Canadian Universities - What's the value?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My brother never came back (and at this point, who could blame him .

Same with my Niece!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it really that much cheaper than the US? $40 McGill for Internationals and $45-50K at U Toronto?

A BA at McGill for an international student costs $19K Canadian, which is $14.5K US. Throw in another $900 US per month for room and board, and you're still under $25K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it really that much cheaper than the US? $40 McGill for Internationals and $45-50K at U Toronto?

it appears that canadian prices vary wildly (like, by a factor of 3) by major. perhaps someone can explain.

[Anonymous]

High performing, unhooked students can get into a world-ranked university in Canada, and aren't penalized the way they are by the holistic admissions process in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:High performing, unhooked students can get into a world-ranked university in Canada, and aren't penalized the way they are by the holistic admissions process in the US.

same for Europe. Nobody cares about your struggles or a demographic profile. Not to mention they are much cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it really that much cheaper than the US? $40 McGill for Internationals and $45-50K at U Toronto?

it appears that canadian prices vary wildly (like, by a factor of 3) by major. perhaps someone can explain.

Market forces I'm guessing. Think about how much it costs to educate a French literature major (simple classroom, chalk, teacher) compared to a mechanical engineering student (classroom, cutting edge labs, expensive equipment, computer systems, materials, teacher) and ask why US universities charge them the same amount. The French lit student is subsidizing the engineering student. And factor in demand. More people want to do engineering and comp sci than some arts subjects. Comp sci professors could earn $$$$ in the private sector, while that is less of a factor for many arts professors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it really that much cheaper than the US? $40 McGill for Internationals and $45-50K at U Toronto?

it appears that canadian prices vary wildly (like, by a factor of 3) by major. perhaps someone can explain.

Market forces I'm guessing. Think about how much it costs to educate a French literature major (simple classroom, chalk, teacher) compared to a mechanical engineering student (classroom, cutting edge labs, expensive equipment, computer systems, materials, teacher) and ask why US universities charge them the same amount. The French lit student is subsidizing the engineering student. And factor in demand. More people want to do engineering and comp sci than some arts subjects. Comp sci professors could earn $$$$ in the private sector, while that is less of a factor for many arts professors.

I'm not sure why I've never thought about the fact that some majors cost way more than others (but are priced the same in the US). Thanks for sharing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it really that much cheaper than the US? $40 McGill for Internationals and $45-50K at U Toronto?

A BA at McGill for an international student costs $19K Canadian, which is $14.5K US. Throw in another $900 US per month for room and board, and you're still under $25K.

Absolutely. Canada is a steal right now. We just attended accepted students night for McGill last night; DC was accepted for this fall. For the current year (17-18; new costs not out yet but their guess is 2.7% increase), a BA with room and board and all the health care and immigration fees (worst case for all we think) is still going to cost us only about $27.6K -- cheaper than UVa instate. Exchange rate definitely works in our favor. Plus they gave merit money. And we believe that McGill is certainly prestigious enough for what DC wants to do.

BTW, rankings for McGill and UofT vary depending on which one you look at; they struck us as equally rigorous overall (DC looked at, applied, and was accepted at both). UofT is in Toronto (which DC liked) and has twice as many students (which DC didn't). But both are excellent universities and compare very well for both cost and diversity to US schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody cares about the difference in going to a #27 school v a #28 school.

The Canadian schools are known well by those who need to know about them. Doing well is what matters (here or there).

Such as? I'm interested in how they are perceived in the US once the kid decides to come back for Grad school or look for work..

Good Canadian Unis (Toronto, Queens, McGill, UBC, a few others) are viewed very favorably by graduate programs. My husband is a US professor and Canadian universities are about the only foreign universities where you don't take a "prestige hit" if you land a job there.

I went to grad school with people from McGill, Queens, and Toronto and I'd say that they are akin to places like Michigan or UVA -- you won't get much hand holding, there's less focus on residential collegiate activities than at liberal arts schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it really that much cheaper than the US? $40 McGill for Internationals and $45-50K at U Toronto?

A BA at McGill for an international student costs $19K Canadian, which is $14.5K US. Throw in another $900 US per month for room and board, and you're still under $25K.

Absolutely. Canada is a steal right now. We just attended accepted students night for McGill last night; DC was accepted for this fall. For the current year (17-18; new costs not out yet but their guess is 2.7% increase), a BA with room and board and all the health care and immigration fees (worst case for all we think) is still going to cost us only about $27.6K -- cheaper than UVa instate. Exchange rate definitely works in our favor. Plus they gave merit money. And we believe that McGill is certainly prestigious enough for what DC wants to do.

BTW, rankings for McGill and UofT vary depending on which one you look at; they struck us as equally rigorous overall (DC looked at, applied, and was accepted at both). UofT is in Toronto (which DC liked) and has twice as many students (which DC didn't). But both are excellent universities and compare very well for both cost and diversity to US schools.

Canadian PP here. The main difference between UofT and McGill, other than size, is cost of living. Toronto is significantly more expensive to rent in than Montreal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother never came back (and at this point, who could blame him .

This is one of the main advantages IMO of getting a degree in CA or UK. Options.

I'm not so sure most US employers have a favorable view of UK and CA universities. There seems to be this huge stigma in the US against foreign universities. I've known several people who went to college in Europe and South America. One person was able to get into a very good MBA program, but the others basically started over. But these schools were not at the level of Oxford or McGill. And Canada isnt all that great. The weather sucks, legal system is a nightmare, health care has major issues, but it's great if you love playing hockey!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My brother never came back (and at this point, who could blame him .

This is one of the main advantages IMO of getting a degree in CA or UK. Options.

I'm not so sure most US employers have a favorable view of UK and CA universities. There seems to be this huge stigma in the US against foreign universities. I've known several people who went to college in Europe and South America. One person was able to get into a very good MBA program, but the others basically started over. But these schools were not at the level of Oxford or McGill. And Canada isnt all that great. The weather sucks, legal system is a nightmare, health care has major issues, but it's great if you love playing hockey!

I disagree. In my profession UK and Canadian undergrad degrees are well regarded.

[Anonymous]

My McGill degree was highly regarded. Went to ivy for grad school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High performing, unhooked students can get into a world-ranked university in Canada, and aren't penalized the way they are by the holistic admissions process in the US.

same for Europe. Nobody cares about your struggles or a demographic profile. Not to mention they are much cheaper.

European universities are large commuter schools. Kids take few courses outside their major, resulting in really lopsided educations that don't enable you to switch jobs easily. They are a poor fit for the US economy. I find that Europeans know a lot about their fields and are mind bogglingly ignorant about other things.

Also, the professors are paid little, so the best ones come to the US.

At the graduate level, it's worse. Unless its from Oxbridge, a foreign PhD really isn't taken seriously in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody cares about the difference in going to a #27 school v a #28 school.

The Canadian schools are known well by those who need to know about them. Doing well is what matters (here or there).

Such as? I'm interested in how they are perceived in the US once the kid decides to come back for Grad school or look for work..

They do fine. It is as if they went to a US school.