So I was checking QS and Times rankings n stuff, and unis like UofT, McGill, UBC are like super high globally. But when I looked at their admissions, it doesn’t seem that hard compared to like top US ones (I’m talking Ivy League, Stanford, etc).
Why is that? Like do rankings not mean it’s super hard to get in? just confused tbh. anyone knows how this works?
global rankings (like QS or Times Higher Ed) look at a lot of things — research output, faculty reputation, citations, international outlook, etc. But they don’t always reflect how competitive undergraduate admissions are.
For example, UofT, McGill, and UBC are world-class research universities — that’s why they rank so high. But Canada’s admissions system is more stats-based and less holistic than the US (where Ivies look at essays, extracurriculars, recs, leadership, etc.). So if you meet their grade cutoffs, chances of getting in are decent — especially for international students who apply early and meet the requirements.
Meanwhile, Ivy League schools are super selective not just because of academics, but also because they admit a small number of people from a huge applicant pool using a very subjective process.
So in short: rankings ≠ selectivity. A school can be top-ranked for research and academics, but not be as insanely competitive to get into as some US schools that care about your “whole story.”
Okay so rankings look at diff stuff bro… not just acceptance rate. Like research output, academic reputation, global impact, faculty-student ratio etc. Canada universities do really well in research specially UofT and McGill. But yeah they’re more accessible than US universities because they don’t do holistic review as much. no essays, no recommendations- just grades.
So not easy easy but more predictable.