Canadian Soc anyone?

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Hello everyone, I'm Dutch but finished high school in Calgary, Alberta and so I applied to universities in the UK with my Alberta High School Diploma. Basically every university I contacted considered this the same as the OSSD. Except some of the colleges in Cambridge. Oxford is happy to have you for an interview though with anything above an 80% average (for engineering science at least), considering you have a good personal statement of course. They considered this the same as A grades in the A-levels, although I'm curious what will happen with the new A* grades.

I submitted al of my academic courses on UCAS, English 20-1 and 30-1, Math 30P and 20P, Calculus, Biology 20 and 30, Chemistry 20 and 30, Physics 20 and 30. I don't they really care if you put PE on and things like that.

I applied to Oxford, Imperial College, University College London, Bath, and Edinburgh. I got accepted at the last two and I'll be starting in Edinburgh in September. I applied to all of the Mechanical Engineering MEng programs, except for Oxford where they only offer Engineering Science. I had an 89% average so McGill rejected me as well. In my opinion the don't think to highly of the 12 year Canadian high school program here in the UK although I'm convinced that the 3 A-level courses most people take in England isn't much more in depth than Alberta courses at least, this is from speaking to a number of people who have done A-levels, and someone I know who already studies in the UK from Alberta.

As for skiing or boarding, Sunshine Village (45 minutes from Banff, 90 from East Calgary) offers the marmot card gives you discounts if a season pass is not worth it.

If there's any questions which I might be able to answer, shoot away.

Reply 361

punctuation

Original post by mlangeslag

As someone applying to Oxford and who has emailed Oxford on several occasions, I must interject and note they expect a minimum of 85% average, equivalent to AAA. For subjects such as medicine, maths, etc. they require minimum 90%, equivalent to A*AA.

That's unfortunate how they view the Canadian education system. Hope you enjoy Edinburgh though! :biggrin:

Reply 362

punctuation

Original post by arbrace

Hello,

I'm doing some research over the summer at the Uni of East London. Would very much appreciate your help in completing an online questionnaire. It should only take 10-15 mins tops, and really is only going to ask your opinions on alternative medicine/therapies.

Thank you very much

http://tiny.cc/0le9h

Aaron Brace

Must we be 18 or over as the questionnaire says?

Reply 363

Macnoob

Im going to Leicester this September and i have every thing sorted out expect my banking situation! How did you guys go about setting up a bank account, i want this to be as hassle free as possible. I do not care for the little gimmics that some banks offer (rail card etc). I will be transferring my money from my Canadian account (TD).

Reply 364

punctuation

Original post by Macnoob

I'm pretty sure most if not all universities have an 'international society' of sorts. They can help you sort details such as these, so if you have everything else sorted out, try contacting the uni.

Otherwise I'm afraid I can't help you, but I hope someone else here can!

Reply 365

Bulz

Canadian-American studying in the UK .......so Anglo :colondollar:

Reply 366

lizzy999

Original post by punctuation

Hi! Canadians who did the OSSD who are in uni now/will go this fall: how many of your high school grades did you submit to UCAS? :smile:

thanks!

I think it's just your top six? Plus, the required courses that the university wants for the program.

Reply 367

punctuation

Original post by lizzy999

I think it's just your top six? Plus, the required courses that the university wants for the program.

No it's six, including prereqs and then the rest are your top marks. So English is mandatory for everyone, then there would be physics and maths for engineering for examole... Then the other three spaces are filled by whichever courses you prefer.

Does that make sense?

Also your grade 11 (year 12) courses are required but nothing before that.

Eta: this would be for admission into a Canadian uni that is. For UK unis it is preferred to have all courses... Are you applying to a UK uni?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 368

lizzy999

Original post by punctuation

hahah

yep I am applying to a UK uni :smile:

sorry for the confusion :rolleyes:

Reply 369

Macnoob

Question for fellow canadians...so i got my british passport, because my mom has one. The reason for me getting one was so that i could potentially avoid international student fees. It just occurred to me that they uni may not give me the local fees because my mom has no lived or been to the UK in the past 30+ years. But I did get a british citizenship...can any one enlighten me on this?

