For a cognitive science degree, you might want to check out McGill. They have a great international reputation, love high-stats kids, aren’t holistic, are an easy application (no essays, no ECs) and for some degrees are surprisingly affordable – and Cognitive Science is one of those degrees. That’s because they charge different tuition depending on the degree, and Cog Sci is considered a joint “Bachelor of Arts and Science” degree which comes in with a tuition of 44k Canadian, which is 34k US right now. Room and board tend to run about 17k Canadian which is 13k US. I have heard it can be cheaper than that to live off campus which is allowed after the first year.
They have a high acceptance rate, but that is because most Canadians self-select when applying because they have minimum stats for acceptance so students who don’t meet those criteria don’t apply.
Plus, Montreal is a great city to be a college student in. And McGill gives a lot of AP credit, so it is possible to graduate in 3 years. However, it is a large university (may be too large for some) and I have heard that there is very little hand-holding in terms of navigating the system. (For all that, I have found them to be very helpful when I reached out to them as a parent when my son was applying a couple of years ago).
They also have some merit scholarships, and I think that US student loans can also be used for McGill, but best to double-check that.
| Student Accounts - McGill University
Undergraduate Fees 2023-2024 | Student Housing - McGill University