smpalesh

Wow.  I really hope my children do not grow up to be as self-centered and entitled as you are coming off here.  Your mother only has a high school education?  Your family doesn't have university educations?  So CLEARLY they have absolutely no idea what you are going through, or what stress means, or how to plan for the future, or any those things.  Your mother has devoted her life to raising you but obviously she has no possible insight into your situation because she's just an uneducated hick from Wyoming.  I sincerely hope your mother and other family members never become aware of your derision for them and their accomplishments.  And FYI, a university education can't teach class, which you've clear demonstrated here.

Not sure about that.  I heard in the first big batch that came out, ROSI changed to invited (will note that it didn't change to "decision made" until 2 weeks after I got accept so don't worry about that).  I think the acceptances went out over a period of time and then the waitlist acceptances went out after the time period where the first round had to notify by.  Don't quote me on that though, I'm not positive.  The first round will have, if I remember correctly, about 3 weeks to accept or not.

I was accepted to UofT for fall 2014 but due to my health I couldn't attend.  They deferred my acceptance until fall 2015 and I received a new acceptance letter when the fresh batch of acceptances went in.  A deferral means your spot is guaranteed for the following year.

Not sure about that.  I heard in the first big batch that came out, ROSI changed to invited (will note that it didn't change to "decision made" until 2 weeks after I got accept so don't worry about that).  I think the acceptances went out over a period of time and then the waitlist acceptances went out after the time period where the first round had to notify by.  Don't quote me on that though, I'm not positive.  The first round will have, if I remember correctly, about 3 weeks to accept or not.

I don't think it is true at all that everyone gets an A.   That is actually kind of ridiculous.  Maybe if they're getting a graduate degree in basket weaving or something.  But you can certainly get the grades if you work hard and do your best.  That said, I think not going it probably a good decision for you at this point.  You seem really freaked out and unsure of yourself and that's not a good place to start from. 

I don't think it is true at all that everyone gets an A.   That is actually kind of ridiculous.  Maybe if they're getting a graduate degree in basket weaving or something.  But you can certainly get the grades if you work hard and do your best.  That said, I think not going it probably a good decision for you at this point.  You seem really freaked out and unsure of yourself and that's not a good place to start from. 

Not to be rude, but I would suggest upping your grammar and spelling levels before applying because first impressions count. Other than that, talk to grad students at your current school and researchers who may be able to give you a better insight than those of us here.

ohgosh - Do you realize how many times you said "so I've heard" in that post?  You shouldn't be trying to influence other people's decisions based on heresay, and shall I say, maybe a bit of sour grapes.

ohgosh - Do you realize how many times you said "so I've heard" in that post?  You shouldn't be trying to influence other people's decisions based on heresay, and shall I say, maybe a bit of sour grapes.

ohgosh - Do you realize how many times you said "so I've heard" in that post?  You shouldn't be trying to influence other people's decisions based on heresay, and shall I say, maybe a bit of sour grapes.

Heif1 - I have no paid work experience at all.  I have around 3000 hours total between volunteering on a crisis line 8 hours a week for 5 years and my practicum during my BSW at a women's crisis centre.  I got into UofT Advanced Standing with that.  I cannot encourage volunteering enough, it really helps your resume and application and doesn't seem to be looked at as less than paid employment.

I deferred so I already did the course registration last year before I had to withdraw.  The course registration is done on ROSI.  You will be told what day it is and it opens at 6am.  Be on there at 6am.  Last year certain classes filled up within 3 minutes.  You can only add one class at a time so make a list of which ones are the most important to you and also which ones you absolutely want to have in a certain spot.  Electives are usually only offered in one spot, one time during the year so those fill up fast.  The evidence based social work research class that all 2nd year/advanced standing students has to take has a number of sections but they also fill up quickly so if you want your preferred spot get registered fast. 

AMetallo - 90 people are accepted to the Advanced Standing at UofT and approximately 300 people apply.  It is almost 1 in 3 odds which is awesome.

Personally, I never would have bothered doing a SSW program.  If the goal is an MSW, and becoming a registered social worker, the SSW really does not do much to get you there.  If you look on job search websites for social work jobs they want an MSW.  The jobs available for SSW are lower paid and not at the same level as MSW jobs.  I would personally say volunteer/work in a social work related area for the year, maybe do a university certificate if you have money available because that will go towards your GPA.

This is the 2014 thread.  Why did you bump it up?  People might get confused and start posting on this thread.

