<p>Degrassi is definitely not identifiably Canadian. You wouldn't know it at all if it wasnt for the accents.</p>
<p>creative -</p>
<p>i'm not from philly, but i'm from south jersey which is basically the same thing lol. and you're right, canada really isn't that far from where i live. i should know better, too, because my family drove up to quebec a few summers ago. i guess thinking about school in another country makes me feel so far away. at any rate, i have so many colleges to choose from at home thinking about colleges in canada would just make me even more confused than i already am .. if that's even possible!</p>
<p>I like some Canadian colleges but its too far awayy.</p>
<p>if its economically efficient, i dont' see why canadian colleges shouldn't be more prevalent on our college lists. say i got into boston university, which is my first choice, and i have to cough up $40k or have to attend my state college. i could go to canada instead and get the adventure i crave without going into ridiculous debt.</p>
<p>comprende?</p>
<p>the number one reason why applying to canadian schools isnt what you make it out to be is that if you live in a state with decent public education, its not worth it at all. The following state schools are comparable if not better than any canadian university: Caly, Michigan, VA, FL, MD, TX, IL, NC, WA, MN, PA, OH, NJ. thats off the top of my head but you get the point. Why would someone pay 3x their instate tuition to go to a school that is unknown in their region? If you live in lakeland, florida, an employer would much rather hire a UF grad than a University of Toronto grad.</p>
<p>Thats why a considerable portion of New England kids go to Canada...because their state schools arent as good (although UConn is def comparable).</p>
<p>Oh yeah and McGill is vastly overrated - check out Queens, Toronto, Waterloo if you are interested.</p>
<p>immajap, my D is leaving for U of Toronto in two weeks and couldn't be happier or more excited. The fact is that most Americans are ignorant about pretty much everything Canadian, including its universities. This is unfortunate because there are some excellent opportunities available there at reasonable prices. We researched many schools there and visited all of them. My D's first choice was U of T and after receiving all of her acceptances, that is the one she decided upon.</p>
<p>U of T is a large urban university with a beautiful campus in the equally beautiful city of Toronto. It is run on the college system so that each college has its own dorms, dining halls, bookstore, etc. This makes for a good community feel and an atmosphere of a smaller college. My D stayed in a few dorms overnight, sat in on classes, and met and talked to many students. The dorm rooms she saw were some of the nicest she'd seen anywhere (and she has two older sisters at college in the U.S.), the class sizes vary with first year lectures naturally being larger than upper year classes which tend to be in the 30 or 40 range (even the large lectures have small tutorials with about 15-20 students); the library system is second only to Harvard's in North America; there is great diversity: racial, ethnic, and economic. The city is vibrant, safe, cultured and friendly.</p>
<p>Canadian schools on the whole are more on a level playing field than in the U.S. because they are all public and largely funded by tax revenues. They are heavily subsidized and thus, the low costs, even for international students. The weather concern is a funny one and shows how much Americans do not know about Canada. Toronto's climate is very similar to Boston or even New York, Vancouver's is milder than either. Montreal is colder with more snow than Toronto but still not much different than most northern states.</p>
<p>As for Canada on tv, Degrassi is a good example (my niece is on that show!:)), along with many others filmed in Canada, including Kevin Hill, Queer as Folk, X-Files, Anne of Green Gables, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Breaker High, The Commish, Kids in the Hall, Due South, and many more, not to mention thousands of films. </p>
<p>Lastly, the chance to live in another country and have that experience is invaluable, in my opinion, and why not our neighbor to the north? :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
the number one reason why applying to canadian schools isnt what you make it out to be is that if you live in a state with decent public education, its not worth it at all. The following state schools are comparable if not better than any canadian university: Caly, Michigan, VA, FL, MD, TX, IL, NC, WA, MN, PA, OH, NJ. thats off the top of my head but you get the point. Why would someone pay 3x their instate tuition to go to a school that is unknown in their region? If you live in lakeland, florida, an employer would much rather hire a UF grad than a University of Toronto grad.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Well obviously if you feel compelled to get a job in the same town you went to high school - but not everyone feels the need to stay in a 10 mile radius for the rest of their lives. If you are looking to be able to get a job in your hometown then obviously state school is a good option. Personally I can't stand being in the same place for too long and I love to travel and be in different places. One guy I met on a trip said he didn't feel at home unless he had no idea where he was. I could not agree with him more - he probabily has but I'll never forget that saying. If I had grown up in Canada i'd prob. look at schools here in the US and in England. (not to say that I am not looking at US schools, 90+ percent of the schools I will apply to are in the US - most in places I have not lived near)</p>
<p>Spetsnaz - you missed my point. Let me ask you this: Do you think an employer in California is as likely to have heard of University of Toronto as he has of University of Michigan? Of course not. Obviously UofT is an amazing school but the cost nor the benefits justify kids from good education states to go there. Then again, if you want to go for the experience thats a different story. But Canada is not a reasonable alternative for people from the states i listed in the preceding.</p>
<p>alwaysamom - college-style dorms or not, UofT is a commuter school. And the intro lectures for courses like biochem or often 300+. What state are you and your D from?</p>
<p>Canada rocks!
hmm..
