How is McGill?

Anonymous
If you are used to French universities, than McGill will feel very familiar in design and operation. It is a big school (40000 student), and it can be a struggle to sign up for required classes. There will be minimal guidance, and your kid will need to find an apartment after the first year. Most of the students are from the area and live at home. Also, the grading is not kind (lots of C's and low B's)
Anonymous
You haven't mentioned what year your DC is in currently. I would start investigating GPA and standardized test requirements. Don't rely on DCUM, go to their website and start making a list.
Anonymous
Two words: Budget cuts
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:You haven't mentioned what year your DC is in currently. I would start investigating GPA and standardized test requirements. Don't rely on DCUM, go to their website and start making a list.


Agree that the website is the best place for those facts, but do not completely discount DCUM for some good anecdotal advice too.
Anonymous
to OP-- make sure DC has has good SAT and ACT scores: McGill will be more focused on those as well, check on requirements for SAT II Subject tests and AP exams-- those may vary by program. Personally visiting MCGill recently, it felt overwhelming in size, concrete campus which felt like a large state school with few students living in on campus housing, also, even having lived in new england my entire life, I found montreal to be particularly cold and depressing. It may be a perfect fit for some kids, but definitely give it a visit. Check out St Andrews in Scotland as well, international fees are quite low, and while Brexit is a possibility, EU fees are close to 0 currently.
Anonymous
My DD attends McGill and loves it. As a parent, I do too.

Campus wise, McGill reminds me of Middlebury's buildings set onto Georgetown's campus. There are lots of grey stone buildings - some very old, some modern. The campus itself is distinct from the city - one leaves the city and enters the campus (vs GWU or NYU, where the campus is criss-crossed with streets). There is a nice big grassy quad where there are student events. Including a hockey rink during the winter. When we did our first visit, I was not charmed at all by the campus but my daughter immediately thought it was very cool (and still does). It reminds me of that passage in the book Crazy U where the dad and son go look at the dorm building and dad thinks it's depressing, but the kid is over the moon at how awesome it is. I bit my tongue when we first visited b/c at the end of the day, it's our kids that need to like where they are going to be.

My daughter absolutely loves Montreal - especially the funky neighborhoods, like the Plateau and Mile End. And the area down towards Concordia. She is forever discovering new cute cafes to study in. She almost never goes to the commercial center (boring) or the Old Port (touristy). There is always something going on in Montreal - concerts, art installations, festivals, etc.

French language skills are not an issue. My daughter reports that there are many American kids at McGill who never studied French.

McGill is not a team-sports-oriented school. It does have a big state school feel in terms of the bureaucracy. There's no coddling of kids. But a lot of parents (myself included) like that feature, it helps the kids learn to be very independent, navigate the system, and advocate for themselves. "McGill grows them up quick" is one saying I've heard.

The off-campus housing is phenomenal, not a downside at all. Housing is very cheap, and my daughter's current apartment is beautiful. There are tons of students living a stone's throw away, my daughter and her friends get together frequently at each other's apartments for dinners, house parties, etc. The lifestyle is more of that of a young professional than a student. Her first year she lived in the dorm, which helped her make friends.

Even though Canada and the US are similar in many ways, Canada is still a very different country, with different priorities and issues. Living abroad has been educational and enlightening for my daughter. Having said that, "abroad" is a 1 hr 20 min flight from DC. Easy for her to come home, easy for us to visit.

I was worried about the winter but it actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The kids still go out even when it's like 20 below, everyone just gets and wears Montreal-appropriate gear. The North Face jackets we wear in DC don't cut it -- the kids get seriously heavy-duty, hood-to-knees type coats. My advice, don't do a college visit anytime November through March, being dumped into the freezing weather is going to be way too shocking and it will definitely turn you off from the school. Remember, the kids have months to adjust to the increasingly colder weather. They don't go from 50 to 10 degrees overnight.

The student body is diverse and international.

Lastly, the tuition is incredibly reasonable.

The downsides? There's a bit of additional paperwork/hassle to get going - your kid will need to get a Canadian and Quebecian student visa, and also, you'll need to set up a Canadian bank account and convert US dollars to CA dollars. However, there's a very supportive int'l parent community and everyone shares tips on how to manage the US-Canadian issues. Also, the student health care is not the best, so if your kid has underlying health issues that need to be managed, McGill is probably not the best place for them.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I taught at McGill several years ago. The departments vary quite a bit: architecture, music, and sciences are the real strengths on campus; the visual arts and humanities less so. At the time, it was a bit of a sink or swim kind of place. Lots of classes are taught in lecture format. For students who need more support than that, it's probably not ideal, but if your student is independent and self-motivated, it's a great option.

It’s a sink or swim in numerous US colleges, especially when the courses are being taught by early 20’s TA’s.
Anonymous
Parisian friend’s American-born French-educated daughter is there now. Enjoying the experience, found food expensive, ended up with almost exclusively European friends (which was not her goal). Some adjustment re what North American (vs French) expectation are wrt essays, but that shouldn’t be an issue for your DC.

WRT grad admissions in the US, I think a McGill undergrad degrees is treated like a degree from top tier public flagship in the US would be. There is greater specialization earlier vs many American colleges. 3 year degrees (in some cases/under some circumstances) also save parents $. Some degrees (business, law) can be started earlier than in the US. Both of those programs seem oriented toward “global” markets (not just Canadian, not US so much).

Undergrad admissions standards are clear/straightforward and the application process is simple (last time I looked: self-reported grades, official scores. No recs or essays. Due mid-Jan.)
Anonymous
New poster here in a similar situation, French family recently moved here. Are there good back-up choices in the Quebec region if your DC may not have the grade or SAT score to get into McGill?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:A spectacular, impressive university that produces cool, sophisticated graduates who have actually undergone a maturing process. Not quite as warm and fuzzy as some US schools but really a strong and solid place.

Which colleges are warm and fuzzy?
A lot of college kids tell me they miss their high school years as college feels like online studies with little interaction with the professor or the TA.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A spectacular, impressive university that produces cool, sophisticated graduates who have actually undergone a maturing process. Not quite as warm and fuzzy as some US schools but really a strong and solid place.

Which colleges are warm and fuzzy?
A lot of college kids tell me they miss their high school years as college feels like online studies with little interaction with the professor or the TA.


Then they should have gone to a LAC where they would never be taught by a TA.....completely different experience from large state U.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:New poster here in a similar situation, French family recently moved here. Are there good back-up choices in the Quebec region if your DC may not have the grade or SAT score to get into McGill?


Yes, for a French speaker, Montreal university.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:New poster here in a similar situation, French family recently moved here. Are there good back-up choices in the Quebec region if your DC may not have the grade or SAT score to get into McGill?


Yes, for a French speaker, Montreal university.


Or Laval
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