<p>Hi all, </p>
<p>I need your input on weather to choose between a Canadian (Top three) colleges or U.S (Top three) colleges (engineering) if (lets say) both choices are available?. What are the top reasons one would chose one on the other. Lets say " earning a lot of money" is not one of the reasons. </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I’d pick America, since its a much better country to live in and has a lot more options. If you go to a Canadian university, you will live in COLD Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal (Every other city is too small) for the rest of your life. You will get married, buy an EXPENSIVE home in the suburbs (An average 3 bedroom house in my neighborhood costs over 750,000$) and come to hate that its too cold to go outside for half the year. Canada is just too small (America’s population is TEN TIMES bigger!), and has very little opportunity for an Ivy League bound person. Have fun earning a meager salary for most of your life (Around 90,000 average for U. Waterloo…, not including the huge tax bite), and the fact that there’s farmland everywhere. </p>
<p>If you go to America, you can literally get a job anywhere! Warm Florida, California, maybe live in a HUGE city like NYC, Philly, Texas is a nice option too, mid-west is also attractive (Colorado). Most of these places are very warm all year round, so no need to worry about frostbite. Much better salary, less taxes, more opportunity, better everything!</p>
<p>P.S: Temperature in Toronto is -6 Degrees Celsius right now. Its so cold i had to wear 4 layers, 2 caps, gloves and leggings under my pants, yet i was still FREEZING.
Temperature in Austin, TX is 28 Degrees Celsius (Even that is colder than usual) right now. Enjoy wearing shorts, tanning and enjoying the weather all year round :)</p>
<p>I don’t know where arceuz lives in Canada, but it certainly isn’t too cold to go outside for half the year. With all due respect, I wouldn’t listen to his advice. Yes, Canada has a smaller population, but it also has universal healthcare, a very good public education system, a good social safety net, very little crime, and contrary to what he says, most people earn a decent salary, with far better benefits than many equivalent jobs in the U.S. Some even earn a great salary! I’ve lived in both countries, have dual citizenship, and two of my five Ds went to college in the U.S., the others in Canada. </p>
<p>cheerup, are you a Canadian citizen? Do you want to live and work in Canada? Have you visited all of the schools you’re interested in? Studied the differences in curriculum and costs? Why are you interested in Canada?</p>
<p>Hi, alwayssomon, I am also choosing between Canada and USA. I am an international student( currently a high school Junior), I want to stay in North America after graduation. Is the Job opportunity better in Canada? And Easier for me to stay? Thanks.</p>
<p>I am choosing between UBC and university of Virginia. ;)</p>
<p>Huh funny…I don’t actually mind the weather in Toronto…must be from living here for so long XD It can get a bit cold during the winter, but I usually find that it’s fine with a sweater and winter jacket on. It’s definitely not too cold to go out for half the year; by early April, temperatures get to around 15 degrees Celsius (aka ~60 degrees Fahrenheit) and stay above that until November (summer temperatures are around 25-30 degrees, not too hot, but definitely hot enough for tank tops, shorts, etc.) If you go to Vancouver, the weather is even warmer during the winter.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that Toronto is actually the 4th biggest city in North America (after NYC, LA, and Mexico City), so we aren’t that tiny! The population density in the Quebec-Windsor Corridor is actually quite high (around 18 million people in an area equivalent to a medium-sized state), so while there is a lot of farmland, there are also many cities. In my opinion the biggest reason the US has a population so much higher is that unlike Canada, where only the southern areas are heavily populated because of the northern climate, all of the US is populated. </p>
<p>Also I find that housing prices here are probably much better than in the US. I’m not sure what neighbourhood arceuz lives in, but I live in a 3 bedroom + den house in the city (albeit the outer areas of the city that are almost suburban) which costs around $600 000 (which is much better than in big American cities such as NYC if I remember correctly). It really depends on where you live.</p>
<p>Yes, Canadian taxes are high. But that goes, as alwaysamom stated towards funding public services such as universal healthcare, so you also save a little. Generally, incomes are probably lower, but costs of living are also lower so it balances out. Also, the $90 000 average UW salary, I’m assuming is for all of the programs. I’m sure if you looked specifically at their…CS grads for example, that number would be much higher. That’s the thing about Canadian universities. Many of them have a couple of areas that they are REALLY strong in, while their other programs are kind of meh. For example, Waterloo has great engineering/computer science/math programs, while York has a great business program, but overall is a mediocre university.</p>
<p>Many students choose Canadian universities because they’re cheaper, but offer the same quality of education. Apparently Canadian unis give lower grades though 
They’re also significantly easier and more straightforward to get into (especially for those with few ECs), since admission is usually based on marks alone, excluding the extremely competitie programs for which there are supplementary essays to write, however, the students who can’t handle the workload are quickly weeded out.</p>
<p>If you want to go back to the US after university, degrees from top Canadian universities may not have the same “name-prestige” as ones from top American universities, but I don’t really know how much that even matters.</p>
<p>Regarding job opportunities, I think it really depends on the field. If you are in Alberta/Saskatchewan, there are currently a TON of new jobs being created because of the oil industry boom, but on the other hand, if you want to go into computer science, Silicon Valley would have a lot more to offer.</p>
<p>Bleh, sorry about the long reply/any typos I may have made.</p>
<p>I think the top three American U are still more known internationally. That said my husband did his residency at McGuill and although he hated the weather, he says he had the best education someone could ever have.</p>