Start with your profile
Someone arriving from secondary school, someone on an exchange and someone enrolled in graduate studies will not necessarily have access to the same services. Before comparing universities, note your campus, level of study, status and arrival term.
Next, choose your priorities. Do you mainly need a contact before you leave, a mentor for your first few weeks, specialized advising or housing for a specific period? For each service, find out who it is for, when it becomes available, how to register and what fees may apply.
The official information presented here was consulted on November 6, 2026. Examples associated with a particular start date are not commitments for a later start date. This comparison does not measure student satisfaction or actual wait times for accessing services.
Before you leave and when you arrive
At McGill, admitted international students are directed to a pre-arrival guide that covers, among other things, immigration documents, insurance, housing and arrival. It is a starting point for organizing your questions, but the guide does not mean that the university will complete the procedures for you.
At Université Laval, a half-day orientation session is mandatory for new international students at the beginning of the fall and winter terms. The service also offers free individual appointments for integration. An admitted student who has not started their studies can access it within 30 days before their first term. Questions about immigration procedures are handled through a separate consultation.
At UBC Vancouver, the Jump Start orientation shows why it is important to consider both the intended audience and the fees. The announced edition, scheduled for September 2 to 4, 2026, was designed for students arriving directly from secondary school and excluded transfer students; other eligibility details could apply. The announced fees were CAD 75 plus tax, with an additional CAD 276 plus tax for meals and early move-in for participants living in residence.
These dates and amounts concern a past announcement, not a promise for another start date. Before planning your travel around an orientation activity, confirm its conditions, schedule and fees for your term.
Mentoring: finding an initial contact
A student mentor can share their experience and direct you to appropriate resources. To compare the different options, ask whether registration is required, when contact begins and how long support is offered.
| Institution | Documented service and intended audience | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| McGill | The New Student Buddy Program pairs new students with a trained mentor. | It welcomes new undergraduate and graduate students from Canada and abroad. |
| Université Laval | The buddy program is for new international students in regular programs or on exchange. | Matches are made in the fall and winter; preferences depend, among other things, on availability. |
| University of Ottawa | The Regional Mentoring Centre is primarily for people in their first year or entering the institution. | It supports, among other things, academic, social and cultural adjustment. |
These services are not necessarily interchangeable. Being paired with another student can help you find your way around, while a specialized question may require a different contact. Ask whom to contact if your needs go beyond mentoring.
Housing: a guarantee is not a preference
A residence guarantee may be subject to several cumulative conditions. It does not automatically mean that all students are eligible or that they will get the room they prefer. The examples below illustrate three arrangements; they do not describe the full range of housing available at all four universities.
| Institution | Documented arrangement | Important conditions and limitations |
|---|---|---|
| McGill | Guarantee for certain newly admitted undergraduate students. | Be 22 years old or younger as of September 1, be starting your first year of university studies, accept the offer by the deadline, and pay the residence deposit and application fee on time. |
| University of Ottawa | Guarantee listed for certain new full-time international students in fall 2026, in an undergraduate program or graduate diploma. | Conditions included, among other things, a provincial attestation letter, accepting the offer and paying deposits by the deadlines, submitting a housing application, and not requesting a 4-month residence contract. Room preferences were not guaranteed. |
| Université Laval | A variable, limited number of rooms reserved each term for full-time exchange students. | This allocation does not guarantee a place for every applicant: after submitting the form, you must wait for an offer. |
McGill’s FAQ does not link the guarantee cited to a specific start date: confirm the conditions for yours. At Ottawa, the criteria presented apply specifically to fall 2026; do not assume they apply to a later term.
Before paying, ask for confirmation of your eligibility, the contract length, the total cost and the cancellation conditions. Keep a backup option until your housing is confirmed.
Specialized advising: finding the right service
A mentor, an orientation team and a specialized adviser do not necessarily have the same role. For questions about immigration or insurance, ask which service handles your situation rather than relying only on another student’s experience.
At UBC Vancouver, International Student Advising advisers are regulated and can help with immigration questions. However, the university states that they cannot review immigration applications in their entirety or influence processing times. The service does not answer questions from prospective students; you should not assume that its arrangements are identical at the Okanagan campus.
The University of Ottawa lists resources for immigration, insurance, mentoring and languages. At each institution, also ask how to access mental health support or accommodation measures, in which language, and from what point. The presence of a service in a directory is not enough to establish the wait time for an appointment.
Universities and programs
These StudyCanada profiles let you continue exploring the institutions. The services presented in this article are student services, not study programs; the presence of a profile does not guarantee admission or the conditions for a future start date.
- McGill University: a place to explore pre-arrival preparation and mentoring available to new students at several levels of study.
- Université Laval: an example of orientation and buddy services for international students, as well as an exchange residence application process.
- The University of British Columbia: the orientation and advising examples in this guide concern Vancouver; explore Okanagan services separately.
- University of Ottawa: a point of comparison for regional mentoring, the international student directory and residence conditions specific to a particular start date.
When choosing a program, also review its content and official application requirements. An interesting service does not replace the need for the program to fit your plans.
Your decision-making guide
Identify three essential needs and ask each university the same questions: Am I eligible based on my profile? When can I access the service? What steps do I need to take, and what is the cost?
| Priority | Information to keep | Status of the answer |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation and orientation | Contact, access date, registration and any fees | Confirmed, subject to conditions or needs clarification |
| Mentoring and advising | Intended audience, the contact’s role and appointment arrangements | Confirmed, subject to conditions or needs clarification |
| Housing | Criteria, deadlines, contract length and cost | Confirmed, subject to conditions or needs clarification |
Keep the responses and deadlines in one document. If an essential point remains subject to conditions, prepare another option before making a financial commitment. The most relevant support is not necessarily the one with the longest list of services: it is the one whose terms you understand and that meets your needs.