<p>Thanks Modadunn and Pea and also thanks manu123 for the follow up post </p>
<p>btw I’m a she</p>
<p>As you all pointed out, what I said was based on my own experiences, I did not bring up many “facts” that could be wrong, I was not quoting statistics or anything like that…. I was simply saying FOR ME, the Canadian system is not a viable option</p>
<p>Canada is a very different culture than the States, and the vast majority of people ARE satisfied with the education available at top Canadian universities….and if you were lucky enough to have a good undergrad and/or high school experience in Canada, then fantastic!..but I will also say that in my opinion the vast majority of people are settling for far below what they are capable of……I was not trying to demean the people in the anecdotes – these were all very smart people!! that is the point I was trying to make…they are not motivated to do better and are not interested in anything beyond their narrow field of interest….I was also not meaning that this was typical in Canada and NOT typical in the States…I would say that it is very typical in both countries, and overall possibly more so in the States…only that the States offers both high school programs and college settings where kids frustrated by this apathy have a place to be with their peers who share their interests</p>
<p>I too started my undergrad at a top Canadian university, and was very disheartened by the level of apathy of the students and the lack of challenge in the curriculum… what you see as hand holding, I see as the possibility for personal interaction and attention, and valuable opportunities for academic growth… it is Canada’s narrow disregard for any style of education other than robotic memorization and regurgitation that has driven me to look elsewhere….for example McGill and U of T were ranked quite high in the Princeton Review recently, only not for good things….
McGill #2 Class Discussions Rare
U of T #4 Class Discussions Rare</p>
<h1>16 Professors Get Low Marks</h1>
<h1>5 Least Accessible Professors</h1>
<p>also I didn’t think this part needed saying when we are on the Middlebury thread, but I am talking about options for extremely bright people who need intense academics to get beyond where they are at…can you get a “good” education at McGill and U of T?? Yes!! equal to several of the public schools in the US. Can you get an elite education that will push the best and the brightest to fulfill their potential….you can disagree with me if you would like, but my answer is NO…I think in Canada, most gifted people simply pile more and more courses, but you don’t get depth or the ability to think creatively or critically….you simply get busy…Canada has dropped the rigor from its education so there is an extreme lack of a deep interdisciplinary and historical approach to learning</p>
<p>I completely admit that the fact that I have been failed by the quality of the public education system since grade one, and that my mother has been failed by the quality of the public health care system for almost eight years, has probably jaded my perception quite a bit….but I would also say these stories are much more common than Canadians would like to admit….manu123, your initial anger and defensiveness is so typical and I think perhaps confirms what I was saying regarding the defensive, unreflective quality of Canadian education (although your second post is duly noted and appreciated!)– it is completely taboo to criticize Canada from within and I think most of that comes from a inferiority complex with the States (that we shouldn’t have because in MANY respects we are a great unique country!!!) I am certainly not alone in my estimation of the Canadian system, as there have been lots of underground discussion from it in recent years (for example, check out the book Ivory Tower Blues by a professor from Western)… may I also point out that it sounds like you graduated quite a while ago, and I agree that twenty, maybe even ten years ago it was not the disaster it is today and was quite a strong system….the problem has increased exponentially in recent years</p>
<p>Regarding health care, I was not defending the American system as it is presently which I explained quite clearly in my last post. I was only saying that the Canadian way is not the way to fix it. The “free” aspect of Canadian aspect cancelled any of the “health care” part for my mom, so it really doesn’t matter that it’s free. And it’s not free, we pay way higher taxes. And interestingly enough 20% of the people in my hometown (a small city of 100,000 population with a large professional middle class) cannot find a family doctor because of the shortage…and it is illegal for someone to set up a private practice– maybe those are the people who aren’t in the 80%.</p>
<p>Also I think it is unfair how we have hijacked this thread, I was simply answering Modadunn’s query…and then I got carried away with my opinions… but if I wanted to debate these issues, I would have posted it another forum……and the only reason I am not posting it a new forum now is because I have no desire to discuss this much further….I am sick of people telling me that my experiences aren’t valid….I happy to share when people ask “why?” but other than that I have to know I’m doing what’s right for me and let people do the same for themselves….once again my sincerest apologies to the people here who were only interested in the Middlebury waitlist!!</p>
but it is not the case with the vast majority of schools, …two rejections I received I was with the regular intl pool and one even said right in the rejection letter it was the money that kept me from getting in…which is nice to know but hard to swallow</p>
She has a couple of days to make her final decision though…</p>