The Difference Between Private and Public Colleges in Toronto

Toronto is one of North America's greatest cities. Itprivate schools tend to be smaller and more oriented
offers architectural beauty, highly developed culturetoward specific types of career training.
and a cosmopolitan quality of life. It is also the home toIn the last few years, some of Toronto's smaller
numerous institutions of higher education, both publicprivate schools have come under fire for misleading
and private. Toronto's public and private colleges offerinternational students into attending what students
a tremendous variety of experiences and opportunities.thought were high quality programs with attractive
Here is a quick run-down of some basic differencescampuses, only to find shabby buildings and sub-par
between Toronto's private and public colleges.course offerings. Though some of Toronto's small
When you're talking about public colleges in Toronto,private schools fall into this low class, many don't.
you're talking about the University of Toronto, YorkTuition at Toronto's private college varies greatly
University, Ryerson University and the Ontario Collegedepending on which college. Toronto's institutions of
of Art and Design. With the exception of the Ontarioreligious education such as Master's College and
College of Art and Design, which has only 3,000Seminary or Tyndale College and Seminary tend to
students, Toronto's public schools are very large, withcost the least, about 8,000 Canadian dollars per year
enrollments ranging from 30,000 to 70,000 students.for residents. Other schools, such as George Brown
The University of Toronto is Canada's largestUniversity, which focuses on career training and offers
university and offers a very broad range of courses inonly a few bachelors' programs cost upwards of
the humanities and social and physical sciences, as well5,000 Canadian dollars per semester.
as professional programs in medicine, engineering,Many of Toronto's private colleges, such as
architecture, dentistry, social work and teaching. The UMetropolitan College or the Canadian College of
of T conducts many research programs and boasts aBusiness, Science and Technology offer affordable
world-class medical facility.continuing education and career training that costs a lot
York University is a smaller liberal arts institution with aless and takes less time to earn than a Bachelor's
long history dating back to 1859. Ryerson is Canada'sdegree.
only polytechnic institution, offering notable journalism,The ultimate difference between Toronto's public and
multimedia and business programs as well asprivate schools has to do with the type of experience
programs in fields like the Applied Arts or Engineering.offered to students. If you want to attend a large
Public schools in Toronto are relatively affordable,school, with lots of young students living on-campus,
costing around $12,000 to $17,000 Canadian dollars perexperiencing an academic community and choosing
year for a non-international student living away fromfrom a vast array of educational opportunities, sports
home. Toronto's public schools all offer financial aid andteams, concerts, clubs and social events, then you
scholarships to high achieving and/or financially needywould probably appreciate a public college. If you are
students.interested in vocational or career training, continuing
Toronto is home to dozens of private schools offeringeducation or a religious certification, then you would be
an immense variety of experiences, knowledge andbest served by a private school.
training. Unlike their public counterparts, Toronto's