Three DHS Students Plan to Spend Their Next Four Years Studying in Canada
NEIRAD enilno edition
Every kid applying to college dreads writing the college essay. It is a requirement for most schools in the United States, and it is a very time consuming thing to do. Luckily for three seniors here at DHS, the college essay was not on their agendas, as they have decided to take the Canadian route. Seniors Evan Burns, Chris Brook, and Colin Shay all decided to take their talents up north to Canada. Burns and Brook will both be attending Queens University in Kingston, Ontario and Shay will attend McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.
For Evan and Chris, a Canadian school was always in their focus as they both are still Canadian citizens. So going to a school here will not be unfamiliar territory to them. “Canada is where I’m from so it’s good to get back to the homeland,” Brook said. Brooks decision on Queens was based off of family, academics, and location. “I felt it had much more to offer than anywhere else and it’s the crossroads of the major east coast cities,” Brook said.
Burns was drawn to the feeling of being back where he belongs, up in Canada. “In Canada I can really get my curling game back together. I’m a little rusty when I’m here in the states, so I can’t wait to sharpen up my skills,” Burns said. Both future Queens University attendees agreed that Queens was an excellent choice because of how fun it would be. “The campus is ridiculously cool and the people who go are all smart, but super laid back,” Brook said. “Canada is where it’s at. With maple syrup and moose, it can’t get much better,” Burns said.
A plus for applying to Canadian schools is definitely not having to write the dreaded college essay. Canadian schools also mostly look at the student’s junior and senior year grades, as well as ACT or SAT scores. Because there is no essay, part of the application is the Personal Statement of Experience. In this you write about a topic given to you in 300 words or less, so it is more laid back then the essay on the Common Application. There is also no Early Decision or Early Action and most of the schools have rolling admitions. It was nice for Colin because “My application wasn’t due until January 1st, while all my applications in the US were due December 1st” Brook really felt the advantages of the Canadian school applications. It helped him to not “get caught up in the stress and competition at DHS,” Brook said.
For Colin on the other hand, McGill was the only school in Canada that he applied to. He applied to a total of seven schools, and McGill was the only one in Canada, but it drew his attention. “McGill is the best school in Canada. It’s like their Harvard,” Shay said. One of the main reasons that Shay wanted to go to McGill was for one of the top music schools in North America, the Schulich School of Music. Also, Shay’s major of choice was not available at most schools. “Most of the music schools in the US don’t have the major that I want to do, which is historical performance.”
So who knows, maybe the path you end up choosing will take you up north across the border. We know you will be in good company up there.
