Thoughts on McGill

[Anonymous]

Any thoughts on McGill both good and bad especially from those with kids who currently/recently attended? DC is senior at private school in Northeast and has been accepted and wants to go but we are ambivalent because it is, after all, in another country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts on McGill both good and bad especially from those with kids who currently/recently attended? DC is senior at private school in Northeast and has been accepted and wants to go but we are ambivalent because it is, after all, in another country.

I know a family from New England with two kids there. Kids and parents are very happy. They spend American Thanksgiving weekend in Montreal and celebrate on weekend instead of Thursday.

[Anonymous]

My thought is it’s a university in Quebec.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My thought is it’s a university in Quebec.

So helpful!

[Anonymous]

My understanding is the Harvard of Canada, am excellent school. That being said, we know a girl who was unable to switch programs of study after a year (with excellent grades - straight As) and transfered out to study what she wanted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is the Harvard of Canada, am excellent school. That being said, we know a girl who was unable to switch programs of study after a year (with excellent grades - straight As) and transfered out to study what she wanted.

I've heard that they "track" you so that it may be hard to transfer to another area of study. Not sure if this is 100% correct.

[Anonymous]

1) you apply to a major so very different than US 2) it is more “fair” in respect to they basically admit on test score/gpa so super smart without good activities/sorties/EC kids get in when they get rejected from top 50 schools in the US.

Educations seems to be top notch and families I know are happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1) you apply to a major so very different than US 2) it is more “fair” in respect to they basically admit on test score/gpa so super smart without good activities/sorties/EC kids get in when they get rejected from top 50 schools in the US.

Educations seems to be top notch and families I know are happy.

There are plenty of schools in the US in which you apply to a major.

[Anonymous]

Great school but if her desire is to end up in the US (vs Canada) I think more valuable to build a network here at a less highly ranked school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) you apply to a major so very different than US 2) it is more “fair” in respect to they basically admit on test score/gpa so super smart without good activities/sorties/EC kids get in when they get rejected from top 50 schools in the US.

Educations seems to be top notch and families I know are happy.

There are plenty of schools in the US in which you apply to a major.

I haven't checked for McGill but applying to a major in most US schools is very different from European method where you apply for a specific major. There are no general distribution credits at some of these schools. Just pure major-subject. this can make it hard to transfer elsewhere (even within the univerisity) if that major doesn't work out.

[Anonymous]

Great school, great reputation in both Canada and U.S. My niece graduated from there and now has a dream job with an American company's Paris office.

She and her mom told me that it's somewhat different than many US schools in that students are expected to be fully functioning adults from Day One. There's not a lot of handholding or orientation, and students are expected to solve their own roommate/financial/coursework problems without much input from the school or interference from parents.

[Anonymous]

I have no recent experience, but friends did grad school there and it was a blast to live in Montreal. It’s highly respected in Canada, as are quite a few others, there is no “Harvard” type school which everyone knows as the most prestigious and is a cliche in the movies, pop culture etc for being the best. The top schools in Canada are not that hard to get into if you’re Canadian, you just need good grades, and it’s much more affordable so you get people with big variety of backgrounds. So again - no Ivy League or Harvard comparison. It’s one of the great things about Canada!

[Anonymous]

I went to private school in DC and attended McGull in mid 2000s. A few things:

- ditto what poster said about expecting students to be full adults. This is a reflection of the local culture too. If you are 18 you are a fully functioning adult.
- pro: lots of freedom
- con: lots of freedom
- con: winter hits in October and is around until April. Be prepared gear wise. It is not for the faint of heart.
- pro: winter sports
- pro/con: there is not a strong campus culture like there are in liberal arts schools in dc with dining halls and student hang out areas etc… most students live off campus, eat out/cool their own food. There is a subsection of US kids that reside in the few dorms but even then it is not like the US version where everything is taken care of for you
- pro/con: not a lot of handholding in classes. Self-driven. A lot of entry level classes are huge and attendance is not noted so you need to be accountable to yourself.
- pro: much more diverse and international than most US schools.
- pro: less sheltered so you will come out of the experience probably more mature than kids graduating from liberal arts schools in the US. I do not say this in a snooty way. I just mean in Montreal the attitude you are going to encounter is more like we are all humans just doing our thing. You aren’t going to encounter this sheltered air that the US tends to give college kids of here is a person in the body of an adult but who we still need to be gentle with because they are a kid. No, in Montreal from day 1 it is an even playing ground for all people and no one is special for being in university of whatnot.

[Anonymous]

OP: Thanks for the helpful comments!

[Anonymous]

It’s the equivalent to about a top 30 or 40 school in the US. Not bad!