of which is that it is a financially mismanged welfare state. </p>
<p>Third of which is the fact that prior to the mid 1970's, Montreal was the financial centre of Canada, then the French vs. English thing happened, then the referendums and in between there was an exile of English speaks in Montreal who moved to Toronto (hence the joke, "You know you're from Montreal when your high school reunion is held in Toronto because all your friends live there now anyways.") and with them went the big financial institutions and eventually the stock market. The TSX is now the fourth largest stock market on the planet, it could've once been Montreal's. At one point in time, Bank of Montreal considered dropping "Montreal" from their names and relocating their HQ to Toronto. That is how bad it was. To this day, English is the only language that is in decline in terms of native speakers in Quebec, every other language is increasing.</p>
<p>Finally, don't believe that welfare state=bad fiscal management. There are exactly two places in North America that are not under debt right now. Alberta, a province, that still operates a welfare state despite recent cutbacks (it's definitely not as conservative as any American states) and Saskatchewan, a province that has been under control by the social democratic NDP for almost a decade is operating in the black. </p>
<p>A sidenote: A Bachelors in Canada in anything means squat. The job market here is a lot more competitive than most people think. You can't just waltz into a Bay Street Firm in Toronto with a nice suit and have "BCom from McGill" on your resume and expect to get hired at a high paying position. It doesn't work like that, there is no strong frat culture up here to build connections and going to the same school as the guy who interviewed you means diddly squat. It wasn't like this at all in the 60's and 70's when you could get a decent job out of high school, a house cost four times the average salary (as opposed to now where it cost 10 times) and post-secondary education was practically given away. The boomers have benefitted more from the welfare state than any other generation in history, I would hardly call this generation the bloody whining pinkos. We just want some parity. </p>
<p>PS: Montreal is going through a revial or sorts in certain industries, particularly real estate, Quebec however is holding it back in my opinion. Also, if you think Canada's economy is mediocre, consider this: We were the only one of the G7 nations to operate a budget surplus in the past decade (7 or 8 straight years), the only one to achieve economic progress in the midst of 9/11, we have outperformed just about every other G7 nation in terms of growth and the cities of Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver have all been booming for at least a decade. Even Montreal has a relatively robust economy, especially in the technological sector.</p>
<p>What I still fail to understand, though, is why it wouldn't be of even greater selfish interest to you to have a degree from an "elite" univeristy. By lowering govt. expenditure on things like funding McGill, you accomplish two things: 1. A decrease in taxes and the "crowding out" of the private sector 2. Greater incentives for those with degrees, and even greater for those with degrees from more "elite" institutions.</p>
<p>Right now the university system is egalitarian as opposed to elite, yet the expectations at a school like McGill or U of T are just as high as that of a more prestigous school in the states (you and I have both grumbled about this). So while I went to McGill to get a greater return on my $ investment, I'm not getting the same return on my work invested IF I stay in Canada post graduation.</p>
<p>colincsl you're right. I made a mistake it is per year.</p>