Perhaps one of the most overlooked issues when parents vision their children studying overseas is that their children should be studying high school first in Canada (minimum a year) before attending University or College. Increasingly more we are seeing universities and colleges become more competitive and making it very difficult for students who have studied in their home country to compete with students who have graduated in Canada and more specifically for this article: Ontario.

Many families have expectations of having their children attend Universities around the world or more specifically attend a Canadian University. The ideal route is for your child to attend an Ontario high school, more specifically a private boarding school like Merrick Preparatory School that offers the OSSD, like all Ontario schools do, but can give you the peace of mind that your child is living in a structured, supportive and safe environment.

The reason why it’s the ideal route is because Universities have more spaces reserved for students that are within the country rather than students who are studying outside of the country.

Furthermore, students are better prepared linguistically when studying first at Canadian high school as they are surrounded by first language speakers. It helps students also, to understand the education system better and to know what is expected from them to be successful.

This is also true for scholarships availability. Generally, students who are studying within the country have a better chance of receiving scholarships as the competition is typically not as fierce.

As you can see there are endless benefits of studying high school in Canada prior to university. It is often used a as pathway to immigration in Canada. Studying high school prior will only make that step easier and will open doors that are not as accessible if you were applying to university from outside of Canada.

The next question for parents often is which type of school their son or daughter should attend. So, let’s look at some of the major benefits of studying high school in Canada but more specifically a Preparatory school like Merrick Prep!

Merrick Prep students will have a better understanding of the education style and pathological approach that students in Ontario develop compared to those who are just entering University from studying in another country.  Merrick Prep also focuses a lot on character development. Our students are more independent, more confident, and more resilience compared to other students. These traits are strengthened by our amazing support programs we offer at MPS.  

Preparatory schools are slightly different than generic private schools. Prep schools typically have a more rigorous academically focused curriculum. Take for example at MPS; our classes are typically 35-40 hours longer (per semester) than an average class in other schools. This allows our students to dive much deeper into the class materials and build strong fundamentals prior to the challenges of university. Furthermore, the curriculum of each course is completely covered, sometimes more than that, so when a student enters university, they don’t have to catch up to understand the professors’ teachings.
Overall students graduating from a preparatory private school are much better prepared for their first-year university.

Prep schools like MPS typically have a very supportive environment. We allow students to grow in a safe environment. Students often make mistakes, but we give them the tools to overcome their mistakes and learn from them supported by our team of qualified guidance specialists.  Our guidance specialists work hand in hand with our Academic success advisors and ensure students are not only prepared academically but also given all the tools needed to be successful in life. Prep students learn how to manage their time better, prioritize, students learn how to budget, how to organize their days, thrive for the best without giving up and ultimately becoming more independent. Our students live in their dorm rooms with only one other student, so they are essentially forced to learn how to live with other people (typically two Nationalities per room). They learn how to look after themselves (laundry, scheduling etc.) but with the support of a highly skilled Residential Life team. Prep schools are the place for students   to successfully  transitioning from the safety of home and parents to an independent, self – efficient and confident university student.