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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Anyone who went to undergrad care to comment on the experience?  My DC has applied to a few.  Is it basically like going to a large state school with fewer support services?[/quote]

I am Canadian and went to undergrad at McGill. I went to law school in the US. I can't compare my experience to a US undergrad experience because I never studied in the US for undergrad. However, here is my take on the McGill experience. Please note that I graduated in 1993, so I am sure things have changed a lot.

The first year classes are very big and impersonal. It is difficult to get time from the professor. However, there are graduate assistants with office hours who will help with questions and getting through the assignments. First year students often live on campus, but many live in apartments in the community. I never lived on a college campus until I went to law school in the US.

As the courses get more specialized and advanced, the classes get smaller. I remember seminar classes with 8-10 students in my 3rd year.

There is little personal help for things like career advising, social/personal issues. Of course, I studied there in the early nineties, so things could have changed. In general, Canadian universities are mostly funded by provincial governments, so they don't have the funding to provide the extras that are available at US schools.

On the other hand, you have to grow up and fend for yourself; eg, find and rent an apartment in the city, figure out how to find appropriate services, etc.

I enjoyed my undergrad experience, but I didn't have anything to compare it to. As a Canadian, going to a US school was never an option due to the cost. We have moved back to Canada (after living in the US for 15 years) and I expect my kids to study at Canadian universities. I am not worried about it at all. It'll be fine.

[/quote]

Thanks for posting about your experience.  I went to a large state school in the 90s, and it sounds very similar actually.[/quote]

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