Maclean's unveils its 20th anniversary University Rankings

Biggest-ever Universities Rankings package, arriving on newsstands starting Nov. 11, offers everything prospective university students need to know to find the perfect fit

• PLUS: Win a $20,000 scholarship

TORONTO, Nov. 10 /CNW/ - Which schools are doing better than ever? Which have slipped? What are the hot topics in and around Canadian universities in 2010? How can students find the perfect fit for them?

For 20 years, Maclean's has been bringing together parents, presidents, professors and prospective students in a conversation about education. This, its 20th anniversary rankings issue, is its biggest and most ambitious edition ever, covering 120 pages-with 21 stories and complete rankings for 49 schools. It's not only a valuable resource about Canadian universities, but also a personalized guide that answers the many important questions students have on the road to deciding where they belong, where they will thrive, and ultimately, which school they can confidently choose to spend the next four years of their lives.

Often controversial and provocative, this special 20th anniversary University Rankings package includes:

• An interview with Senator Linda Frum, who in 1987 wrote Linda Frum's Guide to Canadian Universities.  Is the advice she gave young adults 20 years ago still valid? What was she wrong about? How does she feel now that her kids are about to head off on their own university careers?

• KD no more: We teach some students how to eat well using just one pot (recipes included!)

• Where the boys aren't: Campuses full of females can mean that men have no trouble finding partners for a party.

• Grammar is gr8: Professors bemoan bad syntax and spelling, and page-long paragraphs that come with the Internet age.

• Where are they now? Maclean's tracks down the cover girls and guys from previous Universities Rankings issues and finds out what they are up to.

• "Too Asian?" A term used in the U.S. to talk about racial imbalance at Ivy league schools is now being whispered on Canadian campuses-by everyone but the students, who speak out loud and clear.

THE RANKINGS
The overall rankings of 49 universities provide a snapshot of universities' relative strengths among peers, with detailed data on each measure, including the reputational survey, student-faculty ratio, and student
financial aid. In addition, Maclean's publishes numbers on entering grades, average class sizes and more, as well as the results of two student surveys to paint a fuller picture of each university.

The rankings are presented in three categories:
Depending on the school's level of research funding and program offerings, each is placed in one of three categories, along with other comparable universities: 

1. The "Primarily Undergraduate" universities are largely focused on undergraduate education, with relatively few graduate programs.
2. Those in the "Comprehensive" category have a significant amount of research activity and a wide range of programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including professional degrees.
3. "Medical Doctoral" universities, in addition to offering undergraduate programs, offer a broad range of Ph.D. programs and research, as well as medical schools.
   
   

THIS YEAR'S TOP-RANKING UNIVERSITIES:

Medical Doctoral category
McGill University took the number-one spot, for the sixth year in a row. The University of Toronto maintained its second-place finish, but Queen's University, which was third place last year, fell to fifth place. The University of British Columbia and the University of Alberta each moved up a spot to 3rd and fourth place respectively.

Comprehensive category
For the third year in a row, Simon Fraser University placed first, while the University of Victoria, like last year, placed second. The University of Waterloo and University of Guelph maintained the same positions as the last two years, third and fourth place respectively. Memorial University placed fifth.

Primarily Undergraduate category
The East Coast maintains its top marks in this category once again. Mount Allison placed first for the fourth year in a row and Acadia University placed in the number-two spot for the second year. The University of Northern B.C. maintained its number-three spot. University of Lethbridge (sixth last year) made it to number four, replacing last year's St. Francis Xavier, which fell to seventh place. Wilfrid Laurier ranked fifth (tied at fourth last year).  Bishop's University continued to make great strides, having jumped to the number-eight spot this year, from last year's 11th, which was a jump from 17th in 2008.

Win a $20,000 scholarship

To celebrate the University Rankings 20th anniversary, Maclean's is giving away $20,000! Grade 12 to third-year university students to enter for a chance to win $20,000 toward their education at www.macleans.ca/scholarship.

Select portions of the rankings are available at www.macleans.ca/rankings.

The full insider's guide to Canadian post-secondary education will be contained in Maclean's special 20th annual University Rankings issue on newsstands beginning Thursday, Nov. 11.

How we do it
Maclean's ranks universities on performance measures in six broad areas: students/classes, faculty, resources, student support, library and reputation.

About Maclean's:
Maclean's is Canada's only national weekly current affairs magazine. Maclean's enlightens, engages and entertains 2.4 million readers with strong investigative reporting and exclusive stories from leading journalists in the fields of international affairs, social issues, national politics, business and culture. Visit www.macleans.ca

For further information:

Louise Leger, [phone],[email protected]