I considered colleges in the US, UK, and Canada with the dream of attending Oxford. My final college decision surprised even me.

• I considered colleges in three countries: the US, the UK, and Canada — where I'm from.
• To compare each school, I weighed students' experiences and their return on investments.
• Although I dreamed of Oxford for years, I ultimately decided to attend a small school in Canada.

Growing up in Toronto with dreams of attending Oxford, I never imagined I'd attend a small college in a town with just 5,500 people and an hour away from the nearest city.

I explored hundreds of different schools across the UK, the US, and Canada, but throughout high school, I had my sights set on Oxford.

Still, I wanted to broaden my search to ensure I was making the best decision, so the choice of which school to attend and in what country became my primary focus.

With various options and countries to consider, I narrowed my search to three major English-speaking destinations: the US, the UK, and my home country, Canada.

I then needed to identify what I wanted in a university and determine how to compare information effectively across countries. I outlined two main factors I was looking for in a university: good value and a learning environment that suited my needs.

Getting in touch with current students abroad proved difficult

Gathering evidence about student life at colleges around the world was tedious. After examining a variety of schools, it was difficult to find current students' opinions about their experiences on campus.

For example, many students in Canada and the US use social media to share information about their university experiences. You can also find helpful insights if you're willing to ask questions in local university groups.

However, this was less common in the UK. Instead, students at Oxford and the London School of Economics use platforms like The Student Room, which is more like an online forum where I could post questions. I was able to engage with current students from universities I was interested in.

This helped me narrow my search to schools that prioritized more interaction with professors, which became my main criterion across different countries. In Canada and the US, this often meant small liberal arts colleges. In the UK, it included institutions like Oxford and Cambridge, which, despite being large schools, usually offered opportunities for one-on-one or small-group learning with professors.

Finding the school that made the most sense financially was important

People often assume that a school's reputation directly correlates with its investment value, but my research revealed that's only half the picture. I quickly learned that less-reputable colleges could be a better financial option — now and in the future.

For example, while small liberal arts colleges can be costly, they have an excellent return on investment for economics majors, which I was most interested in.

Similarly, while schools like Oxford are reported to have some of the highest post-graduation salaries in the UK, I learned that being an international student would cost me a lot of money. Paying international fees could make my investment in Oxford economically unviable.

Even though Oxford had been my dream school in high school, this financial reality dissuaded me from applying.

I finally chose a small college in Canada

I decided to stay in Canada and enroll at Mount Allison University.

While Mount Allison is far less globally recognized due to its size — especially compared to Oxford — it represented the right choice for me.

By being in a smaller environment, I have had easy access to great professors, and the school funds academic research for undergraduate students in a way that most larger schools do not. All of this came at the right price.

While it was not the conventional choice — and surprised even me — I'm thrilled I made it.