On Fri, 30 Jun 1995, Dick Tuthill wrote:
 
>         I don't want to get into the US / Canadian thing,  but perhaps I
> can make a couple of observations and then beat a hasty retreat.   A lot of
> schools are very close to the border.   Their natural geographic "sphere of
> influence" (if that is the correct phrase) might be inferred to include
> large parts of Canada.   What I think the test should be,  however,  is how
> many non-hockey playing Canadians do those schools enroll?   Not many,  I
> suspect.   So let's be up-front.   The sphere of influence is for recruiting
> only and has to do with proximity of the schools to the players' homes.
 
I don't want to get too far off the hockey content of this list, but the
point being made above ignores a basic fact: the cost of a university
education is much higher in the US than in Canada, so that for a family
for which this must be a consideration (all but the rich) scholarship
opportunities would dictate whether a Canadian would even consider a US
school.  When I first moved to Alberta it surprised me how large a
percentage of the student body at the University of Alberta (a school
comparable in size to BU) were from the province.  Canadians tend to go
to school much closer to home for the same reasons why many go to state
rather than private schools.  This difference was marked enough before
the value of the Canadian dollar took a nosedive a couple of years ago.
 
Arthur Berman [log in to unmask]
GO BU!!! NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!
GO GOLDEN BEARS!!!