Who Is Your Favourite Canadian, Justin Bieber or Trudeau?

While thousands of Malaysians continue to abscond, and leave the country every year in pursuit of greener pastures, there is perhaps no bigger dream that needs fulfilling than the American one. Many students, especially from the South-eastern portion of the continent flock over to the Land of the Free in hopes that their dreams of a Hollywood style rag-story-riches story comes good. Movies though, have a tendency to skew reality. And, while studying in America is a great opportunity, another country is slowly emerging from her shadow, a lesser known entity on the education front, but one that is steadily growing, both in sheer scale of international students, and in quality of education offered. The country where the rapper Aubrey, or better known as his stage name, Drake, was born in. The country with maple syrup so famous. The maple leaf is nestled at the centre of their flag. Oh, Canada!

While the fervour surrounding Canada, especially from this side of the pond, has been traditionally due to their depiction in the ‘How I met Your Mother’ sitcom, and more recently, the unassuming smarts and dashing good looks of their Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a deeper look that plunges past the surface will show startling statistics. Canada’s international student population, for instance, saw an exponential rise, surging 92 percent from 2008 to 2015. By that point, their total stood at 315,000, with no plateau in sight. While the numbers for this year are yet to be crunched, premature reports from Ryerson University, which confirmed an increase in international undergraduates by 50%, and the University of Toronto, which saw a 75% and 60% increase in students from India and the Middle East respectively, one can expect the statistics to continue in its upward trajectory. The questions then shifts away, from initial jokes about what the plural of moose is (it is moose by the way) to, why Canada? Is it really a good place to call home to my tertiary education life? Isn’t it monumentally expensive?

The Price of a Good Education

People often clump Canada together with its neighbour, and assume that prices in both countries may as well be identical. However, it would be beneficial to know that tuition at Canadian colleges is generally lower than at comparable universities in the United States, even though students from outside Canada pay a higher rate than locals do. While this by no means should cause you to withdraw your savings from that piggy bank and go splurge at the mall (Let’s go to the mall?), it isn’t as expensive as you would have once thought.

1 Canadian Dollar = 3.16 Malaysian Ringgit

Click here to view the full list of tuition fees at Canadian institutions.

Of course, studying abroad entails much more than just tuition. The cost of living may, on occasion, surpass the fees paid to the college, if one isn’t too meticulous and negates to note down prices of regular items and products needed on a monthly basis. Not to worry, here you will find the prices of most, if not all the necessary products and services you will need, taken from numbero.com

1 Canadian Dollar  = 3.16 Malaysian Ringgit

Hold Your Horses

So while the above may seem enticing to many, don’t speed off just yet, as one needs to learn to walk before they can start running. What you need prior to even dreaming about studying in Canada, is to meet their requirements. The Canadian education system is quite similar to anyone familiar with what the pathway after SPM looks like. The Canadian Pre-U qualification needed to apply to Universities in Canada is Grade 12. In order to enroll in a Grade 12 programme in Canada, you need to have completed your SPM. And that’s that! You may then enrol in the fast track pre-u programme, a 7-month Grade 12 programme that begins in January or February and ends in July/August of the same year. Students who are enrolled in this program will then be eligible to apply for admission to a Canadian University for the September intake in the same year! And before you ask, you are allowed to use your forecast results. Tuition fees for these programmes vary with each Canadian School/College in Canada. Living expenses will vary according to the city you live and of course, the kind of lifestyle you lead (Odds are you may have to cut down on the caviar). Total costs including school fees and living expenses for Secondary and Pre-U programs can begin from C$ 6,500 (RM 19,500) per academic year. For those who opt to take a pre-university course here before making the rather long trip, then A-Levels, IBDP & US/Australian Year 12 are all acceptable qualifications. The final step then, would be obtaining a study permit, which is said to take 28 days to process.

Best Canadian Universities

With the release of QS’ World University Rankings 2018 still fresh on the minds of budding students and undergraduates, it makes for an easy way to disclose just how well equipped Canadian Universities are and the high regard in which they are held. Don’t take our word for it, and just have a gander at the picture below courtesy of topuniversities.com.

The University of Toronto and McGill University are neck and neck, ranked 31 and 32 worldwide respectively, with a further two universities populating the top 100 and a grand total of 7 that fall in the top 200 worldwide. Offering courses that range from the common classics to the newer, more modern and focused courses, these are clear options at your disposal should you opt to decide to go.

The continuous concentric efforts by Canada in loosening their purse strings on regulations for graduates, best exemplified by the implementation of the Post-Graduation Work Permit Programme, a clear sign that the country is open to the influx of students from all nations far and wide, in a bid to cultivate a healthy, multiracial and cultural ecosystem that thrives on contribution for the greater good. So, what say you then? How about Canada, eh?