Where to study in Canada??

[AnnaTink]

Hi All,

I am looking for some advice from my fellow disboarders!

I have been looking into coming to study in Canada for a year (I am from the UK) for a while now and have made contact with various universities.

However, I am having difficulty weighing up the pros and cons of different areas and was hoping some of you may be able to advise. I am not too bothered about being in a bustling city; I would prefer an area which is a bit quieter, but not tooooo quiet.

Weather wise I would like to see the sun as much as possible and if that meant a cold but bright winter then that is preferable to a bit warmer but grey skies (which is what I am used to in the UK).

Basically I would like to be able to make the most of the time and experience Canadian life to the full.

Many thanks for your time

 

[cutejellybeen]

Alberta seems to have the most sunny hours per year from what I remember last time I looked that up, but Alberta might not be what you are looking for. Canada is (as you know) a very large country with each area having its own culture.

What universities are you looking at - and what program? Not all universities are equal as you know

 

[peimikes]

Atlantic Canada is the best part of Canada, but I have lived here almost 35 years I may be a bit bias, though all my closest neighbors are from Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba considering there are only about 30 families in our community and that most of our yards are about 35-80 acres that's a lot of people from away . Though there are lots of great universities here and we have the best beaches in the country, as well as the lowest cost of living. Also the warmest winters outside of the BC coast.

 

[lizabu]

I think what you will be studying will be the most important part of choosing a university. Some schools are more well known for certain subjects than others so graduating from a school who has a good reputation for that subject can help you when trying to find a job. The best weather to be found in Canada is in B.C and then South Western Ontario. That's why so many people live there and fewer people live in other places. Maybe if you tell us what you plan to study we can help you find the best school.

 

[AnnaTink]

What universities are you looking at - and what program? Not all universities are equal as you know

Haha, that is something I am VERY aware of - I have worked at several universities in England and they have all been very, very different

I am looking for a Masters program in Education, probably in Higher Education or International Education (which is why I want to study abroad lol). I have looked at a few courses so far and have had responses from British Columbia, Alberta and Toronto.

I have been trying to look at who offers what and hoping that would help make a decision, however, as you say, Canada is a big country and I think it may be best to narrow my search a bit

 

[BOTL76]

I am a graduate of Brock University in Ontario, and we have a solid MED program. In Ontario Brock University is one of the hardest Faculty of Education programs to get into. It is about 1.25 hours outside of Toronto and 20 minutes to Niagara Falls. Lots to see and do.

Also I have a friend that I met at Brock who came from England and had a great time here, he graduated in the Masters Program as well.

However as other posters have said on here many great universities coast to coats. Having worked in the University environment for 12 years had the pleasure to visit other universities across Canada and all have great things to offer!

 

[canadianjovigirl]

Alberta............lots of sun and close to the mountains to enjoy some outdoor winter sports.

Vancovuer is great, but they get lots of rain and its grey and dreary thus why i only lasted 7 years there then returned home.

 

[Kristie13]

I just want to put this out there... As a recent university graduate, I just want to tell you to pick somewhere you are going to enjoy yourself for the culture, not based on the program. An MED is an MED, no matter where you get it from. A school's reputation can change on a dime, and just because you went to one university does not mean you will get a job over someone who went to another. What I think is more important is that you feel comfortable where you are, coming from another country.

I also went to Brock University, it has a great balance of being both city and country... You have the border to the states near by (GREAT for shopping! We went once a month) and Niagara Falls has TONS of entertainment/clubbing places. St Catharines (the town Brock is actually located in) has a great downtown area with lots of bars and restaurants, including the LOVELY Port Dalhousie which has a strip of bars and shops and things that back onto a marina/beach. Also nearby is tons and tons of beautiful vineyards and farms!
As for the school, it has a great campus, that is much newer than most universities in Canada (Brock is a relatively young uni) and always expanding. Most residences are AWESOME, I would recommend Village (where students live in townhouses of 5 people each, alternating boys & girls in each unit, formatted into courtyards so its like an entire subdivision of students, best way to meet LOTS of people), and AVOID DeCew (oldest residence). The university is on the small side compared to others, but I think thats what makes it great- its easy to walk where ever you need to go and you bump into friends all the time. The city also has a great bus system for getting around.

I think I just made myself go into a depression- I MISS BROCK!!!

Obviously thats a huge amount of info there lol went on a bit of a tangent but let me know if theres anything else you want to know! I have also had friends who rave about their time at both Western and Guelph, but I think you would find that Brock has a much better location. I would also recommend going to BC or Atlantic Canada as they are very beautiful and have their own cultures.

Okay, I am shutting up now!

