This will be a cynical post about general teenage angst. Just a heads up. But fear not, I’ll include relatively helpful facts and information so that my complaining is tolerable.
I think it’s acceptable to have a disclaimer here: I’m not a Dean or anyone important, so if my facts are wrong, don’t shoot the messenger. I blame the faulty college sites. Just make sure your future decisions don’t rest on the opinions of this post.
I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. Don’t know which university. Don’t know whether to go for Canada or the US. Don’t know what courses. If you’re in the same dilemma as me, let’s go out for lunch and vent about our futures, okay? It doesn’t take much for me to notice that on my Facebook newsfeed, I have friends taking the SATs, scoring amazingly on diplomas, IB/AP exams, taking enough extracurricular activities to double as part-time jobs, and just being fantastic citizens/volunteers. Yeah, well, it just depresses me that I’m up against these people for guaranteeing myself a good future. I don’t know if anyone worries about the same things that I do, but I’ll tell you how I deal with them.
University: Fancy American schools or Canadian close-to-home schools
This choice was relatively easy to make, but seeing as I’m so much more indecisive than the average person, that doesn’t say much. I’ve been dwelling on this topic since gr. 8. This was my thought process:
Cost:
Here’s the thing, run the idea through your parents and if they say something along the lines of: “Yeah, we’d probably have to sell or mortgage our house in order to pay for your tuition alone”, don’t do it. That’s the lecture my parents gave me. Or if you want it badly enough, you could sign up for Student Awards, and spend the rest of your high school years collecting scholarships (It’s like “Gotta catch’em all. Pokemon.” Except scholarship edition).
- Keep in mind that if you do make it into an Ivy League school, the average cost of annual tuition, residency, and miscellaneous expenses gets you to around $50 000 and if you’re getting your undergrad (4 years of education), that’s an investment of $200 000. Ow, right in the wallet.
- Canadian schools on the other hand are just…less. Our government provides universities with subsidies to lower the tuition, so we’re talking about around $20 000 per year (tuition, residency, and miscellaneous expenses accounted for). Not bad, huh?
- Ivy Leagues understand the price that comes with their education. First of all, if you’re accepted, the school probably really wants you as their student. I mean, their famous super low acceptance rates have a rhyme and reason. They’re here to breed the next generation of superhumans, so they’ll pitch in and the admission officers will give you what they think is enough for you to attend their school. It’s a fair deal, if you can even make it into their school… (-ahem- Harvard’s 6% acceptance rate).
http://www.milliondollarjourney.com/the-cost-of-ivy-league-schools.htm
http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000142.htm
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-university-search/
Canadian universities definitely win this round for school expenses.
Admission:
Do you know what your University requires of you in order to attend their school? Some of them have some pretty lofty expectations. Firstly, if you have a college in mind, check their website. Know what they want and do what they want. Since these requirements vary, here are some things to look out for:
- If you’re looking for an American school, chances are they’ll be looking for your SAT scores. And here’s a tip with the SATs, take them once in gr. 11 and use gr. 12 to retake them and improve your mark. Check out the tips here.
- There may be different mark requirements depending on if you’re an international student, high school student, adult student, transfer student, exchange student, or open studies (non-degree) student. Check dat stuff out on your college website. I have an example here from the University of Calgary website.
- Most universities want to know your combined average for certain subjects that your university course requires. What I mean by that is, (here’s another U of C example) if you want to get an engineering undergrad, the Schulich School of Engineering needs you to have a combined average of 80% or over in the following subjects: English 30-1, Chemistry 30, Physics 30, Pure Math 30, and Calculus. Since these subjects are under the Alberta curriculum, the website should also post the other province equivalents of these subjects.
- I would put an American school example, but I just checked out Harvard law requirements (just because it’s Harvard) and I don’t even understand what they want. Something about LSAT and LSAC…oh lordy. Just do your research if you want to go to America, I don’t even…sorry.
- Some schools require recommendation letters. American schools especially. Teachers are good source for recommendation letters, so be good in school, kiss up, be teacher’s pet, or just do something that makes your teacher like you.
- If you can, attend campus tours, you’ll see students and professors in real HD, you’ll get to see the school up close and not through some catalogue. First hand experiences are always nice. On that same note, attend university fairs being held at your school. Ask questions, take brochures, and collect as many free pencils as possible (SO MUCH FUN AH!)
- You’ll probably have to write an essay for the faculty you want to enter, so pay attention during English class and muster up those skills to write a convincing application essay. FYI, the US schools call them personal statements.
- I know lots of high end schools like seeing extensive extracurricular participation. That includes music, sports, volunteering etc. They want to see an active citizen and an enthusiastic learner.
- Look for early application dates. If you fit the criteria, then it’ll definitely be helpful for you .
- Some schools have application fees. Yeh, applying for school ain’t free…
- Use these two websites if you’re applying for an American university: College Confidential and College Board.
The application process for a normal Canadian University is easier than an American University just because I live in Canada. And even if I were to leave the country, I wouldn’t settle for an average American college. I mean…an average U.S. college is already quite expensive. If I left Canada, it’d mean that I’m in it to win it, but since I don’t have my SATs (which are crucial to a fancy American university), I’ve pretty much ruled out anything Ivy League. And don’t get me wrong, Canada’s got some solid schools (McGill, UBC, Waterloo, Queens etc.) So yep, another reason I’m staying in Canada for University.
Education:
Quality of education is probably the most important thing to me. I want reliable professors that are teaching me the right stuff, not some slack-off coach potato (which happens a lot from what I’ve been told). I have no first hand experience on this one, so I rely on college rankings and word of mouth. I do my research and some seemingly average schools have the odd program that is way beyond those of a top-notch elite university. Although your friends talk and you listen, be sure to browse around and do your own research. Know what a school’s good for, and don’t just apply for the name. So basically, don’t go to MIT for creative writing just because it’s MIT. There’s a reason why it’s called Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And like I said before, going to University fairs and attending campus tours will definitely let you see the good in the school you’re apply for.
- Here are some sites for your top ranking Canadian universities:
Maclean’s rankings
Slightly sketchy-looking site with great information on rankings
- Here are some sites for your top ranking American universities (Spoiler alert: Ivy League takes top 10 easily):
USA News’ rankings
Times High Education rankings
Forbes’ rankings
American education wins this round. The competition in these private universities naturally elevate people and drive them to perform better. It’s something I’ve always admired about Americans.
I’d write more, but I have to do my homework now. I’m also scaring myself with all this text; all the proof-reading and research…gah. I’ll end it here, and hopefully this helps anyone that worries as much about the future as me.
P.S. I’m staying in Canada for university. ;D