Reply to McGill

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "McGill"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]I live in metro DC, but am from Montreal. I went to an American LAC, but did an MA at McGill.

It's a fantastic school. A very long tradition, and one of the best-known universities in the world. Most people can name one Canadian university easily, and it's usually McGill. That reputation comes from major discoveries, Nobel prizes, a renowned medical school, and others. People are very impressed with my McGill degree; far more so than my liberal arts BA.

It's similar to a larger state school, and in my experience similar to UVA, except in a big and fantastic city. If that's the sort of experience your child is looking for, it can be excellent. Bear in mind that undergrads are typically taught largely by TAs, at least in the first years. I understand that it's also a good value financially.

Montreal is a unique and extraordinary city. It is massively multicultural in a very Canadian way, where immigrant populations keep their identities for generations and don't feel heavy pressure to conform. There are multiple cool neighborhoods, the food is unbelievable and it's a city where people actually live rather than all leaving in the evening. It is increasingly multi-lingual. There is a lot of French pride, and government legislation keeps French up front out of fear of it being lost or assimilated in the face of the dominant English in the rest of Canada and the USA. And it's been transforming into a more residential city, with lots of foreign money coming in. Size-wise it's bigger than you might think, like Philly-sized.

Socially most Americans will find it very liberal, especially socially. Drinking age is 18 in Quebec, and pot is legal and prevalent (and the government runs pot stores). People are much more focused on quality of life and much less focused on material success. It's different.

Climate-wise, um, it's Canada. That means warm temperate summers (highs in the 80s) and cold winters (down to zero is not unusual). It is a much sunnier city than many think, and winter is often sunny and cold, with highs in the 20s. It's warmer than Chicago, for example.

From a DC perspective, it's close enough. It's a 10-hour drive (which is actually very pleasant once you get past NYC) or a 90-minute flight. If you're concerned about travel budgets there's a great regular flight into Burlington which is only about 90 minutes.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics