6 Tips to Choosing a Canadian University
There are over 100 Universities in Canada and all of them have advantages of their own. With a mosaic of world class educational initiations it can be difficult to select the one that is right for you. Therefore here are 6 tips that you should take into consideration when choosing a Canadian University:
Choose the University that is right for you: What are you interested in? What are you passionate about? If you are interested in Business competitions then you should choose a school that has a focus on that, similarly if you are interested in the swim team, fencing club or even the Women’s rights association you should go to a school that puts considerably more focus on that.
- Faster is not always better: There are numerous programs that allow you to complete your education within 6 months to a year. However, a faster program will never be as valuable as a 2-4 year program. This is because longer programs teach you substantial more than shorter programs and prepare you to be a well rounded individual while shorter programs focus only the things you need to know and leave out the soft skills.
- Where did your mentors study: When deciding on which Canadian University ask the people in positions in which you want to find yourself in; for example, if you want to be a Criminal Lawyer then go to professional forums and ask which institution would put you in such a position. Moreover, contact a local professional association at http://www.cicic.ca/en/profess.aspx?sortcode=2.19.21.21#Ontario they will be more than happy to give you the information you need.
- If it is too good to be true it probably is: Be careful of Universities that are heavily focused on pressuring you to sign up with them or if they are willing to compromise on the length of the program. This is usually a telling sign that there is something they are hiding.
- Adopt a questioning attitude: Universities tend to use numbers to entice you on signing the dotted lines. Beware of statements like “Our graduates have a 97% employment rate” this could simply mean 97% employment rate in nursing but not Finance. Be cautious and question the number to give yourself a reliable big picture.
- Find all the Universities that grant the degree you want: Visit http://oraweb.aucc.ca/showdcu.html to get a list of all the Universities that grand the degree you want. Being informed will increase your chances of getting into the program you want and will allow you to understand the requirements that you must meet for you to get in.
- Have a plan: Choosing a Canadian University is an important decision therefore make sure you have a plan and appropriate reasoning as to why you are selecting that University and why you are going into that
program. For example, one student told me that she went to Wilfrid Laurier University to do the BBA program because it had a Co-op option. She didn’t know what to do but she knew that a Co-op option will allow her to explore opportunities in Marketing, Finance, Accounting, Supply Chain Management etc. Therefore, have a plan and understand why you are doing the program that you going to spend the next 4 years completing.