Gay marriage anyone?</p>
<p>and..oh yeah the universities
good and cheep that is sweet
so I heart Canada</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
Caly, Michigan, VA, FL, MD, TX, IL, NC, WA, MN, PA, OH, NJ
[/QUOTE]
GO New England!!! Wait, we're not up there...curses for moving feom Cali :(</p>
<p>Yeah, so most of of who would consider Canada, live in the Northeast, where we get the short end of the stick for public higher education.</p>
<p>aca0260, at UCBerkeley, intro courses for chem can hover around 500 students for some classes according to my grandfather.</p>
<p>Quote:
"we get the short end of the stick for public higher education"</p>
<p>maybe we do, but we have plenty of great liberal arts colleges in the NE. Why not one of them?</p>
<p>aca, I've heard U of T called a commuter school before but it's really not, in the sense that some U.S. schools are commuter schools. No Canadian university provides housing for its students for all four years. It is common, and always has been, for the majority of students to move out of res and into apartments or houses after freshman year. Every university there has a large student housing area which surrounds campus, houses that are privately owned and rented out to students. If this is what you mean by commuter school, then it is a misnomer. Certainly, there are SOME kids who live at home and commute, just as there are for most U.S. colleges but that percentage is very small, especially at U of T. </p>
<p>I acknowledge that a few of the science classes are large lectures in first year classes but guess what? They are at some U.S. colleges as well. Remember I have two Ds who attend large U.S. colleges so I'm familiar with both. </p>
<p>The state I live in matters not. There are excellent schools both in my state and surrounding states. My D made the decision to go to Canada because it's the right place for her and the fact that the costs are lower than comparable schools in the U.S. was an added benefit. Not everyone has cost as their number one factor when choosing a college.</p>
<p>Oh, and I can assure you that Canadian grads are employed all over the U.S. Employers in California certainly do know about U of T. Have a look at the new Chancellor at Berkeley. He came from U of T. ;)</p>
<p>The new Provost at UPenn is a U of T alum as well.</p>
<p>Hahaha that chancellor at Berkeley quit the job at UofT(don't even think he attended) to go be the chancellor there. He left w/o any warnings- just to show how much he wanted to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible.</p>
<p>UofT is a great school, don't get me wrong. I went to a program at UofT this summer. The only really "breathtaking" view was from the main soccer field infront of University College and most of the buildings were pretty scattered.</p>
<p>alwaysamom - you are too optimistic about UofT. Im from the area, my mom is a professor there, and I can tell you that youll be in for a surprise. I cant think of any school in Canada that is more of a commuter school that UofT. I cant think of any major state school that is more of a commuter school than UofT. Of course UofT has a large number of residential students...but guess what, it has 30k kids. Commuting is certainly not limited to "SOME" kids. Also, you are right when you say that every university has large courses...but UofT has the highest percentage of large lectures of all doctoral universities in the country (i dont remember the exact figure, i jus remember the point when reading Macleans). Its definetly not limited to "some science classes".</p>
<p>And of course UofT is known in California (not by the average man, and not by the average employer, but alot of academics). But if you live in Michigan, how would you justify attending UofT over Ann Arbor? Simply put, Michigan grads are more known. This does not attest to the poor quality of UofT...there is just an inherent bias when you compare colleges from different nations. The president of Princeton is also from Queen's...does this mean Queen's is a household name? Does this mean Queens is big name in the employer circuit in the states? No. One person cannot validate the prestige/repuation of a university in another country.</p>
<p>In conclusion, UofT is a big urban school with strong academics. It isnt the kind of place for someone who needs to be nurtured. Think NYU, add more diversity (yeah even more than NYU), and add 15k people.</p>
<p>Someone said that the only reason that you know that Degrassi The Next Generation is canadian is because of the accents. Well, what they show on that show is what actually happens at some schools up here and it's probably no different down in the states. Canadians aren't much different than americans.... most canadians are probably killing me right now, but it's the truth. I mean our views are different, but that doesn't mean that it's COMPLETELY different from anything that you have in the states. </p>
<p>And the coldness isn't much different either (unless you're from the south), unless you move to NWT, Yukon, or Nunavut. </p>
<p>Just keep that in mind.</p>
