Being a Canadian in Georgia comes with its fair share of challenges. One that I tried my best to avoid has been applying to American colleges.

 I have not applied to American colleges, but my sister, Hailey, did last year. She is now a freshman at St Francis Xavier University. After observing her experiences, I know how complicated and frustrating it is just from second-hand experience. 

Many people don’t know this but I am not an American citizen. I am still a Canadian citizen, which  causes many issues when applying to U.S.colleges. Since I am not an American citizen, I have to pay out-of-state tuition no matter where I go, even if it is in Georgia. Tuition in the states is expensive enough, but having to pay more money on top of that is not ideal for a family. 

Another issue that presents itself is that I don’t qualify for the Hope Scholarship. For those who don’t know, the hope scholarship applies to Georgia Citizens who had a B+ average in high school. My average is above that, but I am not a citizen, so I would have to pay out-of-state tuition and I wouldn’t qualify for the scholarship that pays a majority of it. 

Applying for American schools is also very time-consuming. The process is very long and it takes a ton of effort to even submit them. However, Canadian schools take about five minutes, maybe even less. No essay is required, no letters of recommendation are required, and you submit your application through their website. 

All they require is a $25  fee and your high school transcript for 11th and 12th grade. The process is so easy and quick compared to the U.S. that I only applied to Canadian schools. They don’t even require SAT scores which is a life saver because I suffer from test anxiety, so test-taking is a challenge for me. I have not had to take my SAT’s and I will never take them. 

One issue that is very common when applying to Canadian colleges is that if my transcript is mailed, it will take forever for them to receive it. And then it will take forever for them to make a decision because they do not have the proper documentation. One solution to this problem is that we would email the school and ask for an appropriate email address to send my transcript to. Once they get the transcript and make a decision they will tell you if you got in or not, then they will send you an acceptance package over the mail with details of your acceptance and tell you if you got an acceptance scholarship. 

Overall the process is so much simpler because you submit your application via their website, not common app or noviance, a website that high school seniors use to apply to colleges. They don’t require many documents or essays, and they get back to you fairly quickly. I’m excited to return to Canada and start my secondary education.