Many students and parents are looking north for colleges. There are a lot of great colleges and universities across Canada, most, significantly less expensive. I have a friend whose daughter just finished her freshman year at Mcgill University in Montreal. Talking with Ann, I learned a lot about going to college north of the border, and some issues I never imagined. I asked Ann if she could answer some questions about what she has learned, and hopefully give some tips if you or your child is interested in attending college in Canada, or oversees in general. If you have other questions not addressed here please forward them along.
Q. Your daughter just
finished up at McGill, overall was it what you expected?
From the first time we
arrived on campus, we found the McGill community to be friendly and
welcoming. We actually arrived at school
the day before the dormitory she was assigned to was scheduled to open. We decided to take our chances and go see if
we could possibly move her items in early.
When we came to the dorm and asked we told it was fine. I cannot imagine this scenario being repeated
on campuses in the U.S.
Mary had a great first
year at school. She loved living in
Montreal, made great friends and found her classes challenging and interesting. We believe it is a great choice for her.
Q. Tell us about the
process of getting a student visa? Is it complicated? How long does
it take?
McGill did a good job
walking students through the application process. Students and parents were reminded in writing
on several occasions to begin the visa process as soon as possible. When I had visa questions, I contacted the
International Students office and was always able to get an answer pretty
easily. We also were required to offer
letters from our banks which affirmed we had adequate funds in our account to
pay tuition.
One issue that came up
was a strike by the Canadian Postal Service.
The matter was resolved and Mary received her visa in plenty of
time.
Prior to heading to
Montreal, we were told to expect to wait at the border to process the visa for
a new student. It took about an hour and
a half to complete the process which was a little longer than I expected. While waiting for process, I made the most of
the delay and wandered around and met other parents making the trek north.
Q. Is it possible
for a student to work in Canada without a visa?
I am not an expert in
this field. It is my understanding that
some U.S. students are permitted to obtain on-campus jobs only. Our daughter will be able to work in Montreal
as a sophomore. It appears as though
Canada is less restrictive than the U.S. when it comes to foreign students
working while at university.
Q. I know you mentioned
cell phones was a problem you never anticipated, what was the problem and what
is the solution?
For some reason, I was
fixated on the cell phone issue. In a
perfect world, our daughter could have continued to use her iPhone, expanded
her coverage to include Canada and kept her same plan and telephone
number. This simply was not the
case. Folks at our local AT&T store
could not offer much assistance. We
spoke to other parents in the same situation her simply shook their heads and
wished us luck.
One of the biggest
stumbling blocks was the fact that she had an iPhone from AT&T that was
locked and could not be opened in Canada.
We purchased a new iPhone that is not locked in Canada. She ended up signing a three year contract
with Rogers and kept her U.S. plan in place.
She carries two sim cards with her and simply exchanges them when she is
at the border or airport. When she was
in Canada, we reduced the phone service in the U.S. to a minimum plan. When she came home for the summer, we dropped
many of the features for the Rogers plan.
A word to the wise,
avoid the telephone company tents that pop up on campus at orientation
time. Many of them require cash payments
for phones and service. Moreover, the
individuals working in the tents are often temporary workers who do not know
the plan well. It would have been better
for us to visit a local phone store in Montreal to initiate service. There was a dispute concerning whether or not
we signed up for international texting.
If you remember anything from this article, it is to always sign up for
international texting. If you don't, the
bill for the first few days can exceed $400 and lead to the phone service being
suspended. We are able to resolve the
dispute and were credited on the account but it took many telephone calls to
accomplish. Consider tying the phone
bill to be paid via your credit card each month. It is a very convenient way to go.
Q. You also
mentioned banking: again, what was the problem and what is the solution?
We wanted to be able to
make it easy to deposit money in her account and make wire transfers without
incurring fees which can exceed $40 a transaction. I opted to keep a TD Bank account in Boston
in the same branch as my daughter. She
signed paperwork granting me access to make deposits and track the account on
line. She then opened an account at
TDCanada in Montreal. The banks have an
agreement to waive wire transfer fees between the U.S. branch and its Canadian
counterpart. I simply remind the bank
each time I wire money and the fee is waived.
Q. Canada also has an 18
year old drinking age. What effect does that have on college age kids,
and how did you deal with it?
I believe the fact that
students can drink at 18 is a positive. Students can purchase beer, wine and liquor
and are able to frequent bars in clubs in Montreal. Unlike in the U.S., drinking in Montreal is
not done behind closed doors and students do not risk being brought up on
disciplinary charges for having a beer with some friends. Students learn pretty quickly that they cannot
go out each night and make it to a 9:00 a.m. lecture. Moreover, liquor is more heavily taxed in
Canada than in the U.S. so the cost of a drink is much higher.
Due to the lower
drinking age, Montreal is a popular destination for students from New England. Our daughter had lots of visitors from
home. Some of her friends' favorite
memories of their freshman year is when they visited McGill which is funny
considering that they go to school in Vermont and Boston. I did remind her that she needed to make sure
that her friends visiting from home made it back to campus. No one could be left behind.
Q. Any other
issues ?
The 2011 McGill Parent
Orientation was cut short due to the Hurricane that moved through Vermont and
into Quebec. The storm did not take an
expected course and many of us found ourselves saying goodbye rather quickly
and jumping in our cars in order to leave quickly, hours earlier than
planned. No one lingered. As a result, students found themselves stuck
in the dorm during a Hurricane. It was a
great way to meet all of the other freshman.
There are protests going
on in Montreal concerning proposed tuition increases. Many of the college students living in
Montreal are on strike and protesting in the streets. Although McGill students did not opt to join
the strikers, the protests in Montreal did significantly impact the campus
life. The State Department cautioned
U.S. residents traveling to Montreal about the protests. To the best of my recollection, I did not
receive regular updates from the administration about what was occurring on
campus. Perhaps the administration
assumed parents were following these developments in the papers and on the
news, but for families residing in the U.S. , the problems received little
coverage. Over time, McGill did put up
regular updates on its website and did create a protestor blog which parents
could access. I simply checked the
Montreal Gazette web site to stay informed.
McGill does not bill
students during the summer before school begins. All of our friends had paid room, board and
tuition prior to stepping foot on campus.
At one point I panicked and thought she was not registered. This is not the case in Canada. We did not get billed for the food service
until sometime in October. Tuition is
due at the beginning of each semester and dorm costs are paid monthly. Unlike the U.S., students in Montreal have
access to their dormitories even during break.
It is much more similar to a landlord-tenant relationship that a college
dorm arrangement.
Mailing packages from
the U.S. to Montreal takes time - some packages will not arrive for 7-10
days. I once sent a care package for
exams and it got stopped at the border.
Turns out the company that sent it for me filled out the paperwork improperly
and it resulted in a delay.
This past winter was
quite mild compared to others but it is still cold in Montreal in the
winter. Buy the warmest boots and winter
clothing that you can find!
Sophomores do not live
on campus which means students find apartments with very little parent
input. Our daughter is so excited about
her new apartment. We saw it on google
earth and think it looks nice.