This is the 2014 thread.  Why did you bump it up?  People might get confused and start posting on this thread.

Yes, I think it is obvious at this point that Bernard is either a troll or crazy.  Either way, no point in responding.  I highly doubt this person is actually attending any type of graduate program.

gongyq2010 - What an odd question.  I would assume they know they are waitlisted because they were told they were waitlisted...

gongyq2010 - What an odd question.  I would assume they know they are waitlisted because they were told they were waitlisted...

wxyyyz - What years did you attend the BSW at UWaterloo bc I didn't find that to be true at all.  There were 60 people in my program and at least 10 were not white.  There were also a number of openly gay/bi/etc class members. 

I wanted to add that McGill is competitively ranked in world university rankings with the other schools you mentioned.  University of Illinois is ranked 29th in the world, McGill is ranked 39th, and Penn State is ranked 58th.  So as you can see it is not much lower than University of Illinois and is quite a bit higher than Penn State.
 
Also, for the person who is trying to claim Canadian universities can't compete with US universities - not only is McGill ranked 39th in the world, ranking higher than MANY US universities, University of Toronto is ranked 20th and University of British Columbia is ranked 32nd .  To put that into perspective - University of Toronto is ranked higher than Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, NYU and other schools that are typically seen as very good US schools. 

Personally only applied to UK and Canadian schools, I'm an American coming from an American undergrad. I'll be attending the U of T, and also got accepted to University College London.

I had the option to apply and likely get accepted to similar programs at Yale, Michigan, Duke, and Columbia. I didn't even apply cuz the Canadian and UK programs were frankly better, and the prestige was high.

U of T and McGill are the Harvard/Yale or Oxford/Cambridge of Canada. Both are excellent and have awesome reputations. Whenever I wear my U of T sweatshirt in my undergrad facilities, I always get comments from faculty and students like "whoa did you go there??" it's a very cool experience.

Good luck at McGill!

Users that personally attack others (mocking usernames etc.) are issued warnings and monitored.
 
Everyone is free to state your opinions on the quality of Canada and Canadian schools, but do it in a way that respect other users. Respectful opinions lead to useful discussion and I think it is a good thing that these thoughts are being discussed and uninformed opinions are corrected.
 
To respond to the latest question:
 
 
No, Bernard is not right. During the recession in 2009, the Canadian banks and real estate markets stayed stable while US housing and banks needed to be bailed out. I would say that the Canadian economy is indeed reliant on the US economy because the US and China are our biggest trading partners. The US economy is obviously bigger than Canada -- the US population is 10 times the size of Canada. However, both economies are healthy and strong and at the level you'd care about for graduate school, both economies will serve you fine.
 
The UofT strike has nothing to do with the Canadian economy. I'm a little surprised (but happy) that there is so much worldwide coverage on this actually. Employees (including graduate students) at Universities are unionized in Canada (many more unions in Canada than the US). Usually, the process works well and there is a little tension when negotiations happen but things will work out. Going to an actual strike is less common but it happens at a school in Canada every few years (sometimes it's the students, sometimes it's the professors, sometimes it's the maintenance staff etc.) I would say this is all part of the normal labour bargaining process, not a sign that the economy is failing. 
 
Some might say that strikes are a sign of the system failing and while it is true that a strike (or lockout) is a failure to bargain fairly, I would rather have strikes than the inability to bargain and being forced to accept poor working conditions.
 
As for job opportunities, it depends on what your field is and what your goals are. If your goal is a job in the US then yes, going to a US school will definitely help you because you can make more US connections (staying in country = no visa issues). But if you are just trying to find work anywhere, a McGill PhD will serve you just as well as similar ranked schools in the US (ranked 20-30). For what it's worth, at my top US program, we regularly accept Canadian students and postdocs and they tend to all come from the big 3 Canadian schools (McGill, Toronto, UBC). McGill is one of the big names in the US -- when I tell people I'm Canadian, they try to guess which school I'm from and their first guess is usually McGill.

Bernard1992 - Please tell me you are joking.  Please.  Because I don't want to believe that someone who is at a graduate level education is so COMPLETELY uneducated about Canada.
 
arsham-rezaeyeh - Please do not listen to anything this person says!  McGill is a great school and Canada is an amazing country with lots of opportunities.

Personally I wouldn't do it unless it was a very short program (1 year or less).  IMO that kind of distance has a high chance of tearing a relationship apart.  For me personally, it would not be worth it.