Talk:Studying abroad/Extra
Major English-speaking countries
editUK | USA | Canada | Australia | New Zealand | Ireland | |
Student visas | UK | USA | Canada | Australia | NZ | Ireland |
Reviews of universities | Times | US News | Macleans | AEN | ||
TV networks | BBC | CNN | CBC | ABC | TVNZ | RTE |
Official tourist information | UK | USA | Canada | Australia | New Zealand | Ireland |
Wikivoyage article | UK | USA | Canada | Australia | New_Zealand | Ireland |
Ratings of world universities
editInformation by country
editUSA
editInformation for Chinese students coming to the US; some of it applies to any Western country. There is a lot of material; printed out it makes a whole book.
The US covers about the same range of latitudes as China. States such as Florida or California have a climate much like Southern China while Northern states are as cold as Heilonjiang or Canada.
Hawaii is the closest part of the US to Asia and many of the state's residents are of of Asian ancestry. It is a beautiful area with several universities.
The UK
editThe most famous universities in England are Oxford and Cambridge, both several hundred years old. Sometimes they are referred to together as "Oxbridge". Scotland's University of Edinburg is also quite old and has a fine reputation.
The "red brick" universities area group of universities built in the 19th and early 20th centuries, generally considered quite good.
- University of Birmingham in England's second-biggest city
- University of Bristol
- University of Leeds
- University of Liverpool
- University of Manchester
- University of Sheffield in the midlands
- University of Reading near London
- Queen's University, Belfast in Northern Ireland
- University College London
- University of Exeter
- University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the North-East
- University of Southampton on the South coast
Of course Britain has dozens of other universities as well.
Canada
editCity | Province | Population | Universities | Climate | Chinatown | Comment | |
old, good | newer | (compared to Harbin) | |||||
Victoria | BC | 80,000 | U of Victoria | warmest in Canada | provincial capital | ||
Vancouver | BC | 2.1 million | UBC | Simon Fraser | warmest in Canada | old, huge | Beautiful city, ocean and mountains |
Calgary | Alberta | 1.1 million | U of Calgary | (same) | oil and cowboys | ||
Edmonton | Alberta | 1.1 million | U of Alberta | (colder) | oil, Canada's most Northern major city | ||
Winnipeg | Manitoba | 700,000 | U of Manitoba | (colder) | |||
Toronto | Ontario | 5.1 million | U of T | York | (warmer) | old, huge | Largest city, much business |
Ottawa | Ontario | 1.1 million | Carleton | (same) | large | Capital city, quite beautiful | |
Kingston | Ontario | 150,000 | Queens | (same) | Small, pretty city on lake | ||
Waterloo | Ontario | 500,000 | Waterloo | (warmer) | good U for computers | ||
London | Ontario | 460,000 | Western | (warmer) | near Toronto, Niagara falls | ||
Montreal | Quebec | 3.6 million | McGill | Concordia | (same) | mainly French-speaking city | |
Halifax | Nova Scotia | 370,000 | Dalhousie | (warmer) | on ocean, good sea food |
There are dozens of universities not on this list though the list has the largest and best-known.
If you can get in, University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver or University of Toronto (U of T) would be good places to go. Both are large well-known schools. Both are in cities with large Chinese communities, easier for you to live in. Simon Fraser and York are smaller and less famous but in the same cities.
Queens, Dalhousie and U Vic (University of Victoria) are worth considering. They are all in small cities, cheaper to live in and easier to learn your way around. Dalhousie is in Eastern Canada, an interesting area but far from other cities. Queens is in a small city but close to several larger ones: Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. Victoria is about two hours by ferry from Vancouver and has a warm (for Canada) climate like Vancouver.
Waterloo has a good reputation for Engineering and Computer Science. Their program includes time working in hi-tech companies as part of the course; you have to write reports about your work for the university and your work supervisor gives you a grade. Pay for this is low, but it fairly often leads to good job offers for graduating students.
Queens and Western (University of Western Ontario) have a good reputation for MBA programs. Carleton, being in the capital, has an MPA (Master of Public Administration) program that is good if you want to work in government. McGill has Canada's best-known medical school.
UBC's school of architecture is the best-known in Canada. Unlike other schools, it is mainly a graduate school; get your first degree in civil engineering and then come study design.
There are some online directories of Canadian universities, at 4icu and uc411.
Australia
editThere are two associations of universities in Australia. The Group of Eight say they are "Australia's leading universities". There is also a site for all Aussie Universities with a breakdown by city and state.