Schools Are Canadian Universities Good for Physics and Math Majors?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on an international applicant from India seeking admission to Canadian universities for a Physics and Mathematics major. The applicant has strong academic credentials, including high standardized test scores and a solid resume with volunteer work and online courses. Key universities of interest include the University of Toronto, McGill University, and the University of British Columbia, with inquiries about their academic atmosphere, research opportunities, and costs. Concerns are raised about the perceived difficulty of Canadian universities compared to U.S. institutions, particularly regarding student support and grading. The conversation concludes with a note that the University of Waterloo is also a strong option for physics and math despite initial doubts about its reputation.
ujjwal3097
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Hi
I am an international applicant from India applying to US and Canadian universities. But now I want to talk about some Canadian universities.
I am applying for Physic and Maths major for the fall 2016 session.
ACT composite score 31
SAT maths 800
SAT physics 780
High school scores:

9 == 8.0/10.0 CGPA
10 == 9.0/10.0 CGPA
11 == 70% (I know its a low score)
12 == 93.4% (all India percentile 97.4%)
I also have a pretty good Resume: Done 2 volunteering work and have done 10 online course on physic, maths, astronomy and computer science {6 courses are from MIT Open courseware and rest are from Edx and coursera.}
Won various Art competitions at inter school and national level.

Pretty solid letter of Recommendation by physics and English teacher.

I want to know what are my chances at these universities:
University of Toronto
Mcgill university
University of British Columbia

-I also want to know that if these universities are even good for physics and mathematics and please also tell if there is a good focus towards undergrad research opportunities at these universities.
Are these universities expensive and what is academic atmosphere ?

-I was also thinking to apply to university of Waterloo but after doing some research on the university I found out that university is not as reputed as other mentioned university. If I am wrong please correct me.

-There is one more thing that is concerning me. I have heard from many people that Canadian university has somewhat difficult as compared to other American universities. What I mean is that students have to work a lot harder than any other students in other universities. I have also heard that these universities have very low average student score and teachers cannot even have one on one conversation because they are too busy with their own research work and these universities don't even focus on its undergrad students body.
I know I might be wrong but if I am not than what is the point of getting into a university where you cannot get enough grades to get into a good grad school.
I am looking forward for an elaborate answer.
Thanks,

NOTE: sorry for any grammatical mistakes.
 
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Waterloo is great for physics and math. I know a grad student at Stanford who went there. If you are interested in theoretical physics, there is the Perimeter institute right there. In regards to cost, I don't know about Canadian schools, but U.S. schools, even public schools since you are an international (you pay out of state and are much less likely to get financial aid) are prohibitively expensive. Tuition alone has passed or is near passing $50k for these schools. For private schools, this price range is almost universal.
 
radium said:
Waterloo is great for physics and math. I know a grad student at Stanford who went there. If you are interested in theoretical physics, there is the Perimeter institute right there. In regards to cost, I don't know about Canadian schools, but U.S. schools, even public schools since you are an international (you pay out of state and are much less likely to get financial aid) are prohibitively expensive. Tuition alone has passed or is near passing $50k for these schools. For private schools, this price range is almost universal.

What is the difficulty level at the Canadian universities. Are these universities have low students' average score than students at US universities.
 
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