<p>High schools in Canada are harder in the sense that in Canada an 80% is considered an A, so Canadians have to work just as hard for an 80% (or for that A) as Americans must for a 90% (the same A). I’m assuming universities understand that and judge applicants accordingly (I know American universities did for me). </p>
<p>I don’t know about the application for Americans, but I do know that for many schools Canadians aren’t required to write a single essay or demonstrate involvement in any extracurricular activities. I applied to McGill, U of T, UBC, Queens, Waterloo, and McMasters, and only needed to write essays for Queens and Waterloo (which were required, not just for a scholarship). Even then, it was more simply answering a few short questions; nothing like the application for American schools. That being said, I don’t think that the average student at a top Canadian school is any different (smarter or less smart) than the average student at a top American school. The application process in no way demonstrates that students are any less capable. </p>
<p>Also, I agree with ivyleaguer’s points above me; since the admissions process is mostly marks-based, students know what schools they can realistically get into, and apply almost exclusively to these schools. Nobody really knows the concept of “reaches” or “safeties” because it’s fairly easy to predict where you’ll be accepted and plan accordingly. This means that the acceptance rate might be lower, but that’s simply because only the more capable students are applying.</p>
<p>Edit: SATs aren’t required for Canadian applicants at Canadian universities, so this is a far from accurate measurement as it is most probably an extremely small sample size (I only know of 1 person who took the SATs and ended up at a Canadian school).</p>