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Canadian Universities
Seraven
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Seeing as how I'm now in my senior year at high school I find myself in the curious position of considering universities to attend come next year. Now, I've been doing a fair bit of research on my own, but it would really help to hear some impressions from those here who attend Canadian universities, or hell, even if you're in the same boat as I am. Right now, I'm looking to get into a good English program and have presently been considering McGill University, the University of Victoria, and the University of Western Ontario. Feel free to give your impressions on any Canadian university, warn me against one of my selections, or whatever you like so long as it's on topic.
Just as a note: Although I live 10 minutes away from McMaster University, I'm really not interested in going there. My sister attends there right now and she recommends that I go there, too, but I'd like to go out on my own, personally. I have nothing against the school and I hear pretty decent things, but I've never gone far from my local residence so I guess I'm looking for a cool new locale as well.
Thanks a lot.
Just as a note: Although I live 10 minutes away from McMaster University, I'm really not interested in going there. My sister attends there right now and she recommends that I go there, too, but I'd like to go out on my own, personally. I have nothing against the school and I hear pretty decent things, but I've never gone far from my local residence so I guess I'm looking for a cool new locale as well.
Thanks a lot.
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lots of sun, tons of national parks in the area, the calm ocean of the east side of victoria, the bigger waves of tofino, and a ferry hop to vancouver which is a great place...
if you like skiing/snowboarding, your mind will become blown when you try it in BC compared to Ontario. if you don't, well come here anyways and try it.
Uvic itself I can't speak about
I'm currently doing my MA at Acadia, another small Nova Scotia school. I've only been here a couple weeks, and I'm obviously not doing the undergrad thing this time around, so I can't give any first hand info regarding that. The school is nice. The town is REALLY nice, but also incredibly small. The English faculty, again, seems pretty solid.
I lived off campus at St FX and am again here, so I can't really comment on campus life.
I'm going to have agree with this guy here, St. FX is a really great school and even though I myself am not yet in Uni I wish to attend there and my sister is there right now in 3rd year and really enjoying it.
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I don't know if they've had the University Fair yet (probably coming soon if they haven't already), but make sure you check it out and talk to the profs and students there. Also it might be a good idea to check out the campuses of the schools you're considering going to... there are a lot of Universities you can commute to from where you are (I'm guessing you're in Hamilton somewhere) to check out.
Another thing to consider... check out the average hours you'll be in class and your expected workload. It shouldn't differ excessively from uni to uni. Taking this into account, look at other things you'd want to do at university while you're there (if you have the time) and factor the extracurricular stuff in your decision as well. What I can tell from my friends who attend different Canadian unis is that the other side of uni life (aside from studies) varies a lot between schools. This is one aspect of Waterloo I don't really like and probably one of my few gripes with going there (ie relatively quiet place, not much goes on).
I don't know if you're truly confused about picking a University or you just want input to tell yourself you're make an informed choice. I sort of had a gut feeling about which school I wanted to go to and listening to other people's encouragement/discouragment didn't really phase me... I hope you're not in the same situation!
That's cool. What program are you in?
St. Francis Xavier actually sounds kind of interesting. Taking the name into account, would it be considered a Christian school? I wouldn't really have a problem with this, but I'm not particularly religious. Would I run into trouble for this? Also, did you find that you learned a lot from your program? Like, in terms of experience and diversity?
It's next weekend, actually, and I'm hoping to attend it. I'll keep York in mind, though I'll admit I haven't really looked into it.
Heh, not really. About the only thing I'm certain about is the program I'd like to go into. Granted, I have considered double majoring, but considering I'm not even in university yet this may be considered hopeful thinking. Just as a note, it'd probably be in history, philosophy, or French. I only took French until Grade 9, subsequently dropping it, and I regret it everyday. I'd really like to learn the language, and if I could study it as well that may be cool. I've even thought of teaching English in France (or China or Japan) after university so it could come in handy. Plus, I just like the culture.
Thanks, I'll definitely do that.
Just a quick question though: I understand that UVic incorporates Co-Op, and I'm curious how you like that? Have you found it enlightening at all, perhaps beneficial? Really, anything would be nice to hear.