 

[sechelt]

Check out the University of Victoria, on Vancouver Island. It's a smaller city, surrounded by ocean and beauty, and I read somewhere that it gets more sunshine hours than anywhere else in Canada. I don't live there so don't know if it's true. It's the capital of B.C. and has lots of heritage. And if you want big city excitement once in a while, Vancouver is just a ferry ride away.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Check out the University of Victoria, on Vancouver Island. It's a smaller city, surrounded by ocean and beauty, and I read somewhere that it gets more sunshine hours than anywhere else in Canada. I don't live there so don't know if it's true. It's the capital of B.C. and has lots of heritage. And if you want big city excitement once in a while, Vancouver is just a ferry ride away.

Actually Victoria is not even n the top 100 for sunniest Canadian cities.

Most sunny days year-round
City Rank Value
Calgary AB 1 332.93
Medicine Hat AB 2 329.88
Moose Jaw SK 3 324.85
Estevan SK 4 323.86
Portage la Prairie MB 5 322.64
Swift Current SK 6 322.55
Lethbridge AB 7 321.9
Regina SK 8 321.35
Edmonton AB 9 321.11
Saskatoon SK 10 320.34
Red Deer AB 11 320.25
Winnipeg MB 12 317.78
Cranbrook BC 13 317.03
Kamloops BC 14 316.2
Grande Prairie AB 15 313.89
Brandon MB 16 313.83
Yorkton SK 17 313.04
Williams Lake BC 18 312.26
Prince Albert SK 19 312.19
Cold Lake AB 20 310.93
Fort St. John BC 21 309.08
Fort McMurray AB 22 307.62
Windsor ON 23 307.47
Penticton BC 24 307.35
Victoria BC 25 306.27
Brockville ON 26 305.8
Kelowna BC 27 305.51
Thunder Bay ON 28 305.18
Vernon BC 29 304.24
Montréal QC 30 303.48
Ottawa-Gatineau ON-QC 31 303.38
Barrie ON 32 303.24
Toronto ON 33 302.85
Hamilton ON 34 302.04
Whitehorse YT 35 301.54
Brantford ON 36 300.54
Peterborough ON 37 300.53
Prince George BC 38 300.16
St. Catharines-Niagara ON 39 299.93
Joliette QC 40 299.58
Sorel-Tracy QC 41 299.58
Alma QC 42 299.33
Guelph ON 43 299.04
Kingston ON 44 298.94
Belleville ON 45 298.94
Edmundston NB 46 298.03
Drummondville QC 47 297.58
Trois-Rivières QC 48 297.17
Midland ON 49 296.82
Sherbrooke QC 50 296.64
Pembroke ON 51 296.22
Baie-Comeau QC 52 295.93
Shawinigan QC 53 295.22
Kitchener-Waterloo ON 54 294.58
Nanaimo BC 55 294.39
Duncan BC 56 294.39
Woodstock ON 57 294.16
Owen Sound ON 58 294.02
Thompson MB 59 293.91
Chicoutimi-Jonquière QC 60 293.81
Bathurst NB 61 293.61
Sudbury ON 62 293.59
Moncton NB 63 293.38
Fredericton NB 64 293.19
Campbellton NB 65 292.45
Val-d'Or QC 66 292.18
Summerside PE 67 292.07
Kenora ON 68 291.77
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu QC 69 291.52
Québec QC 70 290.86
Sault Ste. Marie ON 71 290.36
Halifax NS 72 290.17
North Bay ON 73 290.11
Sarnia ON 74 289.85
Stratford ON 75 288.81
Vancouver BC 76 288.48
Charlottetown PE 77 288.15
Sept-Iles QC 78 287.87
Oshawa ON 79 287.87
London ON 80 287.77
Kentville NS 81 287.43
Sydney NS 82 286.94
Rouyn-Noranda QC 83 285.99
Abbotsford BC 84 285.57
Truro NS 85 284.99
Saint John NB 86 284.89
Courtenay BC 87 284.73
Campbell River BC 88 284.03
Timmins ON 89 283.32
Cornwall ON 90 277.49
Saint-Hyacinthe QC 91 277.04
Yellowknife NT 92 275.26
Rimouski QC 93 274.82
Rivière-du-Loup QC 94 274.82
Gander NL 95 274.42
Corner Brook NL 96 274.05
Port Alberni BC 97 271.73
St. John's NL 98 270.38
Chilliwack BC 99 267.01
Prince Rupert BC 100 250.25

 

[iamadisneynut]

Putting in a plug for the University of Western Ontario in London Ontario. Check it out...amazing campus and London is a pretty nice mid sized city.