Reply 370

djk_99

Original post by Macnoob

You generally have to have lived in the country for 3 years prior to starting the course to qualify for home fees.

Reply 371

ifstatement

Canada is awesome.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 372

Macnoob

Original post by djk_99

You generally have to have lived in the country for 3 years prior to starting the course to qualify for home fees.

Yea figured thanks dude...oh well at least i can get some decent work hours because on a student visa your only allowed 10 hr a week.

Reply 373

Macnoob

What flight would you guys recommend? From Toronto to Heathrow? I don't travel outside of the states or Canada and am very shocked to see prices $1300+.

Reply 374

djk_99

Original post by Macnoob

What flight would you guys recommend? From Toronto to Heathrow? I don't travel outside of the states or Canada and am very shocked to see prices $1300+.

Yeah that's pretty average for flight prices. Obviously higher in summer holidays and around xmas time.
Try canadian affair, tend to be a bit cheaper, but fly to Gatwick which is not quite as well connected to London as Heathrow is, as Heathrow is on the tube lines.

Reply 375

Macnoob

Original post by djk_99

Thanks thats what im gonna do, can you recommend the easiest way from Gatwick to Leicester (not taxi would be way to expensive). Maybe a website for the trains/bus or something like that.

Reply 376

quellebelle

Original post by Macnoob

What flight would you guys recommend? From Toronto to Heathrow? I don't travel outside of the states or Canada and am very shocked to see prices $1300+.

I've traveled to London before but I never paid full price for airfare. If you book with travelcuts.ca (they have an office near the UofT campus in Toronto where you can book in person) you can get discounts on many flights to London all year round. It's tricky to get a good price during the summer but it's not impossible. Keep in mind direct flights cost more than connecting flights.

If you book at other airline offices. They may offer you discount if you have registered for an International Student Identity Card (http://www.isic.org/). You can sign up for it at your local Canadian university/college or at any "Adventure Travel" or Travel Cuts Office. It cost ten bucks. But it'll save you a lot of unnecessary fees while traveling. It's recognized all over the world, so I recommend it.

I also see that Iceland air also has some travel discounts from Toronto-Reykeyvik-London HTR. As low as 600 one way... but as for air fare in the month of august. Tickets are as high as 1,030 bucks. Which is a wee bit cheaper than what you usually see.
:tongue:

Hope that helps!

Reply 377

quellebelle

Blaaah, I also forgot to introduce myself! I'm an Ontario student from Toronto. I'm currently doing an honors degree in Illustration at Sheridan.

I'm applying to University of Brighton's unique BA+MDes Illustration streamlined degree,
UAL University of the Arts (Camberwell, LCC and LCF) for various Illustration Media courses including Fashion and Graphic communication,
and University for the creative arts (farnham) for Graphic communications.

It seems like a lot of nonsense to some people but in reality they're all related to my field. I never had so much choice when picking an arts course in Canada. So that's probably why I want to study in the UK. That and I know a few publishers in EU and UK that I want to work for. :smile:

However if you are interested in studying in Ontario (GTA), ask me anything! Just as long as its' art related. I can be rather resourceful.
If you go to any of the schools I mentioned... I will definitely want to talk to you! :biggrin:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 378

KirstyK

www.canadian-affair.com
www.icelandair.com
www.aircanada.com

Try and book it asap, because the longer you wait the more expensive it will be. Are you booking a round trip or oneway? A roundtrip (if the return date is a long way away) will be more expensive, so I usually book a one way, and then a month or two later I book the other one way home (i.e. for Christmas).

Reply 379

djk_99

Original post by Macnoob

Thanks thats what im gonna do, can you recommend the easiest way from Gatwick to Leicester (not taxi would be way to expensive). Maybe a website for the trains/bus or something like that.

National Express for coaches- I imagine you'd have to go into London and change there. Or try megabus, but not sure where their routes run.
For trains try www.thetrainline.com.
Double check with the uni- sometimes they put on coaches a couple of times a day from major airports during the week when most international students arrive.