Ever thought about attending a Canadian university?
A growing number of Americans are considering earning a college degree from up North. Actually, it’s not as far north as you might think because most Canadian universities are near the US border.
There are some hidden academic jewels in Canada, which explains why you might be interested in exploring their Northern options. You can find out more about Canadian universities in a college blog post that I wrote for CBSMoneyWatch this week:
10 Reasons to Attend Canadian Universities
Here are 4 of the reasons why you might want to consider Canadian schools:
1. Reasonable price.
The costs at Canadian universities will often be lower than at private colleges in the United States, as well as public universities for out-of state residents. Americans will pay roughly $25,000 to $30,000 a year. That price includes books, incidentals and coverage in Canadian health insurance.
“For your bang for your buck, Canadian schools are an amazingly good quality,” Whitney Laughlin, a college consultant in Santa Fe, NM, and British Columbia.
2. Exchange rate often favorable.
When paying Canadian college costs, the exchange rate is typically favorable to the U.S. dollar, although it is currently trading at par.
3. Great quality.
Canadian post-secondary education is uniformly strong and much more standardized than in the U.S. Canadian universities offer a world-class education in some gorgeous cities, but they are under the radar.
4. Canadian admission process can be forgiving.
Canadian schools can be great for late bloomers. Strange but true: some Canadian universities, such as the University of British Columbia, only looks at 11th and 12th grade report cards when examining transcripts. If you messed up in the first two years of high school, it’s not a deal breaker.
You can find more reasons to check out Canadian colleges on my CBSMoneyWatch college blog.
Lynn O’Shaughnessy is the author of The College Solution and she also writes a college blog for CBSMoneyWatch and another for US News & World Report. Follow her on Twitter.
Attending college in Canada is not a bad idea at all. I have some few friends who finished their college in Canada and the quality of education really is exemplary… I am so amazed on how they turned out to be very professional. What is cost if the quality of education is at its peak, right? The return will be even greater that you expected.
Greetings Lynn!
On behalf of Brock University, in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada:
THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS POST.
Among the myriad of reasons to come North for higher education, we are learning that our American students find tuition prices to be of particular importance.
When American students come to Canada, they can be sure that they are getting a quality education for a fraction of the cost. Also, if they are looking to study abroad or mix it up a little, Canada is an excellent choice. We are not too far away, not too much of a ‘culture shock’. In fact, Brock U is located 20 only minutes from the NY State border and Niagara Falls.
As a International Recruiter, I spend my days telling American students all of the above. Thanks again for sharing and allowing me to add some comments.
Thanks Rachel for sharing more insights on attending college in Canada. Attending school up North should be on more students’ radar.
Lynn O’Shaughnessy
We had the University of British Columbia visit our school today and they actually review 11th and 12th grade transcripts. The admissions director told us that she has received a lot of questions about this since the posting of your article, and that your information is not accurate.
Hi Valerie,
Thanks for letting me know about the University of British Columbia’s review of 11th and 12th grade transcripts. I will make the change in my blog post.
Lynn O’Shaughnessy