Anonymous wrote:Following because my junior is interested in Canadian colleges. Thanks for sharing your stories.

Check out MacLeans. It’s a Canadian magazine with many rankings by different categories. I grew up in Canada and moved to the US after university. Americans seem obsessed by McGill, but it’s not the best for everything. There are plenty of great universities in Canada. I would consider the city (vibe, cost of housing, yes weather) and area of study of course.

https://education.macleans.ca/

I’ve lived in Vancouver and Toronto and can highly recommend both for a young adult. Montreal would probably be great too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were also disappointed by McGill’s tuition increase, which is explicitly designed to discourage applications outside of the Province. Another thing is that your kid won’t be able to get a part time job or internship in Montreal unless they are certified fluent in French.

I can't find any evidence of this. I found evidence that international students won't be able to get a work permit AFTER they graduate or else they speak basic French, but they can work while they are enrolled.

Yeah, everyone in Montreal speaks English fluently anyway.

Can you tell me about the tuition hike? My kids are Canadian citizens but would apply from the States ie never lived in Canada.

My understanding is that you actually can declare your kids Quebec residents vs. someone living in another province going to Quebec. I know of a DMV kid with a Canadian parent that pays next to nothing for Magill tuition because they were able to claim Quebec residency.

Maybe that has changed as well.

Yes-Im wondering if this still applies

Yes it still applies. Amazing deal for families that have a Canadian parent. Don't live there, don't pay the taxes, but get the tuition benefit.

Oh and free health insurance!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were also disappointed by McGill’s tuition increase, which is explicitly designed to discourage applications outside of the Province. Another thing is that your kid won’t be able to get a part time job or internship in Montreal unless they are certified fluent in French.

I can't find any evidence of this. I found evidence that international students won't be able to get a work permit AFTER they graduate or else they speak basic French, but they can work while they are enrolled.

Yeah, everyone in Montreal speaks English fluently anyway.

Can you tell me about the tuition hike? My kids are Canadian citizens but would apply from the States ie never lived in Canada.

My understanding is that you actually can declare your kids Quebec residents vs. someone living in another province going to Quebec. I know of a DMV kid with a Canadian parent that pays next to nothing for Magill tuition because they were able to claim Quebec residency.

Maybe that has changed as well.

Yes-Im wondering if this still applies

Yes it still applies. Amazing deal for families that have a Canadian parent. Don't live there, don't pay the taxes, but get the tuition benefit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were also disappointed by McGill’s tuition increase, which is explicitly designed to discourage applications outside of the Province. Another thing is that your kid won’t be able to get a part time job or internship in Montreal unless they are certified fluent in French.

I can't find any evidence of this. I found evidence that international students won't be able to get a work permit AFTER they graduate or else they speak basic French, but they can work while they are enrolled.

Yeah, everyone in Montreal speaks English fluently anyway.

Not true. Maybe for young people but when we there in the summer there were older folks that I wanted to speak with that didn’t speak English, only French. I was surprised!

haha. they probably just didn't want to talk to YOU

I thought everybody knew that people in Montreal often mess with Americans by pretending they can’t speak English. It’s like their favorite sport.

OP, you can avoid all this annoying Frenchie nonsense & rouge tape by skipping the overrated McGill & focusing on your other excellent options.

Anonymous wrote:McGill will not reguire it this year, but starting 25/26 they may require you to have Level 5 oral French Proficiency to graduate-yet TBD. Does anyone know what this correlates to? Is it like level of French 4 AP ? French 3? We are dual citizens and while I dont agree with the crazy international tuition hike it may make it easier for my kids to get in...but they are studying Spanish not French in school.

Here you go: https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/what-is-level-5-french-and-how-good-will-out-of-province-students-language-skills-need-to-be

McGill will not reguire it this year, but starting 25/26 they may require you to have Level 5 oral French Proficiency to graduate-yet TBD. Does anyone know what this correlates to? Is it like level of French 4 AP ? French 3? We are dual citizens and while I dont agree with the crazy international tuition hike it may make it easier for my kids to get in...but they are studying Spanish not French in school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were also disappointed by McGill’s tuition increase, which is explicitly designed to discourage applications outside of the Province. Another thing is that your kid won’t be able to get a part time job or internship in Montreal unless they are certified fluent in French.

I can't find any evidence of this. I found evidence that international students won't be able to get a work permit AFTER they graduate or else they speak basic French, but they can work while they are enrolled.

Yeah, everyone in Montreal speaks English fluently anyway.

Not true. Maybe for young people but when we there in the summer there were older folks that I wanted to speak with that didn’t speak English, only French. I was surprised!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were also disappointed by McGill’s tuition increase, which is explicitly designed to discourage applications outside of the Province. Another thing is that your kid won’t be able to get a part time job or internship in Montreal unless they are certified fluent in French.

I can't find any evidence of this. I found evidence that international students won't be able to get a work permit AFTER they graduate or else they speak basic French, but they can work while they are enrolled.

