My children are currently studying in India. We have option of completing High School in either Canada or India.
Focus is Ivy or other top US / Canadian colleges.
Since both countries are over represented countries and intercountry competition is high for both , please advise which would be a better option.
Generally, I’d say Canada as their HS model is closer to the US model. The English in Canada is closer to American English than Indian English.
However, cost of living is probably less in India even if you can afford a decent private school (the US definition of private school) in India that has a lot of opportunities - it might be worth considering.
And also, if there is any chance to target Canadian colleges, I’d think looking into whether there was a benefit to have attended a Canadian HS.
I would also think living in Canada would be a better way to judge how life in the US or Canada would be. If your children are Indian by background, getting out of their comfort zone in Canada would inform them about living in Canada or the US.
@rhandco thanks for your input.
Canadian citizens of Indian ethnicity.
They are in excellent schools here but I understand competition for Ivy level is crazy and I want to explore all options.
SAT prep classes seem to be more streamlined in India.
Thanks for inputs and advise.
SAT prep is one thing, but I would not make that the deciding factor because there are other aspects that are important for getting into Ivy League schools. Unless you really want to continue your children’s upbringing in their ancestral country for cultural reasons, the exposure to Canadian culture would likely be better for them in the long-term, if your goal is Ivy or similar.
You also have to ask yourself, if you get advice that they would be better off being in Canada than India for HS, and they don’t get into their top choice college, will it be worth it?
US colleges are very diverse and being in a diverse community would help as compared to being in a more homogeneous community. This could be achieved in another country by having your children attend “international schools” like for children of diplomats and long-term residents. A friend of mine did this - they were in Shanghai and Belgium, and each time the schools were mostly Americans with some internationals, so they both had diversity and strong daily American English exposure.
Remember it comes down to one thing - your child is admitted or not. If they only admit some students from India and some from Canada, your child needs to be one of those admitted, no matter how small or large the pool of students.
(and what do they think - do they want to move?)
Fallback plan is good Canadian Universities.
Children ok either way. Planning to take them on a tour of USA and Canada this year.
Canada. They would have better advising that will help them get into Canadian universities. Whether that would help for “top US” is a whole other issue.
What is wrong with finishing in India, and completing university level studies there?
Canada; they’ll be counted as “educated in Canada” for admissions (which helps), and for any top 25 LAC/research U the competition for Canada-educated citizens is less intense than for Indian-educated students (regardless of citizenship).
If your children are competitive for Ivies, they’d be shoo-ins at McGill, UBC, and UT, since those recruit based on grades only (and slightly on essays/ECs but nowhere near the level where it matters in the US.)
In addition, remember that they should have universities/LACs that admit more than 30% and universities/LACs that admit more than 40% of their applicants. Have them focus on their match and safety schools. Anyone can have “dream colleges”. It’s easy. It requires no work, just dreams. Often teenagers think in grand terms - adults have to make them see how to strategize. The actual work is to find colleges that are good fits for vibe and environment, and expressing interest in those early (otherwise, the risk is real to encounter yield protection WLs and Tufts Syndrom denies.)
Spend time on the Top 25 U/LACs threads and read the decision threads, then have your children check those out.
However, with Canada not being holistic, they’d have great safeties from Canadian boarding or public schools.
“Canadian citizens of Indian ethnicity.”
Missed this information the first time. Canada absolutely hands-down.
“However, with Canada not being holistic, they’d have great safeties from Canadian boarding or public schools.”
Could you kindly elaborate on the above point.
Also, what other benefits are there for Canadians vis a vis other non US countries.
Canadian universities, for the most part, do not require essays for admission. Students are admitted solely on grade 11 and 12 grades. The university application process is much simpler than for US universities.
Essentially, if they have Top 25-worthy grades in Canada, they’re in at any Canadian university and will get at least one admission from one of the big 3 (UT, McGill, UBC). The application is not holistic (whereas even with great grades and test scores, the odds are maybe 1 in 10 at any Top 25 university or LAC in the US.) In Canada, if you attended school in Canada, you’re part of the domestic pool, they look at their cut off for that year and major and if you meet it, you’re in. Or, they count how many places there are and take whoever ranked 1 to 325 for that major based on top 6 grades for Year 12 or GPA. Period. Simple.
For US colleges, you’re in competition with Canadians, not with Indians. (You’ll probably not check any “ethnicity” on your application, unless your kids are part URM). It’s completely different.
Keep in mind that the vast majority of Indian applicants 1° seem to want to major in STEM 2° concentrate on about 25 colleges (many parents seem to be prestige-driven rather than fit-driven; in addition, “prestige” is often distorted.) 3° have the same basic SAT and Subject scores, even often the same exact subject tests. As a result, there’s a bottleneck, with literally 1,000s of identical-on-paper applicants from India. (I’m not saying they’re identical in reality, but on paper they’d sound very similar.) Canadians choose their classes thus have a variety of schedules and overall show more diverse academic interests. Some Canadians want to study creative writing, others want to major in Neuroscience. Some are mostly interested in the sports/Greek Life aspect of colleges and apply to the SEC and Big10 schools. Some are more concerned about proximity and apply to border colleges such as U Minnesota universities, St Lawrence, UVermont, St Michael’s (especially in states where there’s reciprocity - I know Manitoba has reciprocity for Minnesota, and I believe there’s a reciprocity agreement for the Dakotas, too). As a result, Canadians don’t concentrate on the same schools and the same majors, and therefore there’s less of a bottleneck.
In addition, in Canada, your kids will have a more balanced school life - and will have more opportunities to focus on their ECs, which can really make a difference at top schools.
Extremely informative reply.
I am sure it has been discussed before but if a Canadian does HS in USA vis a vis Canada , does it make a difference. again target is ivy.
Probably not much of a help.
Here is the deal with the Ivy and Ivy-peer institutions: Admission rates are extremely low, and dropping. By the time your kids are applying, there isn’t going to be a single thing that they can do that will make themselves more attractive as applicants. It will be like winning a MegaBucks lottery.
So the focus should be on your kids getting good secondary school educations and finding solid options for their post-secondary lives. If they feel like applying to an Ivy/Ivy-peer or two, fine. But all of you should think of that as the equivalent of buying a lottery ticket. Do not expend any emotional energy on hoping for a positive result.
Your kids are Canadian. Canada has terrific university options for them and good long-term career options. Unless you and they expect to build their lives in India, I suggest you send them to Canada now so they can get on with making their lives there.
Happymomof1 thanks for your very insightful comment.