Hi,I am live in Israel and want to study in Canada,not too far from Toronto.
I want to learn political science. Although, I wants to go to a good university,unfortunately,my financial situation can not allow me it. (because,I am considered as an international student, and,the cost is too high for me). I found the University of Windsor that,is around the 10,000$,with that I can handle yet. But I have read that this is not the better choice,even considering of my situation,what do you think about U of Windsor Canada?

And if this is eventually,not the best choice for an undergraduate degree,can you please offer me some nice Universities that will not be too expensive,and also will be good?

I have just read about U of Guelph,what do you think on it?

There is a reason why some universities are not as expensive. Fortunately for me I did not have to pay for an education at Windsor or Guelph for my children.

I'm assuming you have ruled out U of Toronto due to cost. Have you looked at Queens in Kingston?

What is wrong with UWO, oops I meant Western University?

There is quite a premium in tuition for non-Canadians at the original four compared to the rest.

Perhaps you can tell us what kind of experiences you are looking for and/or why you have chosen to come to Canada? For example, some places are known as party schools and with the lower minimum drinking age here (at least compared to the US), well...

I only suggested Queens because a google search seemed to indicate they rank pretty high in poli sci for Ontario uni's. Didn't see Western mentioned in the particular info I found. I also have this feeling (not based on anything other than suspicion) that Western would be expensive for international students.

Yes, since the deregulation of letting the academic institution set their own foreign student fees UofT, Queens, Western and McGills' fee are almost comparable to the top US schools.

I am partial to UWO, there are 4 pieces of wallpaper at my home from there and a 5th on its way next May with Western University on it.

Interesting thread.

I don't really care much for the price =/= quality argument. If there's one country it doesn't apply in, its Canada (and I m not focusing solely on education).

In Grad school you quickly realise that its not the school that makes the students - its the students that make the school. I've worked with people from virtually every school in Canada. Two things struck me:

1. Canadian degrees are valued abroad. Windsor may lack the 'prestige' of Queens ( if Queens can be considered prestigious - - guess which school I'm from :P), a high GPA from there will get you into a top rate university in Canada or abroad. I've met Canadians grads from schools I knew precious little about at top rate universities around the world (yes, even the LSE - for any Yes Minister fans out there).

2. A lot of extremely smart Canadians go to smaller schools because they're cheaper. I have friends who are doing brilliantly who got into U of T and the like, but simply couldn't afford it and weren't willing to take on the debt. So they went to smaller schools that were more affordable. And now they're doing well - many better than I am (granted they were always smarter than me - I just had the luxury of being able to afford, without problems, the school I chose).

To the original poster, I would say simply that you need to find the most viable solution for yourself. This includes financial considerations, as well as academic considerations. As a general rule, most Canadian Universities offer you a top quality education - certainly on par with US tier 2 schools. The best Canadian schools are on par wtih US tier 2 schools - no Canadian school is at Ivy level, but a lot of them feed students into Ivy League grad programs.

Is Windsor a good fit? I'm not a fan of the city, but I don't see anything wrong with the school. In fact, as a Torontonian, I would argue that you would get a better perspective of Canada at Windsor than you would studying in Toronto - Toronto schools are primarily filled with Toronto kids from suburban Toronto. Its a bit of a bubble. In fact, the main reason I avoided it is because everybody else in my high school class was going to be there, and while they were great people, I was craving a little more exposure to the rest of Canada/the world.

Ultimately, your success won't be driven entirely by the name on your degree. It will be driven by your work ethic, discipline and perseverence. I went to one of the schools mentioned above, but I sincerely doubt it did anything for me that another school's name wouldn't - ultimately it was down to my marks and the impression I made on my professors.

As it happens I have a very good friend who teaches political science at McMaster University in Hamilton; it's much closer to Toronto than Windsor, but still outside the Toronto bubble, and my understanding is that their department has a strong reputation (although perhaps a bit overshadowed by the engineering and science programs at Mac). That said, it may be more expensive than what you're looking to spend.

You should also consider what aspects of political science most interest you, and what you plan to do with the degree. Some Canadian programs have stronger training in the quantitative and formalist approaches that are dominant in the United States, while others are going to be more grounded in normative theory and qualitative research that is more popular in most of the rest of the world. Some programs may be very structured, and some may be more free-form. You may find that the emphasis at some universities may be different than what you're expecting, so finding a program that fits your interests is arguably at least as important as the right location and price.

Have you considered universities in or around the Montreal area? It's about a one hour flight to Toronto. French isn't an absolute necessity in Montreal (but it is in other areas in Quebec).

Have you considered York, outside of Toronto?

You might want to think about the logistics of getting to/from various airports in Canada. You might not have a car in graduate school or you might find it difficult an inconvenient to use affordable parking near the airport.

UBC in Vancouver is very respected, but that's an expensive city.

York is in Toronto. The outskirts of it, but in Toronto nonetheless. The same cannot be said of the (major) airport.

McGill is ~$17k (though living costs are better than Toronto and Ottawa)

Concordia is probably around the same. OP's post suggest that they might be a bit too expensive. That said, as student towns go, Montreal is one of the very best. I m a Torontonian technically, but my username speaks for itself.

As for York U, its very well connected by public transit to Downsview, which is very well connected to Toronto Pearson Airport. Probably a lot easier than downtown Toronto.

Do you want instruction in English or French?
I would try and get your parents to move here so that you can get PR status right away for cheaper tuition.
For English instruction my preferences:
UBC
SFU
McGill
U of O
U of A
For French instruction there are a handful of good (and cheap if you're a QC citizen) cegeps.
I would try and avoid Ontario.