 

[CdnCarrie]

For a cold but bright winter these would be the top 30 cities according to environment Canada -

Most sunny days in cold months
City Rank Value
Calgary AB 1 131.5
Medicine Hat AB 2 126.59
Moose Jaw SK 3 124.27
Estevan SK 4 122.71
Lethbridge AB 5 121.42
Red Deer AB 6 121.38
Edmonton AB 7 120.91
Saskatoon SK 8 120.58
Swift Current SK 9 120.36
Regina SK 10 119.91
Winnipeg MB 11 118.66
Portage la Prairie MB 12 118.61
Yorkton SK 13 116.39
Grande Prairie AB 14 115.88
Prince Albert SK 15 114.96
Brandon MB 16 114.23
Cold Lake AB 17 113.24
Fort McMurray AB 18 112.58
Fort St. John BC 19 111.9
Thunder Bay ON 20 111.9
Halifax NS 21 111.59
Cranbrook BC 22 111.05
Edmundston NB 23 110.93
Fredericton NB 24 110.56
Bathurst NB 25 110.53
Sept-Iles QC 26 110.19
Kamloops BC 27 110.12
Baie-Comeau QC 28 110.04
Campbellton NB 29 109.71
Alma QC 30 109.58
Brockville ON 31 109.53

 

[sechelt]

Actually Victoria is not even n the top 100 for sunniest Canadian cities.

Most sunny days year-round
City Rank Value
Calgary AB 1 332.93
Medicine Hat AB 2 329.88
Moose Jaw SK 3 324.85
Estevan SK 4 323.86
Portage la Prairie MB 5 322.64
Swift Current SK 6 322.55
Lethbridge AB 7 321.9
Regina SK 8 321.35
Edmonton AB 9 321.11
Saskatoon SK 10 320.34
Red Deer AB 11 320.25
Winnipeg MB 12 317.78
Cranbrook BC 13 317.03
Kamloops BC 14 316.2
Grande Prairie AB 15 313.89
Brandon MB 16 313.83
Yorkton SK 17 313.04
Williams Lake BC 18 312.26
Prince Albert SK 19 312.19
Cold Lake AB 20 310.93
Fort St. John BC 21 309.08
Fort McMurray AB 22 307.62
Windsor ON 23 307.47
Penticton BC 24 307.35
Victoria BC 25 306.27
Brockville ON 26 305.8
Kelowna BC 27 305.51
Thunder Bay ON 28 305.18
Vernon BC 29 304.24
Montréal QC 30 303.48
Ottawa-Gatineau ON-QC 31 303.38
Barrie ON 32 303.24
Toronto ON 33 302.85
Hamilton ON 34 302.04
Whitehorse YT 35 301.54
Brantford ON 36 300.54
Peterborough ON 37 300.53
Prince George BC 38 300.16
St. Catharines-Niagara ON 39 299.93
Joliette QC 40 299.58
Sorel-Tracy QC 41 299.58
Alma QC 42 299.33
Guelph ON 43 299.04
Kingston ON 44 298.94
Belleville ON 45 298.94
Edmundston NB 46 298.03
Drummondville QC 47 297.58
Trois-Rivières QC 48 297.17
Midland ON 49 296.82
Sherbrooke QC 50 296.64
Pembroke ON 51 296.22
Baie-Comeau QC 52 295.93
Shawinigan QC 53 295.22
Kitchener-Waterloo ON 54 294.58
Nanaimo BC 55 294.39
Duncan BC 56 294.39
Woodstock ON 57 294.16
Owen Sound ON 58 294.02
Thompson MB 59 293.91
Chicoutimi-Jonquière QC 60 293.81
Bathurst NB 61 293.61
Sudbury ON 62 293.59
Moncton NB 63 293.38
Fredericton NB 64 293.19
Campbellton NB 65 292.45
Val-d'Or QC 66 292.18
Summerside PE 67 292.07
Kenora ON 68 291.77
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu QC 69 291.52
Québec QC 70 290.86
Sault Ste. Marie ON 71 290.36
Halifax NS 72 290.17
North Bay ON 73 290.11
Sarnia ON 74 289.85
Stratford ON 75 288.81
Vancouver BC 76 288.48
Charlottetown PE 77 288.15
Sept-Iles QC 78 287.87
Oshawa ON 79 287.87
London ON 80 287.77
Kentville NS 81 287.43
Sydney NS 82 286.94
Rouyn-Noranda QC 83 285.99
Abbotsford BC 84 285.57
Truro NS 85 284.99
Saint John NB 86 284.89
Courtenay BC 87 284.73
Campbell River BC 88 284.03
Timmins ON 89 283.32
Cornwall ON 90 277.49
Saint-Hyacinthe QC 91 277.04
Yellowknife NT 92 275.26
Rimouski QC 93 274.82
Rivière-du-Loup QC 94 274.82
Gander NL 95 274.42
Corner Brook NL 96 274.05
Port Alberni BC 97 271.73
St. John's NL 98 270.38
Chilliwack BC 99 267.01
Prince Rupert BC 100 250.25

Actually, Victoria is #26 on your list, topped only by cities that have freezing winters most of the time. It may not be #1 for sunshine but Victoria's climate is very mild and I'd rather live there than the other places. Maybe some day.