<p>aca, I'm not too optimistic. I lived in the Toronto area for over twenty years, I know the past three presidents of the university (brother in law, lifelong friend, and business associate of my H). I have four nieces and nephews who have graduated, and two more who are currently attending. I count several professors as close friends. So, you see, I'm not uninformed. :) I actually spoke to one this afternoon and we discussed the 'commuter' aspect of the school. The St. George campus is not classified, in the university stats, as having a large number of commuters. As I said earlier, all first year students live in res, or are at least offered res. After that about one third remain in res for second year, the rest go and find apartments or houses to share, with other students. A very small percentage of St. George students live at home in the city and commute. If you're counting the students who share apartments and houses as commuters, you're mistaken. Most live within walking distance of the campus. </p>
<p>The Mississauga and Scarborough satellite campuses do, in fact, have a large percentage of commuters but they are not the main campus and not the one which I was discussing. As for the large classes, I'm aware, as I said that there are some but there are also large classes in some U.S. colleges. The reality is that some subjects are better served by large lectures and smaller tutorials/recitations/labs than others and this is not always a negative.</p>
<p>I think you aren't giving employers much credit when you say that they won't be aware of Canadian schools. Having lived and worked in both countries, I can assure you that this is not the case. You think that being more "known" is going to make a difference when you're applying for a job. For most kids straight out of college, applying for entry level positions, you're not going to have any advantage as a UMich grad over a U of T grad. I'm not advocating every Michigan student apply to U of T, I actually wish they wouldn't! ;) But it's nothing something that one has to "justify". It's a personal preference.</p>
<p>As far as kids 'needing to be nurtured', I'm of the opinion that by the time kids go to college, they shouldn't be expecting to be nurtured, in the traditional sense. It is a time for building independence, responsibility, accountability and the maturity that ensues. </p>
<p>p.s. Funny you should mention NYU. I have a daughter who starts her junior year there in two weeks. I'm just as familiar with NYU as I am with U of T. And it also has some huge classes! ;)</p>
<p>dooit, don't believe everything you read online. The press made much of his leaving U of T, more than ever actually occurred. :) Robert Birgeneau left after seeking permission to end his contract early because of a wonderful, and unexpected, opportunity to go to Berkeley. He did not leave without warning and was not anxious to 'get the hell out of there'. He graduated from U of T in the sixties.</p>
<p>alwaysamom - my whole point is that UofT is unlike the traditional college experience. I know this is a generalization but I believe you catch my drift. I wanted a tight-knit community, school spirit, not very urban, smaller classes and UofT definetely does not meet those expectations. Thats why I chose Queens (which may I add also has huge classes but hey, its public). I dont have stats on the commuter population at UofT but I can guarantee you it is higher than any major state university/canadian university. </p>
<p>As far as the repuations of the UofT vs brand-name US publics...I really have to disagree with you. You are right when you say employers are often indifferent towards the degrees of students seeking entry-level positions...but this doesnt mean kids should select their bodunk local junior college because it doesnt matter. A good fit is very important, but so are job prospects (so if you want to work in Canada, by all means go for UofT). Also, many american employers havent even heard of schools like Emory out West...so i really dont see UofT dropping jaws. Employment IS something you have to justify. It really isnt a personal preference. It is objective. Frankly, one school places better than another. UofT places better in Manitoba than University of Virginia. The same goes for UVA grads in Texas. We are comparing different countries and there exists inherest biases. Does this mean EVERY UofT grad is doomed in the states? Of course not. It just means that alot of american employers are wow'd by names like Berkeley, Michigan, Virginia whereas a considerable portion of them would be aloof about UofT. So, yes, I believe being a Michigan grad will assist you in job placement over UofT in the states. Its all about the market, and the market is the US. Globalization has quite gripped the world yet (but it sure is coming).</p>
<p>If you read through your preceding post you will realize that you have described UofT in a light that isnt for every student. Going to UofT from the states requires a specific personality. Thats the principle reason as to why it isnt on every kids college admissions radar. However, it seems you have done your research about the school and can forgive its downfalls for its advantages (which are plenty...most of which have to do with the city). I have little doubt your family will be happy with UofT...it seems you already are.</p>
<p>"I just started to look at Canada for my higher education endeavors. It's definetely cheaper than private schools here, and the diversity in the better known colleges like McGill and Toronto seems to be a lot better than here. And of course, American dollars go a longer way in Canada. Why aren't we all applying to Canada?</p>
<p>Also, since Canadian colleges pay attention to only grades and standardized scores, they definetely look at whether you took hard classes, right? And they accept SAT 2's right?"</p>
<p>you do realize that the canadian dollar is trading at close to an alltime high, at like 83cents per american?</p>