Reply #48: From a slightly biased perspective... [View All]

[SidDithers]

because I'm Canadian, and both a graduate and former employee of the Canadian university system, there are Canadian universities which would provide an education equal to just about any school in the world. Because our population is smaller, many of our universities specialize in one field of study or another. Some of the smaller universities are for undergraduates only. And there are a few that are major universities, with undergraduate and graduate programs, and research departments on the cutting edge in Medicine, Engineering, Information Tech and a host of other disciplines. There are probably half-a-dozen truly world-class universities, but dozens of others that would offer an exceptional education and university experience. Choice of school very much depends on the interests of the student.

If you or your kids are really serious about Canadian universities, MacLeans magazine does an annual ranking of Canadian universities. The site is here: http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/rankings/ but you might have to find a copy of the magazine at a library, or order a copy from the publisher. I don't think they publish all of the details online for free.

Usually, at the top of the pile of all-around schools, with graduate and undergraduate programs and medical schools, are McGill in Montreal, University of Toronto, and University of British Colombia in Vancouver and the University of Alberta in Edmonton, and Queen's in Kingston. McGill, UofT and UBC are located in Canada's 3 biggest cities, with all of the good and bad that go with big cities. Montreal is a very cosmopolitain city, Vancouver is laid-back and stunning in it's beauty, Peter Ustinov once called Toronto "New York, if it were run by the Swiss" Edmonton is in pretty far north, in Alberta, which is Canada's most conservative province. I've had friends who lived in Edmonton and loved the experience, but it's not for everyone. Winters are long and cold (well, fucking cold is probably more accurate), but in the summer, you can play golf until 11:00 pm, because the days are so long. Kingston is a great university town, also home to our Royal Military College. The town is on the banks of the St. Lawrence, at the eastern end of Lake Ontario. A truly lovely town.

The University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, specializes in technology related studies, and is Canada's most innovative university. Waterloo is the world headquarters for Research in Motion, the makers of the Blackberry. It's also the heart of Oktoberfest country, lots of beer and bratwurst.

Another poster upthread talked about universities in Eastern Canada, Dalhousie, Mount Allison, University of New Brunswick, UPEI are all excellent choices, depending upon what your kids are seeking. In Western Canada, good choices are the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, and the Universtiy of Calgary. Again, it depends on the interests of your kids, and what type of university experience they want.

Really, there's too much to detail for a single post. Your best bet is to find that MacLean's magazine University Rankings. They've been doing it for the last 18 years, and they break the schools out into different categories, so the comparisons are fair.

Lastly, Canadian universities don't have nearly the same emphasis on athletic progams that American universities do. There won't be 108,000 people watching a football game, like at the University of Michigan, or atmosphere like at a Duke basketball game. We do have competitive athletics programs, but the scale is much smaller than at US schools. Just something to be aware of.

I'm happy to answer questions if you or your kids have 'em.

Sid