year 12 or uni?
 

Hi - my daughter will have just sat her Standard Grades when we move over to Fraser Valley. Some guidance please would be appreciated.
Should she go straight into University based on her grades. (should be mostly A's), and hope she copes well enough with the pressures of that. or should we put her into Grade 12 so that she can "settle in" to Canadian life and the social aspects that go along with a teenager moving to a new country.
Incidently she was young when she went to school, and will be 15 1/2 when we move.

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

I can't say I know where or what the Fraser Valley is but presumably they don't have universities there. I would think 15 to be rather young for someone to be packed off to school in an unknown city in a foreign country even if an on campus residence can be arranged. Still, I suppose it depends a bit on her previous exposure to drink, drugs and the rest of the sins of youth as well as the character of the institution. Do you have a particular university in mind ?

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

Thanks for the reply. the Fraser Valley is Vancouver BC area. So there are plenty of Universities, and i would hope she would live at home for a time before she decided (if and) when she wanted to live on campus.
We come from a small town so she is not "street wise".
We havent looked into Universities yet but she wants to become an architect.

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

Well she'll not be in grade 12 at 15, grade 12 is 17/18. ( Unless you think she'll be happy in that older bracket. ) Yes my son did graduate at 16 and start uni at 17 and a month but he was in the system for 6 years and knows a large circle of of kids in the uni.

If you saying she is all ready academacal smart enough to be in a university in England then you need to make sure she is social happy. What subjects will she be studying in University? Where is the nearest place to study those subjects? it is possible that some High schools will give you University credits in grade 12.

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

I think that's an unusual approach. It's more usual, I think, to choose the best school for the subject with a preference for somewhere far away, I'm told (by my children who attend Canadian universities) that there's quite a stigma attached to living with one's parents. Still, it would be nice not to have to fund air/bus fares back and forth.

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

I think 15 would be too young to start university. Here in Canada 15 year olds are only starting high school (grade 10), and have 3 more years before attending university. So I think from a social point of view it would be easier for her to go through high school with her peer group instead of jumping straight into university with 18 year olds. Also, I'm not entirely sure a university would accept a student of that age - you would have to check with them.

It's not unusual for a student to live at home if they attend a university in their home town, but I have to agree that it isn't the best situation. I lived at home throughout university and really missed out on a lot of extra curricular activities and chances to meet people. If it is financially feasible for the student/family, going away is really the best experience.

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

I suppose it depends a bit on the demographics of the student body, a lot of students at Ryerson and at the UofT live with their parents. However they're not usually from European families but from cultures with more of a tradition of familial ties. At the other extreme, one of my daughters went to a university in Halifax where the student body was almost entirely WASP (there was one exchange student from the middle east), there less than 1% of the students commuted.

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

Hi there,

I am not certain what you mean by standard grades, but I think you should speak to the local school board in the Fraser Valley to determine whether or not she has completed her grade 12 by their standards. From my understanding GCSE's are considered equivalent to grade 10 and not grade 12; however it is best to speak with them. You will also need to find out what the local university entrance requirements are. UBC and SFU have quite high entrance requirements; however one of the local colleges (good for first year of university) is where most students start their post secondary education. Please note that the term college is used differently in Canada as in the UK.

Also, in my opinion most students live at home for their first degree. This is of course if their parents live close enough to the university.

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

I don't think this can be true. I'll dig a bit but, anecdotally, foreign students are a significant proportion of the student body at most Canadian universities and colleges, obviously they don't live with their parents. Beyond that, the Canadian population is highly concentrated geographically, people live in Vacouver, Toronto and Montreal, but the universities are widely spread, five in Halifax, one (?) in Kingston, one in Guelph, they must recruit their students from elsewhere. Finally, competition for places in residences is fierce, around here overspill from schools is as good a source of customers for rough hotels as is welfare cases.

I think it makes sense to get into the best school for the subject, not the one where the bus goes, but above all I think the choice ultimately depends on how much money the parents can, or will, spend.

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

Hi Mark,

I should clarify that I am not discussing what happens in Ontario, but rather BC. Also, I am coming from the perspective of someone living in the Fraser Valley and thus in the Greater Vancouver Area. I would agree with you that students in Ontario are more likely to choose a university by the subject; however I don't believe this is the case in Vancouver for most students. This is my just my opinion.

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

Yep, Halifax was where I went to university and you really felt it if you were a "day student" who didn't live on campus. Almost everything was geared up for students who were within walking distance of the university. If I could do it again I would leave home for sure, and damn the following years of student loan payments.

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

She couldnt go to University in Scotland with Standard Grades could she? I thought you needed Highers?

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

I was just going to say the same Butch. You can't go to uni with Standard Grades in Scotland, why would that be possible in Canada?

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

Obviously the OP is suggesting that either Scottish Universities are far superior to Canadian Universities OR Scottish Schools are far superior to Canadian Schools. :rolleyes:

Re: year 12 or uni?
 

There was *one* case of someone getting into a Scottish uni with no highers, but it was a wee pretendy uni (where my Dad lectured at the time, muhaha! hours of fun and jibes out of that one!) and it was a set-up by the NUS to see how terrible the admissions procedure was iirc... they didn't think for a minute any of their "applications" would be successful!!!

I bet the OP means highers and he's just confused.