US universities and Canada (schools, wealthy, rank)

[Yvanung]

We all know that, as far as Canada is concerned, many, if not most, domestic universities are at best known regionally and/or in a few disciplines (e.g. Western Ontario with business, Waterloo with engineering, SFU in BC).

For this reason I would expect that some US universities, while more or less well-known south of the border, are also regionally-known and/or specialty-known at best in Canada, just like their domestic counterparts are. That being said, most US universities will be complete (or almost complete) unknowns coast-to-coast.

Now I do not expect many such US institutions to exist, and even fewer that are better-known/reputed in Quebec than anywhere else. And that most Canadians that actually attend any of these do so for some advanced degree, PhD or otherwise, for financial reasons. But are there cases you know about, or otherwise suspect?

[BIMBAM]

Originally Posted by Yvanung

We all know that, as far as Canada is concerned, many, if not most, domestic universities are at best known regionally and/or in a few disciplines (e.g. Western Ontario with business, Waterloo with engineering, SFU in BC).

For this reason I would expect that some US universities, while more or less well-known south of the border, are also regionally-known and/or specialty-known at best in Canada, just like their domestic counterparts are. That being said, most US universities will be complete (or almost complete) unknowns coast-to-coast.

Now I do not expect many such US institutions to exist, and even fewer that are better-known/reputed in Quebec than anywhere else. And that most Canadians that actually attend any of these do so for some advanced degree, PhD or otherwise, for financial reasons. But are there cases you know about, or otherwise suspect?

The cases I'm familiar with where Canadian student attended US universities for undergraduate work, rather then graduate studies, typically involved highly talented individuals who attended elite schools like Harvard or Columbia on scholarships.

[markjames68]

As a whole, I'd say that Canadian universities are regarded like state universities in the US. They have more "street cred" if you leverage them closer to their location. U of T would probably count for more in Toronto than UBC.

Within the US you can also rank the state university systems. Some are known more for one subject or discipline than another.

Then you get the private Ivy schools - Harvard, Yale, etc. which are pretty much universally lauded.

Then you get the for-profits, which vary from well-regarded to not at all.

Generally, though, while say University of Maine won't be well known in California it'll still get identified as a state school. There are a few states that have schools which will exceed regional credibility - UCLA is one that comes to mind.

[Yvanung]

Originally Posted by BIMBAM

The cases I'm familiar with where Canadian student attended US universities for undergraduate work, rather then graduate studies, typically involved highly talented individuals who attended elite schools like Harvard or Columbia on scholarships.

Scholarships at Ivies are 100% need-based, even though these individuals are highly talented in their own right. One must surmise that these people must not come from supremely wealthy families ($200k+ yearly) then. Unless they did have some external scholarships...

I acknowledge that very few American universities (about ~10-20 universities or so) are renowned coast-to-coast in Canada. Harvard and Columbia are on that list, though.

Originally Posted by markjames68

As a whole, I'd say that Canadian universities are regarded like state universities in the US.

That's the reverse order compared to my original question.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but the University of Virginia (perhaps paradoxically) seems to carry more weight in the Atlantic provinces than anywhere else in Canada, even though, in the US, it is seen almost the same as UCLA for undergrad.

Minnesota, however, is seen by some as a hockey-intensive university, with otherwise limited renown in Canada, even in Winnipeg.

Other cases I suspect of its "street cred" being highly region-dependent (in Canada) are Washington-Seattle (BC? what is for certain, though, is that the University of Washington is in direct competition with UBC for international students) WUSTL and Northwestern, possibly Wisconsin, UIUC (one or more of Ontario or a Prairie province, not sure which).

[Ottawa2011]

There are 2,618 four-year degree granting colleges and universities in the U.S. Many of them aren't known coast-to-coast within the U.S., never mind across Canada or globally. There are tons of small mediocre colleges in the U.S.. The large state universities, as well as the Ivies (and the "Seven Sisters") are pretty commonly known across Canada... at the very least, the state universities are known due to their sports teams.

Most universities in Canada, I'd say, are comparable to the state universities in the U.S. Some are exceptionally well-known for particular programs, as you've said... Western for business, Waterloo for anything related to computers...

Some of the universities in the Maritimes are well-known across Canada for their specialized undergrad programs (and their alumni networks). St. Mary's for public relations, Mount Allison for music, UNB for engineering, Dal for science, medicine, and law, etc.