Prakash & Sandra

HI There
I wonder if any of you have any experience of sending your kids straight to University in Canada coming from the UK.
My Daughter is 17 and she is presently doing her 1st year A-levels. At the end of this year she will sit her AS level (exam at the end of A levels year 1)
As I understand it this is equivalent to year 13 at a Canadian High school?

I have to apply for her place shortly at a central University application board online.

Any advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks
Prakash

dingbat

Which province? There is no Year 13 anymore. Your daughter will also not be able to apply to start an undergrad degree unless she can prove Grade 12 equivalent.....one year of A levels is likely not enough. Search this site for further detailed info.

Prakash & Sandra

Thanks for the prompt reply dingbat.
I made a mistake in my original text. In 2004 Summer we visited Canada / Ontario. We were told that if we went in 2005 summer, my daughter would enter school in year 12. ( they did say year 13 had been changed and the kids enter University instead)
As she had just complete her GCSEs, we assumed that year 12 is equivalent to one year at A-levels (AS Levels).
We did not manage to move in summer 2005, and she will have completed 1 years A Levels, we are assuming she should be ready for starting University if her past results and present AS level exams provide her with the required credits.


The reason for this thread is that we have had to accept that she will study more years in Canada to do a degree in law as opposed to the UK. (hard to accept but as our plans are to emigrate, there is no benefit in a UK law degree).

We will be coming on a work permit (hopefully!) this summer, I have just found out she will have to pay international student fee's. :scared: Until our Permanent application comes through.
(AOR Nov 04 - 20 month wait = July 2006 ( or more like summer 2007!)

I am hoping she will not lose out a further year due to the move.
I was therefore asking if anyone else had gone through such an experience and what problems if any did they come up against.

looking forward to any comments

Thanks
Prakash

dingbat

Sent you a PM.

JAJ

You should check the websites of the universities in Canada that she plans to attend. You may find that she really needs to get A-Levels (not just AS) to get admitted easily. Or they might not even give proper credit for A-Levels.

Is it possible to sit for UK A-Levels in Canada? Alternatively, maybe she could drop back into Canadian high school and graduate that way (there might be issues with French and Canada-specific subjects like history, georgraphy etc).

If you're going on a work permit, is your employer willing to pay extra costs (over and above domestic fees) for schooling?

Radley

Hi,
Hope I can help you out a bit here. A good idea would be for you to look on the site for the actual University you want her to get into. They list everything regarding admissions for International Students regarding educational equivalences. Ive quoted this from University of Toronto to give you an idea


"British-Patterned Education (Admission requirements for Arts, Science, Commerce, Management, Applied Science and Engineering, Music, Physical Education and Health/Kinesiology)

Applicants are required to present acceptable standing in at least five different subjects including four subjects at Advanced Subsidiary Level or three at Advanced Level (two for admission to the Faculties of Music and Physical Education and Health/Kinesiology).

Applicants may be considered for a conditional offer of admission in the year in which they are writing their Advanced Level or Advanced Subsidiary Level exams if they have achieved grades of at least “B” in each of five GCSE/ IGCSE/ Ordinary Level subjects at the first attempt. Final grades arrive too late for consideration.

Note: Please note that possession of the minimum qualification does not guarantee acceptance.

Applicants who have already written Advanced Subsidiary Level/Advanced Level/ Advanced Supplementary Level examinations will be considered on final results.

Subjects listed as prerequisites for admission should be presented at Advanced Subsidiary or Advanced Level. However, for some programs excellent GCSE/IGCSE/Ordinary Levels results can be used to satisfy the prerequisite subjects. For example, students should present Advanced Subsidiary Level or Advanced Level Mathematics for programs requiring Calculus.
Applicants to the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering MUST present Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics at Advanced Level.

Two Advanced Supplementary Level examinations are considered to be equivalent to one Advanced Level for purposes of admission. Exams must be conducted by an examination board located in the UK, or an equivalent authority elsewhere (e.g. CXC, HKEA, WAEC).

Transfer Credit may be granted for Advanced Level, CAPE and AICE qualifications. No credit is given for Advanced Subsidiary Level exams. No credit is given by the professional faculties (Applied Science and Engineering, Music, Physical Health and Education/Kinesiology).
In some cases, students will be permitted to forfeit the credit. More information will be provided at the time of admission. Please refer to transfer credit information for Advanced Level, AICE and CAPE is available. "

Most University decisions are being made around this time for entry into September 2006, so you'll have to start making a move on that. Yes, you will have to pay international student fees. But also be aware that there will be a lot of "extras", for example insurance. (Been there, done the expensive bit).
Also dont forget that once your daughter recireceivesetter of admission you will also have to get her a study permit which you get from the Canadian Embassy. Hopes this helps a little. If Ive covered stuff you already know I apologise but if therthere'sthing else youryou'reure of, I'll be glad to help.
P.S. From Bedfordshire myself - what part are you living in?

dbd33

The daughter of a colleague is in the middle of the first year of a law degree at Queens. I don't know if what she's doing is typical, but she first took a four year degree at Brandeis. I think the law course is only two years but still, you're looking at a serious cost for six years of study, one or two of them at international rates. Even my other half's general interest cooking course is over ten grand because she's non-resident. I don't know why you're looking at emigrating but, if it's for financial advantage you might want to reconsider.

