Tatiana Von Recklinghausen’s home is in New Hampshire, but her university is in Ontario. She’s a third year film student at Ottawa’s Carleton University. She loves the campus. She loves the city. But more importantly, she loves the price. "That's one of my favourite things about going here is how much money I am saving," she says.
Von Recklinghausen figures she is saving around $20,000 a year by going to school in Canada. And it’s not like she’s comparing Carleton to Harvard or Yale. Her initial choice was the relatively modest Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia.
"Tuition plus cost of living, I take out roughly $30,000 in loans a year. Compared to if I'd gone to somewhere like the Savannah College of Art and Design where I would have been paying more than that just for tuition," she says.
And the numbers bear it out. One year tuition for an international student at Carleton is $18,805. At the Savannah College of Art and Design it’s $31,905.
Other comparisons are even more startling. In the mid-west you can expect to pay $45,945 at the University of Chicago. Or you can attend the University of Winnipeg for a relative bargain of $11,115.
And the savings don’t end there. American students can reduce that amount further based on their grades.
"They're eligible for all of our entrance scholarships that range right up to 16,000 dollars over the 4 years. So that can be a real plus,” says Doug Huckvale of Carleton University’s Recruitment Office.
Cash-strapped American students are starting to take notice. According to the Institute for College Access and Success, there are now around 10.000 Americans attending university in Canada, a 50% increase over ten years. And it’s a trend that’s likely to continue as more Americans see Canada as their passport to a higher education.