Yeah, everyone in Montreal speaks English fluently anyway.

Can you tell me about the tuition hike? My kids are Canadian citizens but would apply from the States ie never lived in Canada.

My understanding is that you actually can declare your kids Quebec residents vs. someone living in another province going to Quebec. I know of a DMV kid with a Canadian parent that pays next to nothing for Magill tuition because they were able to claim Quebec residency.

Maybe that has changed as well.

Yes-Im wondering if this still applies

You can phone and ask. you don't have to give your name.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were also disappointed by McGill’s tuition increase, which is explicitly designed to discourage applications outside of the Province. Another thing is that your kid won’t be able to get a part time job or internship in Montreal unless they are certified fluent in French.

I can't find any evidence of this. I found evidence that international students won't be able to get a work permit AFTER they graduate or else they speak basic French, but they can work while they are enrolled.

Yeah, everyone in Montreal speaks English fluently anyway.

Can you tell me about the tuition hike? My kids are Canadian citizens but would apply from the States ie never lived in Canada.

My understanding is that you actually can declare your kids Quebec residents vs. someone living in another province going to Quebec. I know of a DMV kid with a Canadian parent that pays next to nothing for Magill tuition because they were able to claim Quebec residency.

Maybe that has changed as well.

Yes-Im wondering if this still applies

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were also disappointed by McGill’s tuition increase, which is explicitly designed to discourage applications outside of the Province. Another thing is that your kid won’t be able to get a part time job or internship in Montreal unless they are certified fluent in French.

I can't find any evidence of this. I found evidence that international students won't be able to get a work permit AFTER they graduate or else they speak basic French, but they can work while they are enrolled.

Yeah, everyone in Montreal speaks English fluently anyway.

Can you tell me about the tuition hike? My kids are Canadian citizens but would apply from the States ie never lived in Canada.

My understanding is that you actually can declare your kids Quebec residents vs. someone living in another province going to Quebec. I know of a DMV kid with a Canadian parent that pays next to nothing for Magill tuition because they were able to claim Quebec residency.

Maybe that has changed as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were also disappointed by McGill’s tuition increase, which is explicitly designed to discourage applications outside of the Province. Another thing is that your kid won’t be able to get a part time job or internship in Montreal unless they are certified fluent in French.

I can't find any evidence of this. I found evidence that international students won't be able to get a work permit AFTER they graduate or else they speak basic French, but they can work while they are enrolled.

Yeah, everyone in Montreal speaks English fluently anyway.

Can you tell me about the tuition hike? My kids are Canadian citizens but would apply from the States ie never lived in Canada.

Look up the colleges online and then look up their "international fees" or "nonresident" fees, however they word it.

Anonymous wrote:Following because my junior is interested in Canadian colleges. Thanks for sharing your stories.

I got a master’s at U of Toronto a while ago. Toronto & McGill get most of the attention from prestige-conscious Americans, but there are lots of other options.

Some I would check out are:

Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. While unknown to most Americans, it was respected by Canadians I knew. Halifax is supposed to be a fun city.

Queen’s University in Ontario. Excellent academics & an unusually high level of school spirit for a Canadian university.

Glendon College of York University. A bilingual (French/English) small college with its own beautiful campus in Toronto.

Memorial University of Newfoundland. Much cheaper than most other Canadian universities. It’s in a picturesque city that is way off the beaten path. Would be great for a mature kid who doesn’t have a lot of money but still wants a foreign adventure to go along with an education. Google “St. John’s Newfoundland” to see photos of its unique city.

Anonymous wrote:Do you have to find housing after freshman year at U if T? Talk to people who go there to find out how hard it is to find and how crazy expensive housing is.

I absolutely loved my time at Toronto but yes, I would clarify with Innis what the housing situation is after year one, so you are going into this with eyes open. Toronto has become an insanely expensive city. Students obviously manage to get housed one way or another, but if your son is not in college housing the whole time, it'll be an additional cost to factor in. See if you can find out what older students are actually paying and how long their commute is.

For sports, I did not do any team sports but I can vouch for the quality of U of T's centrally-located gym, the facilities there including PT, and the recreational offerings.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were also disappointed by McGill’s tuition increase, which is explicitly designed to discourage applications outside of the Province. Another thing is that your kid won’t be able to get a part time job or internship in Montreal unless they are certified fluent in French.

I can't find any evidence of this. I found evidence that international students won't be able to get a work permit AFTER they graduate or else they speak basic French, but they can work while they are enrolled.

There is a new Quebec law about French in the workplace. French is emphasized as a language of work, there is a francization process with penalty for employers who do not comply...So employers would definitely much prefer someone who speaks French, or even require it.

Yes, I'm aware of the new law but there is no evidence that employers cannot hire a student PT or for an internship who doesn't speak English. What you described is a preference not a legal requirement. My kid wants to learn French (already fluent in Spanish) and seems to be naturally good at learning languages, so I'm not worried.