The Liberal Arts Colleges...

starbright
Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:14:51 +0000

Queen’s is a fantastic school. I know it very well, and I’d be thrilled if my kids chose to attend it. Some of my strongest graduate students attended Queen’s and I know many who have gone to top graduate schools in both Canada and the US after doing their undergraduate degree there. I have not yet met an alum that did not rave about the school. I think of it as similar to Rice in some ways: highly nationally regarded, attracted the strongest of students, research oriented, but due to size, it isn’t making the top overall ‘world rankings’.

It draws in the strongest students across Canada, has a famous reputation for ‘highly satisfied students’, is known for it’s very tight knit culture. My sense of the student culture is one that is relaxed, cooperative, and inclusive. HUGE school spirit. Unlike most Canadian schools, it is very self-contained and residential. Very pretty campus in a beautiful college town that borders Lake Ontario. I also think it has the best of both a small school and large school: you can walk the whole campus in 10 minutes, you can get to know and work with your professors, yet there is wide course selection, a very research-oriented culture, and it has enough students and clubs that you can easily find your niche.

Check out its ratings in the school ranking systems of MacLeans Magazine, and the Globe and Mail newspaper. Google will pull them up for you.

It also has a more attractive price tag compared to similar US schools, at $19k tuition. And there are automatic scholarships that discount that price if you have a decent GPA.