In a Recession, U.S. College Students Head to Canada
College-age students who want a higher education without the hefty high price tag are heading to Canada, where a college education can cost nearly half of what it would cost in the United States, reports The Boston Globe (“Canada: Passport to Higher Ed, Lower Cost,” Dec. 25, 2008).
The number of Americans attending Canadian universities has grown to 9,000 students, double the amount of American students that crossed the Canadian border for college just seven years ago, according to the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
And this year alone — in which the U.S. economy continues to reach new lows — Canadian universities have seen a surge in U.S. interest: Dalhousie University in Halifax has received triple the amount of information requests from New England students than it normally receives, and McGill University in Montreal has already enrolled 100 Massachusetts students.
Affordable tuition rates at Canadian universities and a smaller gap between the U.S. and Canadian dollar allow Americans the opportunity to get a college education in Canada at a value. The average cost of tuition and fees for American undergraduate students attending Canadian colleges and universities is $14,487, far less than the cost of tuition and fees at four-year private institutions in the United States, which average $23,712.
“Students don’t usually come in and say ‘I want to go to Canada,’” said Joan Casey, an education consultant in Massachusetts. “But then they hear about the cost and think: ‘$18,000 for everything? That’s pretty amazing.’”
In addition to the cost differential, Canadian schools are appealing to American students because they may still be eligible for merit-based financial aid and can still use their U.S. federal student loans at Canadian colleges.
High school counselors also point out that American students are often enticed by the fact that Canada’s college admissions process, which often doesn’t include interviews and doesn’t require admissions essays, is far simpler and far less competitive than the U.S. admissions process. In fact, Americans may be able to get accepted to a better school in Canada than they would have in the United States.
“Students are willing to look more broadly geographically,” said Brad MacGowan, a college counselor at Newton North High School in Massachusetts, which has sent 10 students to McGill University over the past three years. “And Canadian colleges are looking for them.”