Is it worth it for a Canadian to apply to an American uni?

[PeriPeri]

Hello all!

I am from Canada, and will be a senior this year - so I have to start applying to universities :-S

I am applying mostly to Canadian unis, but of course there's a part of me that wants to apply to the Ivy League schools - you know, just to give it a try.

The annoying thing is the SAT's, but I think I could get through them if I knew it was worth it..

So my question is: is it worth my time applying to an Ivy League school? Is it just a brand-name education that I'll be getting? Is it worth the obscene amount of money I'd have to spend? Will it make a difference if I study in the US, or here in Canada...?

Edited August 6, 2013 by PeriPeri

[zexing]

I don't think it makes a difference where you study. I would recommend applying to US universities only if you can score well on the SAT with minimal studying. The chances of being accepted into an Ivy League are slim anyways so why waste so much time studying for that test when you can be studying for IB?

[CkyBlue]

For me, it wasn't worth it. If you are able to get a first class education where you live now, why spend thousands more abroad -where your education isn't even subsidized?

The only thing that would make me consider applying internationally is if there was a school or a program that was PERFECT, or just about, to what I wanted to do or study. If money isn't an issue you'd still have to devote time studying for SATs-time you could be using for studying at your attending school, or time you could be using to do whatever else.

At the end of the day the decision is yours: if you find a good enough reason that you'd like to study internationally, bite! If not then why even bother if there are schools here near home that offer the same things you see as ones abroad?

[Emmi]

No. Unless you end up getting a huge scholarship, it's not worth it. American universities are too expensive, even for us Unless you're entering a field where the particular university really matters (and it normally doesn't), stay in Canada. You guys have good universities there, and it's not worth it going into debt an obscene amount of money just to go to Harvard.