 

[sechelt]

Oops. #25.

 

[dontthrowsand]

I can't help with the where to live factor because I am an Alberta girl at heart but I can voice my opinion on schools as I searched across the country for a place to go to school and chose the school I did based a large number of factors. Feel free to message me for a more in depth conversation or if you have questions. This is a very general overview from my search

I go to the University of Alberta and am in the undergraduate Education program. The area around Campus is amazing and comfortable. Edmonton isn't a huge city but it isn't a small town either. I quite like that factor as well.

I love Victoria as a city but dislike their Ed programs. Vancouver is too wet for me and really too big. Plus I didn't really like the UBC staff. SFU has a good program and awesome campus but I'd pick UBC Okanagan over SFU because I love the warm weather, smaller community feel, the lakes and the wineries/orchards around that area. It is an expensive area but beautiful.

Skip Calgary - their Ed program suffers from a poor reputation. Also I feel suffocated in the city though the proximity to the mountains does help.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba aren't well known for Education programs. I can't say I'd really want to live in either province either. They are smaller schools but I don't know what they offer for graduate programs

I avoided Ontario for Education for the fact that the undergraduate programs really restricted the abilities to move within the country. I am not sure about their Graduate programs. I do like certain parts of Ontario but find the major cities to be too big for me. You would never get me near Toronto. WAY too big, too spread out with all the suburbs and too many people.

My second choice was McGill - If you can handle the french in Montreal, I'd go there in a second if I could afford it. I love the city, I love the school and they have an amazing reputation. The language of instruction is a majorty English but the city is split and fighting the english invasion. (less successfully than the rest of Quebec).

I have never made it out to Atlantic Canada and never looked into programs there because I am allergic to Fish and Seafood. I figured if that was a large part of industry, I'd never leave home.

To summarize, my personal choices were UAlberta, McGill, UBC-Okanagan, SFU, UBC-Vancouver and UVic. I ended up at UAlberta for a lot of different factors including weather, campus, reputation, cost and location.



I just noticed you heard from UBC, UofT and UAlberta.
I'd narrow it down to either UAlberta or UBC if it was me. I'd probably look at UBC-Okanagan if possible, though it is expensive out there. Actually so is UBC(Vancouver) and Greater Vancouver is HUGE. LOTS of people. Pretty if you don't mind the rain. (I went through a few umbrellas out there)

The least expensive in terms of living costs would be UAlberta. It is also the smallest yet still a larger city of the 3. Our few suburbs feel like different towns/cities to me. It isn't the most attractive, largest or cultural city but it does have some pluses to go with the negatives people talk about. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[AnnaTink]

I just want to put this out there... As a recent university graduate, I just want to tell you to pick somewhere you are going to enjoy yourself for the culture, not based on the program. An MED is an MED, no matter where you get it from. A school's reputation can change on a dime, and just because you went to one university does not mean you will get a job over someone who went to another. What I think is more important is that you feel comfortable where you are, coming from another country.

I also went to Brock University, it has a great balance of being both city and country... You have the border to the states near by (GREAT for shopping! We went once a month) and Niagara Falls has TONS of entertainment/clubbing places. St Catharines (the town Brock is actually located in) has a great downtown area with lots of bars and restaurants, including the LOVELY Port Dalhousie which has a strip of bars and shops and things that back onto a marina/beach. Also nearby is tons and tons of beautiful vineyards and farms!
As for the school, it has a great campus, that is much newer than most universities in Canada (Brock is a relatively young uni) and always expanding. Most residences are AWESOME, I would recommend Village (where students live in townhouses of 5 people each, alternating boys & girls in each unit, formatted into courtyards so its like an entire subdivision of students, best way to meet LOTS of people), and AVOID DeCew (oldest residence). The university is on the small side compared to others, but I think thats what makes it great- its easy to walk where ever you need to go and you bump into friends all the time. The city also has a great bus system for getting around.

I think I just made myself go into a depression- I MISS BROCK!!!

