We are in the U.S. and went through the college application process for our twins this past year. One applied to UToronto for Physics. UToronto held an open house for international prospective applicants the Saturday following Thanksgiving and ds and dh went.
At the open house, they made a big deal about differences in their application process - decisions are based almost entirely on curriculum, grades and test scores, i.e., significantly less (or no) emphasis on essays, lor and extracurriculars!
They have a terrific physics department, and therefore it was a short-listed school for ds. Plus, they have a scholarship program for international students called the Pearson scholarship - a full ride. They award quite a few of these each year.
So ds was offered admission and the Pearson, but turned it down for a private college in the U.S. And although it was financially a painful decision for the parents, it was a logical choice for the particular kid involved. UToronto is a big urban school, and although that might have been a plus for me when I was going off to college, ds chose a small, close-knit experience.
