Hey guys, so we had a debate going on in our economics class about this issue. Its evident that parents from wealthy families will send their kids off to the best and most prestigous schools in the country. These schools that are occupied by most wealthy kids, are however, beginning to show a decrease in financial aid. But what about those kids that do need it? Students shouldn't be denied financial assistance just because an enormous amount of the students there won't need it.

We had to write an essay about this topic, so anyone who can give me insights on these questions, i appreciate it :)

- Which universities do wealthy families usually send their children to in Ontario/Canada?
> my class came up with the top 3, but its merely subjective:
1. Western 2. University of Toronto 3. Queens

- What aspects of these schools draw these students towards the school?
- Is it possible for parents to "buy" their kids' admissions in Canada?

I've never heard of Western being a "rich kid's school", just that it's a major party school. And I don't go to Queens, but my cousin who does says that many of it's student population are rather well off, and that since many of the girls are "white, hot, blonde chicks" that there is a pressure to be better dressed. She doesn't feel comfortable going to class in sweats.

So if I were to make an assumption, it would be Queens.

lol financial assistance isnt "looked down upon" how does that even make sense. it is true that many of the students here are well off and yes our girls are attractive and well dressed.

Personally I've noticed that within Canada, well-off people go to McGill and Queen's a lot, but they're pretty evenly spread out everywhere. The even-richer families who have the means to send their kids to Ivy's with little to no financial aid head off the HYPS usually. Most of these kids I know attend prestigious private schools like UTS/St. Mike's/UCC/Crescent/Appleby's and get in on their own merit however.

And I verified the invalidity of the rumors by making an absolute statement.

I'd say it's more or less correlated to the amount of lululemon, hunter boots, and macbooks you see on campus.
AKA Queen's, McGill and Western

I was a student who went to Upper Canada College, an all-boys private school in Toronto. I now go to Western. Both my dad and uncles, as well as my grand-dad went to Upper Canada College. When your family has been going to private schools all these generations, your friends and social circle are naturally comprise from people who are in private schools and boarding schools nearest to you.

From these social circles, most of my friends, as well as the older generations in my family, have attended Western, Queen's, and McGill.

What had drawn me and my friends from the Toronto private school circles to these three schools, aside from their academics, are their social factors. McGill, being yes, the best school in Canada and well-known internationally. Queen's and Western are schools both far enough away from Toronto, with the city being easy to be able to reach to if you want to go home for the weekend. UofT and UBC, although great schools, contrary to popular belief, is not where a lot of us choose to go because we have been born and raised in these big cities all of our lives.

More so, Western, McGill and Queen's are all beautiful schools with gothic collegiate architecture, more of a passion for myself than a lot of people, but I love going to a school that has a campus that resembles Hogwarts, like Western, rather than a commuter school like York.

Because a lot of people from these private schools chose Western/Queens/McGill, it fuels the competition and rivalry between these schools. ex. Western vs. Queen's constant rivalry in everything and Queen's vs. McGill regatta.

To answer your last question... Yes, it is possible. My parents didn't pay 30k a year for a private education so I would go to a school like Guelph. Like every school - private schools are no exception, there are inflation and deflation of grades. There are also specific private schools (lesser credibly ones, if anything) where students could "pay" for grades, aka easy work, easy mark, lots of money spent.

It's a different social circle than kids who aren't wealthy, however at the same time wealthy kids are everywhere. This is only me and my friend's own observation regarding where our own family for generations have attended, and where we ourselves and each other, choose to go.

I know this thread is mostly referring to "rich kids" in Canada, but I would like to share my story with you guys.
I went to a "prestigious and elitist" private girls' school outside Cananda and to tell you the truth, I was the only one who came to a Canadian university. None of them came to Canada because it's "easier" here and it's for those who failed school (I failed 6 out of 9 courses when I was in my non-Canadian school, I can't stand it so I came to Canada in grade 11). They all prefer to go to the States and the UK because they are more "prestigious". I did get a few smirks when old school mates asked me which uni I am studying in during school gatherings back home.

To be honest, this "only rich kids go to good school" problem in Canada is not that serious compared to other countries in the world. Canadian universities are pretty much the same in terms of quality of education.

Contrary to popular belief, U of T is more internationally recognized than McGill. I have never heard of McGill before I came to Canada, thus the reason why I only applied to UofT and not McGill. People here have not heard of McGill until recent years.

There are rich kids in every school, and that includes UofT. They usually hang out in their own little bubble, so unless you are just like them then good luck in joining their club. I am sure not every rich kid is like that, but most of them don't really accept people not of their own kind unless you are very very intelligent and do well in courses.

Just my two cents.

Was it worth it, going to a top fee-paying school? I mean, in the end some Tom, Dick, or Harry that went through the government education system is going to be your compatriot in University, with the exact same chance of succeeding as you; for $300,000 less. I can think of better uses for that money.


And there's no way in hell I'm going to show off how rich I am, just to attract some trash.