More U.S. students picking Canadian universities

By Susan Snyder

Inquirer Staff Writer

Terese Schireson was looking for a large college in an urban setting with substantial numbers of international students that wouldn't force her to go deep in debt.

The Rosemont native found the perfect fit in beautiful, cosmopolitan Montreal.

She'll graduate in the spring from McGill University - where tuition, fees, and room and board run about $21,000 a year - debt-free and with a degree in Hispanic studies and Italian.

"The quality of education I'm getting is the same as a school where I would pay $50,000 a year," said Schireson, 21, a graduate of the private Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia. "I feel like people don't realize that this is just a few hundred miles north."

More American students are finding worth in Canada's higher-education system, where costs are lower than many private schools in the United States and in some cases similar to costs at flagship state schools, such as Pennsylvania State and Rutgers Universities.

During the last decade, the number of American students at Canadian universities has more than doubled, says the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, to 8,200 in 2007-08, up from 3,312 a decade ago.

The Canadian Embassy in Washington expects there will be as many as 10,000 this year, making the United States the second-largest exporter of students to Canada behind China.

Canadian colleges are recruiting more aggressively; last week they launched a five-city tour in Baltimore.

For the first time, they're coming as a group to the Philadelphia area. Seventeen universities, including the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia, will hold an event today in King of Prussia.

The recruiting effort involves an increasing number of schools. Twelve years ago, only 10 Canadian colleges enrolled 50 or more U.S. students and only three had 100 or more, according to the Canadian Embassy. Now, 31 schools have 50 or more and 14 of them have 100 or more.

"There is a recognition that this is an important market for our universities, given the proximity," said Pari Johnston, director of international relations at the Canadian college association's Ottawa office. "Our universities can offer a high quality, affordable education to American students."

The Canadian Embassy, which is organizing the recruiting fairs, targeted the Philadelphia area because "we thought it seemed like a good market with a lot of intelligent students," said Alexander Leipziger, program associate.

The fairs - open to parents, students, and guidance counselors - will also be held in Boston, Minneapolis, and Stamford, Conn.

The higher-education system in Canada is largely publicly funded. The government covers about 60 percent of operational costs for the country's 94 public universities.

The U.S. higher-education system is much larger, with 2,500 four-year, nonprofit universities. Canada sends 28,000 students to U.S. colleges.

One of the biggest challenges Canadian universities face is lack of knowledge about them, said David Hawkins of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. But as the United States becomes more global, he expects students increasingly will look for options outside the country.

"There still is an information or understanding gap to be bridged, but I'd say that gap is getting smaller," he said.

Even though international students pay more than Canadians, cost can be the attraction.

The University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto are among the most expensive in Canada, with tuition and room-and-board costs topping $30,000, but are still cheaper than a private school such as Villanova, where annual costs are pushing $50,000. Other, lesser-known Canadian schools are well under $20,000.

Canadian colleges also offer need-based and merit aid, although not as much as universities in the United States. And U.S. families can use college-savings plans and get federal student loans.