<p>I'm a high school sophomore looking at colleges now, and all of the outstanding private schools here in America are SO expensive. I know that McGill has just as much a reputation as many American schools and is far less expensive, so I am very interested. I'd like to apply to the management school, but my problem is that my school doesn't offer Pre-Calculus... rather, it offers "mathematical analysis", which is pre-calculus mixed with extra trigonometry. Would this make me illegible for acceptance into the program? Also, are solid 700s on each SAT I and a 4.0 average good enough to pretty much guarantee a spot?</p>
<p>@shannoqr: While McGill is no longer a bargain for international students, it is still a great experience. I am a Desautels alum. Consider the sources.</p>
<p>The reason why I’m thinking about it is because it’s cheaper than most American colleges. I can’t pay for college and we don’t qualify for financial aid (dad has a small business) so it’s tough. I read on ************** that it’s less than $20,000 for out-of-state students to attend. However, I also hear that it can get as high as $30,000 for certain areas of study. Even if it is $30,000, it’s still a lot cheaper than the $40,000 at private American universities, which, might I add, have far more expensive off-campus housing than Montreal. It’s also better than the alternative, which is a C+ rate state school, and has a very good international reputation. In other words it’s a compromise: better name and recognition than American state schools, and at least $40,000 cheaper than American schools over the course of 4 years.</p>
<p>shannoqr, obviously you have done your homework. $30k+ is still a lot less than $58k+ at Stanford or Yale if you don’t have a chance at the FA or very little chance to get in these super competitive schools. You should have a very good prospect with 700+ SAT and 4.0 GPA, those are pretty much all that they use to assess admission application. I don’t know whether you will have a problem with the math requirement you mentioned, you should call them to get a better idea.</p>
<p>I’m a she, actually I do appreciate the comments, I like getting a perspective from every angle. However, from what I’ve read McGill is also a bargain for American students… at the most expensive cost for McGill, it still remains $10,000 less per year compared to the average Ivy. I suppose that you are correct in the sense that it’d be quite a downfall to sacrifice small class sizes, but it seems as if it doesn’t lack in too many other aspects. It isn’t Harvard, but I think that that’s a good thing. I’d much rather be in company of the stereotypically-friendly Canadians as opposed to the elitists of many Ivies. @ttparent: Thanks! I do tons of research for every school I’m interested in. My mom thinks that it should be okay, seeing as I’ll be taking calculus the next year and I’ll get my guidance counselor to write a note saying that the class is just advanced pre-calc. I’ll email the admissions office anyways just to check and see.
Another question: Do the people at McGill like Americans? Like, would I feel left out and discriminated against from being an American?</p>
<p>Shannoqr, my D, an American, is in her first year at McGill and loving it. She never took precalculus, but did take calculus AB her jr year and calc BC her senior year. Apparently the lack of a precalc class was a not a problem for her acceptance. I would think taking an actual calculus class more than fulfills the pre-calc requirement, but you can always check with McGill to confirm.</p>
<p>My D hasn’t experienced any problems whatsoever being an American at McGill! As TomofBoston points out, there are quite a few Americans at McGill, as well as students from all over the world. It’s a very diverse, and welcoming place.</p>
<p>Yes, the classes are large, but that is typical of any large public university and not unique to McGill by any means. My D has had no problems with the class size, but small class size was not an important factor in her choice of university. You need to decide what matters most to you and go from there.</p>
<p>A great thing about McGill is the application process is so easy – no essays, no letters of recommendation, just fill out the app, pay the fee and send your transcripts and test scores. Ultimately, you can only choose from the schools to which you’ve been accepted, so try and give yourself as many options as possible. And who knows what you’ll be thinking 2 years from now!</p>
<p>@ENsMom: Thank you so much for the advice! Do you know which school she applied to? The one that I am interested in is the management one, which requires pre-calc, but if i can get away with just good old regular calculus that would be great. I’m glad to hear that she loves McGill, I’m likely going to go up to the campus sometime during the summer to see it… my parents have been wanting to visit Montreal for some time anyway. :)</p>
<p>Management was one of the few she didn’t apply to! She applied and was accepted to Science, Arts & Science, and Arts. I know Science and Arts & Science each definitely had a precalc requirement, can’t recall for Arts. The app for McGill allows you to apply to 2 faculties, but she decided to apply to a third so submitted a second app.</p>
