Montreal has topped a list of 80 cities offering the best overall return on investment for foreign undergraduate students, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
Montreal, with an overall score of 72, easily edged out London and Hong Kong based on a series of 24 criteria in the study issued last week.
The Bank of Communications Sea Turtle Index, as the study is called, praised Montreal for its cultural vibrancy, low crime rate, ease of obtaining a visa and other factors.
The study was broken down into five categories: educational returns, real estate returns, financial returns, work experience and social experience.
Montreal was given a 73.3 for educational returns, with a top mark of 100 given for its range of academic programs but a low mark of 50 for cost of living.
Montreal scored 69.8 in real estate returns, with high marks for the openness of the real estate market but low marks for rental expenses.
The city scored a lower 57.2 for financial returns, as it was given perfect marks for openness to foreign investors but only 17 for real GDP growth.
As for work experience, the city was given 66.4, with a top 100 given for length of visa. But the city earned low marks for average wages and income tax.
The social experience section was the city’s highest ranking category, as Montreal scored a 88, with a perfect 100 given for student mix, quality of cultural attractions and openness and diversity. Montreal also scored a mark of 88 for its low level of crime.