McGill and Western are both great universities. I don't know enough to comment on Victoria.
Western would be a little closer to home for you while still being far enough away to give you autonomy. McGill would be a lot of fun because Montreal is awesome.
I'll admit that I don't know much about English programs (though I was in one at the University of Calgary before I left for the University of Alberta) but from everything I've heard I have to say that as far as undergraduate programs go they're more or less on the same level (e.g. you'll have some good professors and some bad professors, but really I can't imagine any one school truly excelling in their English department).
I ask what you plan to do after your undergrad because thats also very important. If you're considering a graduate program in English you may wish to save your money for that (and going to a different school for your graduate work seems to be more highly recommended). Or if you're thinking about disciplines like law you might also want to wait for that to go away.
Now clearly I don't know anything about your financial position, but I really want to put this advice out there in front of you. When I was in your shoes I really wanted to go away from Calgary for my undergrad, but eventually chose not to because of the cost. This is a decision I'm very happy about nearly four years later. I'm almost done my undergrad and am now thinking about continuing my education, and I'm truly glad I didn't rack up a ton of debt on my undergrad. Of course, if you've got a lot of money (i.e. rich parents wiling to support you) then I think it's pretty cool to go away. Victoria is a beautiful place.
I guess I should have mentioned that I hope to eventually get into editing, publishing, or translating -- something like that.
Also, one of my reasons for wanting to go to a school a little further out arises from the fact that I've never been further than Montreal in my entire life. That's about 6-7 hours from where I'm from by car, so basically I've never been on a holiday or anything remotely close to a vacation. I liked Montreal when I went there, but obviously I was too young to drink or actually do anything interesting. I'm really interested in French culture, too, so I imagine being in a French-speaking city would help me pick up the language.
Queen's has a ton of student government/club/athletics stuff, and a lot of school spirit. I personally got involved in residence affairs and have been involved for the past three years now; it's shaped my experience a lot.
The tuition is rather high, comparitively, though, and Kingston doesn't have tooo much to offer, especially if you're looking for a big city. Good places to eat are also rather inconveniently away from campus as opposed to some other places.
I do enjoy it here, though, and I'd recommend you look into it if you're interested.
edit: You could also consider going to the Herstmonceux Castle in England for any of your years (generally 1-3) at Queen's; they offer a lot of English credits there, and you actually get to see the places you're reading about, for the most part... (http://www.queensu.ca/international/isc.php)
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There really isn't a cost of living difference between Vancouver and Victoria in my experience, with the probable exception of rents which I presume would be higher in Vancouver. I lived in Victoria for seven years (while going to Uvic and post graduation for a few years), and I can't say I ever even heard the idea of cost of living being different in Victoria due to transportation costs for goods. After all, most of the goods that come into Vancouver come in the same way they do to Victoria, by boat.
Victoria is a pretty awesome town. I enjoyed it so much that I stayed there year round after my first year, only going home at holidays. It has the best climate in the country(something like 30% less rain than Vancouver), is super easy to get around by bike if you don't have a car, and the campus is really nice. I won't really comment about the classes or anything, since I graduated a few years back and my experience probably isn't relevant anymore.
If the OP is interested, I can make some comments about Dalhousie as well, as I went there for grad work. Or PM me if you like.
However, my main point of advice would be this: Go visit the university you're interested in in person before committing. I did visit Uvic before I went, and it helped confirm my decision. I did not visit Dal before I went there, but I really wish I had. Be aware that University websites are in part, marketing tools, and are going to present their school in the best possible light.
While some schools have opted out, you should also pick up, or get from the local library the Macleans University rating issue.
That would be great, actually. Someone I know is considering Dalhousie, so it would be interesting to hear the impressions of someone who's actually there.
I definitely agree with seeing the university before you make your pick, which is why I'm hoping to go see McGill, Western, and a few other universities in the area.
I've visited UVic a few times, and it seems like a great place to live (I'm from Surrey, BC, so I already love BC), and from what my friends have told me, it's also Fa great university.
For the full cultural experience, definitely go with McGill though. Montreal is just a great place to live for a student (if you're the type who likes to get out and do stuff), and it's a good uni too.
