Usually, when Canadians speak of “Canada vs. U.S.” here it is with reference to a hockey series.  However, in celebration of Canada Day (July 1) and Independence Day (July 4) holidays, here I’m going to point out a few differences in terminology and other things that you might run across when looking at engineering programs at Canadian and U.S. post-secondary institutions. (these are based on my observations, and there will be exceptions of course, because this is a huge and complex topic)

College versus University

In Canada the word “college” usually applies to a community college, polytechnic, or other 2-year post-secondary institution.  “University” is used for the degree-granting institutions.  A student at the University of Waterloo or Toronto would never refer to themselves as a “college student”, for example.  In the U.S., terms like “college admissions” or “college students” seem to be more broadly defined, including universities.  However, to confuse things further some universities in Canada have “colleges” within them as academic communities, similar to the way that Oxford University has Magdalen College and others.

Admission Averages

Canadian universities tend to focus on Grade 12 results (and maybe Grade 11 to a limited extent).  They will look at SAT and ACT scores if provided, but they are not usually required (except maybe for some international applicants).  U.S. universities seem to use cumulative GPA (Grades 9 through 11 or 12) and usually require SAT or ACT scores from everyone (although this is a broad generalization).

Application Timing

In Canada (or at least in Ontario), the application due dates are generally in the January to February time frame, with decisions coming out by early May, and offer acceptances due in early June.  The U.S. process seems to start earlier (around November?) and requires offer acceptances by May 1 in many cases.

How We Refer to Students

The terms “freshman, sophomore, junior, senior” commonly used in the U.S. are rarely heard in Canada.  We usually refer to first-year (sometimes “frosh”), 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year university students.

Admission Course Requirements

A high school calculus course is an admission requirement for many Canadian engineering programs, and is a normal part of Grade 12 high school curricula in many provinces.  U.S. universities don’t seem to require this for admission, and teach introductory calculus in their programs.

Accreditation

Canadian engineering programs can be accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB).  U.S. programs can be accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).  CEAB and ABET requirements are sufficiently harmonized that engineering licensing bodies in North America will usually recognize either one.  So graduating from Canada and being licensed in the U.S. is quite feasible, and vice versa.

Greek Life

The Greek lettered fraternities and sororities you read about in U.S. colleges are virtually unknown in Canada.  A few exist here and there (I think there is still one in Waterloo, but it’s not on-campus).  Being a member of a fraternity has no particular significance to most employers and others in Canada.

Direct Entry to Engineering

Canadian engineering programs are generally direct entry, meaning that you apply to engineering and start in the program right away.  Transfers into engineering may be possible, but most students start there.  This is also the case in some U.S. colleges, but there seem to be quite a few where you start in a general science program and declare an engineering major in 2nd year, if desired.

Race Based Admission Statistics

In Canada, information about applicants’ and students’ race is not collected (and therefore not reported), and is not any part of the admission decision process.  U.S. colleges seem to always report this, so possibly it’s a state or federal legal requirement?  I don’t know much about it beyond that.

Sports

College football and basketball are obviously big things in the U.S., as part of a feeder system for the NFL and NBA professional leagues.  Varsity sports exist in most Canadian universities, but obviously don’t receive the same level of funding and infrastructure support, like a big new stadium or million-dollar coaching contracts.  There are varsity athletes in our engineering programs (football, hockey, track and field, golf, etc) and they tend to be well balanced between academics and sports, not letting one over-shadow the other.  I should also point out that Canadian and American football have different rules, as summarized in this article.  Basically Canadian football has a larger field, one more player per side, and only allows 3 downs (attempts) to advance 10 yards.  (international readers will also note that Canadian and American football are not the same as FIFA-type football, which we call “soccer”)

Spelling and Pronunciation

There are subtle differences between Canadian and American-raised people.  An obvious one you will notice in print and on signs is spelling of certain words.  Canadians tend to use British spellings, although not entirely.  So we use “theatre” instead of the American “theater” (which has the added advantage of being bilingual, since the French word is “théâtre”).  Other examples are are “honour” versus “honor”.  Likewise the letter “z” is referred to as “zed” by Canadians (anglo and francophones), versus “zee” by Americans.  Another distinction I’ve run across is the Canadian pronunciation of the word “process”, usually “pr-oh-cess”, versus the American “pr-ah-cess”.

Conclusion

So those are a few differences, in no particular order.  There are probably a number of others that I haven’t thought of at the moment.  But hopefully those were interesting, especially to international readers including Americans who inquire about studying in Canada.