When evaluating the pros and cons of a prospective destination for overseas studies, it's natural to focus on its pros. Although Canada certainly has a lot of these, the lack of cons is perhaps more notable, says Ken Gardner

Take crime for example. Violent crime is in short supply in Canada, where students can openly carry backpacks, cameras and iPods at night with full confidence that they will return home in one piece.

Pollution is minimal in Canada. Even the largest cities enjoy clear blue skies and plenty of safe, fresh drinking water.

Canada is also a good choice for language students who want to study in an environment without a distinct or multiple accents. The phonetics, phonology, morphology, lexicon, and syntax of Canada are similar to that of a national US news broadcast. In short, Canadian English is regular, uniform, and easily understandable.

Although visa policies prevent many students from going to their preferred destinations, the Canadian government places no restrictions on short-term students from many countries, such as: Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Monaco, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, and many more.  Students from these countries can study in any field for up to six months without a visa.

For international students, Canada presents less financial risk than many other destination countries.  Canadian schools have a long, solid history of offering support to students who have paid fees to schools and agencies that closed.  Whenever Canadian language schools have closed, other schools have stepped up to offer programs to the displaced students at no charge.  Canadian schools also have a reputation for helping students who have paid fees to failed agencies.  The most notable situation might have been when Gateway 21, a large Japanese agency, abruptly closed.  Some Canadian schools offered unconditional assistance to Gateway 21 students, including those who had applied to study at other schools in other countries.  Bodwell, ESC, GEOS, LSC. LSI, and VEC are just some of the many schools that have consistently contributed to the Canadian tradition of helping students involved with school or agency closures.

The cost of living in Canada is less expensive than most other English language destinations, thanks to a favorable currency exchange rate.  At the time of writing, a British pound is worth approximately 1.85 Canadian dollars.  The Euro is worth 1.56 Canadian dollars and a US dollar is worth about 1.13 Canadian dollars (but check www.xe.com for current rates.)  Even students who have to travel far to reach Canada find it a bargain for long-term programs.

International students applying for admission to universities encounter few obstacles in Canada. A number of language schools specialize in academic preparation.  Some have counselors who help students apply for university programs.  More and more language schools are establishing articulation agreements with universities.  These enable students to apply to a Canadian university from their home country, without a TOEFL or IELTS score.  The universities accept students on the condition that they will complete a specific level at the language school.  This way, students can plan their entire trip and obtain a single student visa for it, before leaving home.  The Canadian government is fine with these combined programs and frequently gives visas to students accepted to both a language school and a university.  This all makes it very easy for a foreign student to apply for admission to a Canadian university.

With one of the world's most respected systems of education, Canada offers many highly ranked universities, including:

Brock University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Trent University, University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, and McGill University.

For someone looking for few problems, low expenses, and a shorttime to reach their goal, Canada definitely has a lot to offer.

Originally from the province of Alberta, Ken Gardner moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1981. In 1993, he and his wife Yvonne founded Vancouver English Centre. In 1997, he founded Vancouver Language Centre in Guadalajara, Mexico, where local and international students learn English and Spanish