Alberta_Rose

My son tried to enter Calgary uni the year we arrived (he was in his 2nd yr of "A" levels), but when they assessed his GCSE's and A levels, they decided he'd not done enough depth of physics and chem, so he is taking a top-up course to get his high school diploma (12th grade) in these subjects and is just about to reapply to Calgary and a couple of other uni's. One thing is I think he'll qualify for a student loan as he'll have been here a year.

Rachelmark

Hi Morwenna, can you tell me a bit more about student loans? Our daughter is currently halfway through her AS level courses at school in the UK. She does not want to move to Canada until she has completed her A levels (summer 2007) as she thinks this will get her straight into a Canadian university (we are hoping to move to Calgary) I am concerned about the cost of university for new PRs. here she would have to pay £1500 per year for a 3 year degree course and would qualify for a student loan. How long would we have to live in canada before she qualifies for a loan? How much are the fees likely to be?

Also, what does everyone think about finishing A levels over here before we move? They don't really seem to be equivalent to finishing Canadian high school.

dbd33

Based on my recent experience of funding three students in Canada :

University in Canada typically costs about $5,000/year in tuition + books + accomodation. Degrees are typically for four years. International students pay about double the local rate, out-of-province students something inbetween the local and international rates. There's a tax break for the parent on the first $4,000 in fees per student, we also claim the air fares to and from the universities but I'm not sure that's strictly kosher.

This magazine publishes an annual survey of Canadian universities :

http://www.macleans.ca/universities/...06_133202_2948

though I don't think an international student should limit the search to schools in Canada, US ones are often very good value when scholarships are taken into account. (Please note that I do not endorse Macleans, it's a horrible publication but the university surveys do seem informative.)

I'm curious about the attitudes to emigration and education shown on this thread. Firstly, if one cannot even afford to pay one's children's tuition in a new country I wonder about the wisdom of emigrating, it seems rather unfair to drag a child halfway around the world and then to stick him or her with a school bill. Secondly, I'm not too sure about the idea of a new immigrant taking a subject, such as law, which is primarily valuable in the local market, I don't think it's safe to assume that a newly imported child will want to stay in Canada.

Prakash & Sandra

Hi JAJ
Thanks for your reply,
I will do as you say and investigate this further, as it is clear that I have not done enough research.
Regarding my employer paying the cost, I am the employer as I am setting up a subsidiary business in Canada.
All cost's down to me unfortunately
Thanks
Prakash

Prakash & Sandra

Hi Dingbat
thanks for your PM.
I sent you a PM reply
again
many thanks
Prakash

Prakash & Sandra

Hi Radley
Many thanks for your indepth reply,
As said to others you have identified that I clearly need to do more research quickly.
Your message is very helpful.
We are in Luton at the moment, looking to get out quickly
Regards
Prakash

Prakash & Sandra

Hi dbd 33 and all others that replied.
your comments have been very helpful and as a result I will take your wesbite suggestions and advice and try to sort this out quickly.

As I have aroused curiosity in our emigration, I feel that I should explain this thoroughly
Following numerous research trips to Ontario & having gone through my midlife crisis, we are looking at Canada for its improvement in the quality of life over what we have here in the UK.
I presently run a successful business manufacturing milking machines and which include electronics and software products for the dairy industry.
We decided as a family that we would emigrate to Canada to provide ourselves & our kids with better prospects for their future and still believe this is the correct decision.
Our PR application is as an entrepreneur to set up a subsidiary company in Canada leaving my brother in the UK to run this company.
Coming back from a recent market research trip late last year, it was clear that we need to start the business in 2006. In view of the delays of the PR process I received good advice from the Ontario business immigration dept on how to get a work permit to start the business.

I understand we will have to pay a higher cost for school/university fee's which is a price we can afford and will pay for it, (I do however reserve the right to moan ) As our kids education is very important.
I do not want to consider sending the kids to a UK university if we intend to settle in Canada, as I believe they will benefit from the quality of life also in their future.
We have discussed this a great deal as a family, and believe these choices will meet our long term goals parents and kids.

I apologise if I have made my reply too long, I felt since you all went to so much trouble to reply to me, I should at least explain our intentions properly

Many thanks again
Prakash

dbd33

Exactly my position !