Obviously thats a huge amount of info there lol went on a bit of a tangent but let me know if theres anything else you want to know! I have also had friends who rave about their time at both Western and Guelph, but I think you would find that Brock has a much better location. I would also recommend going to BC or Atlantic Canada as they are very beautiful and have their own cultures.

Okay, I am shutting up now!

Thank you for such a great response

I completely agree I've got to find somewhere which is a balance of good program vs location and it is so hard to work out (which is why I posted on here )

I'm definitely going to look into Brock, however if its one of the hardest to get into I don't know if I have enough for them

Thank you again

 

[AnnaTink]

I can't help with the where to live factor because I am an Alberta girl at heart but I can voice my opinion on schools as I searched across the country for a place to go to school and chose the school I did based a large number of factors. Feel free to message me for a more in depth conversation or if you have questions. This is a very general overview from my search

I go to the University of Alberta and am in the undergraduate Education program. The area around Campus is amazing and comfortable. Edmonton isn't a huge city but it isn't a small town either. I quite like that factor as well.

I love Victoria as a city but dislike their Ed programs. Vancouver is too wet for me and really too big. Plus I didn't really like the UBC staff. SFU has a good program and awesome campus but I'd pick UBC Okanagan over SFU because I love the warm weather, smaller community feel, the lakes and the wineries/orchards around that area. It is an expensive area but beautiful.

Skip Calgary - their Ed program suffers from a poor reputation. Also I feel suffocated in the city though the proximity to the mountains does help.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba aren't well known for Education programs. I can't say I'd really want to live in either province either. They are smaller schools but I don't know what they offer for graduate programs

I avoided Ontario for Education for the fact that the undergraduate programs really restricted the abilities to move within the country. I am not sure about their Graduate programs. I do like certain parts of Ontario but find the major cities to be too big for me. You would never get me near Toronto. WAY too big, too spread out with all the suburbs and too many people.

My second choice was McGill - If you can handle the french in Montreal, I'd go there in a second if I could afford it. I love the city, I love the school and they have an amazing reputation. The language of instruction is a majorty English but the city is split and fighting the english invasion. (less successfully than the rest of Quebec).

I have never made it out to Atlantic Canada and never looked into programs there because I am allergic to Fish and Seafood. I figured if that was a large part of industry, I'd never leave home.

To summarize, my personal choices were UAlberta, McGill, UBC-Okanagan, SFU, UBC-Vancouver and UVic. I ended up at UAlberta for a lot of different factors including weather, campus, reputation, cost and location.



I just noticed you heard from UBC, UofT and UAlberta.
I'd narrow it down to either UAlberta or UBC if it was me. I'd probably look at UBC-Okanagan if possible, though it is expensive out there. Actually so is UBC(Vancouver) and Greater Vancouver is HUGE. LOTS of people. Pretty if you don't mind the rain. (I went through a few umbrellas out there)

The least expensive in terms of living costs would be UAlberta. It is also the smallest yet still a larger city of the 3. Our few suburbs feel like different towns/cities to me. It isn't the most attractive, largest or cultural city but it does have some pluses to go with the negatives people talk about. Feel free to ask any questions.

Again, thanks for such a fantastic response. I have written down your suggestions and am going to research their websites and contact them all.

It looks as though you have gone through all the thought processes I am trying to sort through at the moment lol and will take you up on your over to pm once I've looked into things a bit more (and get my head around it all), it's fascinating how different things work in Canada to the UK so that is taking some getting used to as well.

Thanks again

 

[AnnaTink]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has responded on here, I am SO grateful

I'm trying to give myself as long as possible to look into things, as this would be for September 2013 and I am going to go and do more research now (ssshhh work doesn't need to know )

But thanks again everyone for being so helpful and informative

 

[cutejellybeen]

/ snip/ I have never made it out to Atlantic Canada and never looked into programs there because I am allergic to Fish and Seafood. I figured if that was a large part of industry, I'd never leave home.

Please don't let this colour your opinion of Atlantic Canada, being allergic to fish and seafood does not impact daily life here - While I am not allergic, I do not eat seafood/shellfish and have never had an issue with this. Come visit - we are very friendly and outgoing here.

To the OP I am sure you will love wherever you end up. If you plan on returning home often though you might want to make sure you are near an international airport for ease of travel. The flight from Calgary to LHR isn't TOO bad ( I think 9 hours last time I took it) and its about the same from Halifax NS - just different routes. I'm in the Atlantic provinces if you have any questions I will try to answer for you!

 

[LadyKay]

Plugging McGill and Concordia in Montreal Not to mention we have amazing summers full of international festivals. The architecture in the city is very european-like and we have some of THE best restaurants!!!!