Canada Universities for Americans

Although Canada has no universities in the top 20, it has three in the top fifty.

Rank	University	Region	Language
23	University of Toronto	Toronto, Ontario	English
34	McGill University	Montreal, Quebec	English
38	University of British Columbia	Vancouver, British Columbia	English
101	University of Alberta	Edmonton, Alberta	English
123	McMaster University	Hamilton, Ontario	English
163	University of Calgary	Calgary, Alberta	English
166	University of Waterloo	Waterloo, Ontario	English
170	Western University	London, Ontario	English
175	University of Ottawa	Ottawa, Ontario	English/French

All the top universities have their programs in English except the University of Ottawa, making Canada a great place for Americans to study.

Admissions

Canadian universities generally expect you to take challenging major-related high school classes and perform well. However, you should check your desired university’s requirements for the major you are interested in to know which junior and senior classes to take.

The ACT and SAT are usually not required.

The Canadian GPA can vary by province, and although some may be out of 4.0, they may award a 4.3 for 92-100 or a 3.7 for 80-84.

School	SAT	ACT	Int. Tuition (USD)	FAFSA?
University of Toronto	1330 – 1500	29-34	$46,750	Yes
McGill University*	1250 – 1430	26-32	$19,550 – $49,050	Yes
University of British Columbia*	N/A**	N/A**	$29,700 – $40,950	Yes
University of Alberta	1200+	26+	$23,400 – $31,300	Yes
McMaster University	N/A**	N/A**	$31,500	Yes
University of Calgary	N/A**	N/A**	$16,300	Yes
University of Waterloo	N/A**	N/A**	$33,000 – $48,400	Yes
Western University	1190+	24+	$30,500 – $41,500	Yes
University of Ottawa	N/A**	N/A**	$19,300	Yes

Tuition

Canadian universities may be cheaper than many higher-end private institutions in the United States. Still, besides Calgary and Ottawa, they are comparable to out-of-state tuition for most public schools. For example, Toronto and McGill are cheaper than Harvard and MIT, but their rates have increased significantly over the last few years.

A surprise, however, was learning that all of the top Canadian Universities will accept American students’ financial aid via FAFSA. This means you can apply for tuition assistance the same way you would for an American university and not need to seek out a private loan.

Other Tips

• Canadian universities are focused mainly on academics. A good GPA should help you get into most schools regardless of your extracurricular activities.
• In general, universities expect applications from pupils planning to start in September to be submitted by the middle of the preceding January.
• All Canadian schools are on semester schedules, except for Quebec, which is on trimesters.
• Some Canadian universities offer three-year bachelor programs.
• Canadian schools are large and cannot hold all students in student housing. Expect to try to find apartments nearby and to have less of an American college campus feel.
• The University of Toronto has over 70,000 students, larger than any American university.
• Canadian Universities are treated relatively equally among employers in Canada. There is no Ivy League.
• Many Canadian student unions offer healthcare plans. However, free healthcare is not extended to non-citizens.