<p>We first visited McGill the summer after my D’s sophomore year as well. We had a great time getting to know the city of Montreal. Of course, we have been back a few times since ;)</p>
<p>Thank you, ENsMom! I just discovered that the BA degree’s tuition is less than $20,000 for international students, while the Bachelor of Commerce that I originally wanted was $30,000. Just wondering: is it easier to get into the Arts than it is management or any of the others? I know it’s the biggest… is it less competitive? I get that the science ones are all by far the hardest.</p>
<p>Basically, look at the letter grade in the middle column to figure out approximate level of competitiveness. The easiest to get in are Agriculture/Environmental Science/Nutrition, which I believe is because those schools are located in MacDonald Campus in the suburb of Montreal away from downtown. Certain programs cost less because they are regulated and the cost are set by the Quebec government. In general, the more professional programs like Management/Engineering/Science are deregulated and cost more for international students. Except the Arts&Science program is not deregulated and cost less due to I believe the Arts component of the program and my theory is that this program is very competitive because of the reasonable cost while still offer opportunity to study the more practical areas in Science.</p>
<p>Thanks, ttparent, that source is very useful! Does anyone know if it strengthens your application to send in essays/recommendations/whatnot in spite of them not being required?</p>
<p>shannoqr, it has been said that essays and recommendations do not matter. But then I heard an unsubstantiated rumour that if you fill out the scholarship form (which requires an essay and questions related to what you might have done outside classes, aka extra curricular activities), it may have some positive effect on your chance. And you will also be entered for scholarship consideration, although it is very difficult and highly unlikely for an international student to get a scholarship.</p>
<p>So basically, do not send essays and/or teacher recommendations but look into filling out that online scholarship form if you are up to cobble up another essay and filling out more info which in the end may or may not have any effect.</p>
<p>Shannoqr, the scholarship application is a separate application to which you are given a link after you submit the regular app. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to complete it, and it does give you an opportunity to tell McGill more about yourself. FWIW, my D did not complete it and did receive the 1 yr entrance scholarship.</p>
<p>I am not sure where in the US you live, but McGill admissions reps visit most of the major cities in the US each fall. It’s a good opportunity to meet the admissions rep for your region face-to-face and ask any questions you might have. Also gives them a chance to meet you! Here is the link for this year’s schedule - looks like their visits to the US have already finished for this year, but you have a couple more years to go :)</p>
<p>From the looks of it they visited my local public school’s college fair, but at the time I wasn’t even thinking about it! Ouch… well, at least I can look out for it next time! And you’re right, it wouldn’t hurt to fill out the application, especially if I can get some money out of it. Was there some special reason why your daughter got a scholarship or was it random? Also, I see that 60% of the school is girls. Any idea if it’s more difficult for a girl to get in because of this or does it just show that there’s not a whole lot of discrimination?</p>
<p>It’s my understanding Canadian universities don’t look at race, gender, income, etc. when deciding whether or not to admit an applicant, so I’m pretty certain the fact that you’re female won’t work against you! </p>
<p>The 1 year entrance scholarship my D received isn’t awarded at random, but is based on your academics (GPA, test scores, etc.). All applicants are considered for this scholarship without a separate application – the separate scholarship application is for the renewable scholarship, which you will receive all 4 years you attend McGill, as long as you maintain certain criteria, such as full-time student status, etc.</p>
<p>shanno, there are many excellent Canadian universities. You might want to have a look at others, in addition to McGill, especially if you’re planning a visit.</p>
<p>@trekslxchick: Thanks, very helpful. @alwaysamom: I know, I wish that I could visit them all but McGill’s the only one that’s within driving distance (planning on visiting other schools in the northeast on the way up). I won’t count them out though when the time comes to apply!</p>
I do appreciate the comments, I like getting a perspective from every angle. However, from what I’ve read McGill is also a bargain for American students… at the most expensive cost for McGill, it still remains $10,000 less per year compared to the average Ivy. I suppose that you are correct in the sense that it’d be quite a downfall to sacrifice small class sizes, but it seems as if it doesn’t lack in too many other aspects. It isn’t Harvard, but I think that that’s a good thing. I’d much rather be in company of the stereotypically-friendly Canadians as opposed to the elitists of many Ivies.
I won’t count them out though when the time comes to apply!</p>