Applying to Canadian grad schools if you're American

[JasonJo]

I want to apply to a Canadian grad school that is of particular interest to me. I did pretty well, I have a very high GPA (overall and math wise) on a 4.0 scale.

Do I apply for PhD or do I apply for masters? What are my chances of receiving any aid in terms of a TA-ship? How exactly does grad school work in Canada?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

EDIT: Why not just mention the school, it's Waterloo's Applied Math program.

 

[Choppy]

I don't think grad school in Canada is all that different from grad school in the US. Just about all grad students receive some form of financial aid. The specifcs of this are usually available on each school's web-page. Of course, coming from the US, you would be considered an international student, and as such have higher fees than Canadian citizens.

Some differences that I've picked up on:
- Canadian schools place less emphasis on GRE marks if they even consider them at all
- getting into a "top tier" school does not seem so be as big of a deal
- M.Sc. programs are seen as an alternative route to a Ph.D., whereas I get the impression from some American schools that the M.Sc. is seen as some kind of consolation prize

 

[Mute]

- M.Sc. programs are seen as an alternative route to a Ph.D., whereas I get the impression from some American schools that the M.Sc. is seen as some kind of consolation prize

M.Sc. isn't merely an alternative route; in Canada you must apply for a Master's degree if you only have a B.Sc.. Most schools have the option of transfering into a Ph.D. program if you're doing well in the master's program (the applied math dept page at Waterloo lists this as an option). It would be very rare in Canada to get directly into a Ph.D. program without a M.Sc. first.


As for funding, the department's webpage states,

All Masters students are guaranteed funding for two years and Ph.D. students for four years, at a level that will cover academic and living expenses.

The Applied Math dept's webpage: http://www.math.uwaterloo.ca/AM_Dept/grad/

 

[JG89]

U of T (University of Toronto) has a policy that if you have a 3.5 GPA from your bachelors and you have letters of recommendation to back you up, you can go straight to their phD program. Waterloo might have a similar policy that you may want to follow up on.