So the thing about UWO is it's huge. I've heard numbers from about 36,000 to 40,000 students being thrown around alot. If you like the look/community/atmosphere/whatever of Western but not the big class sizes, there are 3 affiliated university colleges (Huron, Kings, and Brescia) each that give you a Western degree, but have much smaller classes. (Huron caps classes at 45, Kings at 75, not sure about Brescia, but I know for a fact that Main Campus has "Super Psych" with Dr. Mike which is an 1,800 student class, so it's nice to be able to see your professor a little closer than 100feet away.)
Bassically, it's a great school with a great community. Though I'm willing to admit I'm biased as having grown up in London, UWO is considered the be all and end all of universities here.
It's main focuses are pretty much english and journalism, and in your first year do a foundation program which is essentially a bunch of different subjects rolled into one.
It's a pretty good little school, and you can take classes at Dal as well.
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It's not religious, per se, anymore, but it has a fairly strong Catholic tradition. You won't have any problems if you aren't religious, I certainly didn't. It isn't a Christian school in the sense that it has a Christian agenda or anything. It's a secular school that used to be Catholic. So, for example, there are Masses held before the X-Ring ceremony and graduation, but they aren't mandatory by any means. Actually, there are some religious parts to the ring ceremony as I recall (I didn't go it mine). It's on the Feast of Francis Xavier (Dec. 3) and I think the rings get blessed. But if that isn't your bag you can just go to the jewelry store in town that provides them and get it from them, which is what I did.
The program itself was great. The faculty has a wide range of expertise, from all eras. I don't know what area you're interested in, but if you're into medieval, Shakespeare, 17th century, post colonial, Canadian, Restoration or 20th century modernism stuff you'd have a blast. The Romantics professor just left and they have a new one, so I don't know what he's like. I got to study a large range of theoretical stuff too, if you're interested in that.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to poke fun at those granola munchers, but they really haven't given any reason not to recommend UVic. Also, we're supposed to have the second most attractive women in Canada after Montreal.
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That all sounds quite interesting though. My only concern is the national and international prestige that goes along with St. Francis Xavier. I have to be honest and admit that I had never heard of it up until you and sir_michael7 mentioned it. Did you find that you had a difficult time getting into your MA program at all? Eventually I'd like to seek out that route in the future, if not in Canada than somewhere else, be it in Europe or Asia. What are your impressions on the degree?
As far as English programs go, you can do better, I think Western focuses more on business, science, and research.
Well, it's come in 1st place in Maclean's Magazine's annual ranking of Canadian undergrad schools for the last several years, for what it's worth (not much really, but it makes us feel good about ourselves). I didn't have any problems getting into my MA program. As for the "quality" of the degree, I dunno, a BA is as much a function of time+money as it is anything else. Unless you're going somewhere like Harvard or Oxford, or another super-elite school, it's not really all that relevant.
Well, I'm not in school anymore, but lets see:
Dal has a nice historic campus, but facilities vary wildly from building to building. There are the historic buildings you'll see on the website, some nicer more recently constructed buildings, as well as a number of concrete 60s style buildings that can only have been designed by someone intending to make them as depressing as humanly possible. The main library also sort of resembles a cross between a prison and a borg cube.
The wiki article on Dalhousie mentions something that is worth keeping in mind for anyone considering going to Dal. The university has several millions of dollars in deferred maintenance on some of its buildings. I strongly recommend anyone thinking of going there take a trip to Halifax and check out the buildings where you'll be taking most of your classes. The variation in quality and even cleanliness of facilities between some of the different facilities is pretty major.
Halifax is a nice town, and the weather is probably not a major issue for people from Ontario as it was for me coming from south west BC. I managed to experience both a blizzard and a hurricane in something like six months, so things were a little unusual. The people are awesome though. Even downtown drivers would stop to see if I was wanting to cross the street, as opposed to trying to run you down like they will in some other places.
Oh, I understand that. I would never base my decisions only on reputation. However, if said school had a good reputation because it actually offers an excellent education then that's another matter entirely. I'm trying to look at this from different angles, and if that means I have to look at what the media says and what the students say then I'm perfectly fine with that. I'm really just having a good time with this, it's interesting to correlate all of these opinions and statistics. I'm excited, to say the least.