US Citizen Considering Applying to Canadian School?

[14nm]

Hi, everyone! I'm a sophomore from Pennsylvania and I'm hoping to get into a doctoral-stream Master's program in math. Of course, I'll definitely apply to US schools, but I would prefer a Canadian school because I want to move to Canada. 

How hard is it for an international student to get into a Canadian school (especially the University of Toronto)? 

I have a 3.55 GPA (3.67 in my major), I did a little research this past semester, I applied for an RA position (although I will most likely get rejected), and I'm hoping to get into an REU (a summer research program) this summer. 

I know my GPA is really bad, but is there anything I can do to improve my chances? Thank you in advance!

[RunnerGrad]

I'm not familiar with the math department at UofT, but I can say that overall, there are a lot of international students doing graduate work at UofT.

The things you can do to improve your chances are the same as for U.S. universities:  have an excellent letter of intent, outstanding reference letters, and research experience.  I would make sure you have all of the suggested prerequisites listed on the UofT web site: http://www.math.toronto.edu/graduate/admissions/Suggested%20Prerequisites.pdf

There are other excellent Canadian universities.  I would suggest seeing which ones are doing research that interests you, and see what their requirements are.  Some Canadian master's programs will only look at your two more recent years of coursework, so you'll want to get marks that are as high as possible in those two years / 4 semesters.

[PoliticalOrder]

Academic masters programs aren't really that competitive in Canada. 

That doesn't mean you will get in, but it is fairly easy to get accepted to masters programs even in the top Canadian universities. 

[MathCat]

1 hour ago, PoliticalOrder said:

Academic masters programs aren't really that competitive in Canada. 

That doesn't mean you will get in, but it is fairly easy to get accepted to masters programs even in the top Canadian universities. 

It's definitely not as competitive as PhD applications in the US, but it's still not that easy to get into a top university in Canada, especially as an international student. GPA is weighed heavily, as are LORs, and research experience is a good way to make your application shine. I applied to some Canadian masters programs along with American PhD programs, and if I recall correctly, U of T told me they only accepted something like 10 international students that year. Also, FYI, the funding they offer is pretty bad for the cost of living in Toronto ($17,500 and tuition remission).

[RunnerGrad]

2 hours ago, PoliticalOrder said:

Academic masters programs aren't really that competitive in Canada. 

That doesn't mean you will get in, but it is fairly easy to get accepted to masters programs even in the top Canadian universities. 

Not true.  My masters program only accepts 12 students per year and has over 500 applicants.  Other programs receive many more applicants for maybe 10 spots.  In Canada, most programs require a master's before you can apply to a PhD program (there are exceptions, mostly at the universities trying to attract American students) so the masters programs can be very, very competitive (in my field, I don't know of a single PhD program in Canada that will accept someone without a master's).

[TakeruK]

2 hours ago, PoliticalOrder said:

Academic masters programs aren't really that competitive in Canada. 

That doesn't mean you will get in, but it is fairly easy to get accepted to masters programs even in the top Canadian universities. 

The top Canadian programs are not as competitive as the top US programs. Of course everything depends a lot on the field, but in general, the top Canadian schools are in the range of US schools ranked 20th to 50th and I would say that they are comparable in competitiveness for domestic applicants. That is, the top Canadian schools are about as hard to get into for a Canadian applicant as a school ranked, say 30th in US News would be for an American student to get into.

International students does make it trickier. In general, tuition is way cheaper in Canada, even for international students, so admitting an international student does not represent as much of an increased cost in Canada than it does in the US. So, from this perspective, I do think if everything else were exactly equal (i.e. same applicant strength and same standard for admissions at both schools), I think it's slightly easier for a US student to get into a Canadian school than a Canadian student to get into a US public school. 

[14nm]

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

Also, Here's a kinda dumb question... To get into a MS program, you obviously need a Bachelor's degree. But does that mean you need to have the degree before applying or before starting (do you apply your senior year or after graduation)?

[MathCat]

32 minutes ago, 14nm said:

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

Also, Here's a kinda dumb question... To get into a MS program, you obviously need a Bachelor's degree. But does that mean you need to have the degree before applying or before starting (do you apply your senior year or after graduation)?

You should have completed it by the time you start - you can apply in your senior year, as long as you'll finish before the start of the program.

[PoliticalOrder]

16 hours ago, MathCat said:

It's definitely not as competitive as PhD applications in the US, but it's still not that easy to get into a top university in Canada, especially as an international student. GPA is weighed heavily, as are LORs, and research experience is a good way to make your application shine. I applied to some Canadian masters programs along with American PhD programs, and if I recall correctly, U of T told me they only accepted something like 10 international students that year. Also, FYI, the funding they offer is pretty bad for the cost of living in Toronto ($17,500 and tuition remission).

Yeah, but I bet you got into every Canadian masters program you applied to right?

Being an international student does add a bit of a ripple to the statement I made, but I still stand by it. 

For academic masters programs, even at the top Canadian schools, you are probably looking at something like a 10-25% acceptance rate depending on field and school. I wouldn't consider that very competitive, especially when you are comparing that to Ph.D. program acceptance rates. 

Do you mean 10 international students in the math MA program? Because depending on the size of the cohort, that seems quite a large number.

To the OP, for reference (far different field however, and I am Canadian), a couple of years ago I applied to 3 masters programs (UBC, McGill, U of T) with a ~3.4 GPA, fairly average GRE scores, and one summer RA position. I got into all three. My application was probably very solid, but far from 'stellar.' 

And you also, depending on where you are doing your undergrad, you have one potential benefit: UPenn, Pitt, CM, and Penn State are equal or better than any university in Canada. 

[fuzzylogician]

3 hours ago, PoliticalOrder said:

Yeah, but I bet you got into every Canadian masters program you applied to right?

Being an international student does add a bit of a ripple to the statement I made, but I still stand by it. 

I'm sorry, but with a sample size n=3 in a totally different field you feel confident enough to provide an opinion about every program in every university in Canada, and to dismiss the experience of those who actually applied in the field in question? 

I am not an expert on Canadian Math programs, but I think MathCat's post sounds about right: it's not as competitive as the top US programs, but not a free for all either. I'm a little surprised that you don't consider a 10% acceptance rate competitive. You do understand that means that 90% of people get rejected? I'm sure there are more selective programs, but we don't live in a "very rigorous"/"everyone gets in" dichotomy. There is more gradience.  Yes, 25% means some people who wouldn't even get interviews at the very top schools might get in, but even more people will get rejected. It's less selective, but not unselective.

To the OP, sounds like you're doing the right things: getting some research experience, making sure your GPA is up. LORs are going to be crucial, so give some thought to who you might ask; make sure you have at least 3 people in mind, and try to develop a relationship with them, so that they can write you strong letters when the time comes.

[PoliticalOrder]

Where did I dismiss the opinion of anyone?

And you seem to be the one setting up the false dichotomy here. I simply stated that academic MA programs at Canadian universities are not that competitive; this is a sentiment shared by numerous people I have run into throughout my 'academic' career. Nor did I use my experience as the basis of my opinion, rather as an indicator to how someone with a fairly average application (at least numbers wise) can get acceptances to top Canadian programs.

MA programs are not particularly strenuous nor especially competitive, especially in Canada, considering that virtually everyone needs one to do a Ph.D. in the country. Furthermore, a number of the best Canadian students don't do their graduate studies at Canadian universities leaving the pool of applicants a lot less competitive than they could be.