Ask a McGill Alumnus

Colleges and Universities A-Z McGill University
61

<p>Based on these last months of reading,
The thing about Canadian Universities is that they are all public and very few have the ‘prestige’ thing going in comparison to the US universities hierarchy of rankings and such.
Nevertheless, Mcgill is top ranked in Canada and anyone with any knowledge of Canadian education should know so (regarding your ‘famous’/‘known’ doubt). If you read about Tomofboston’s post on his background, you’ll see it actually played in his favor.</p>

<p>Regarding admission percentage issue, let’s not forget that the Ivy League are not only the top universities in USA, but also in the world because of their prestige and also exclusivity. Mcgill, though a top university in Canada, obviously cannot be put against Ivies. But you should remember that Mcgill is still a public university and it’s not supposed to be exclusive like the private Ivies.</p>

<p>Regarding your interest in medical field, Mcgill is of the best (usually tied with U of Toronto) in the Health Sciences. But med school is a totally different thing. Since you enjoy the luck of being from the US, I recommend simply aiming for med school there. US med schools are simply unbeatable IMO.</p>

62

<p>How does McGill compare, specifically, with U of Toronto in aspects of communication (journalism, etc) and film? How about US/Canadian relations (I know it’s been brushed on before, but more comparing between the two schools - is one more friendly to US kids)</p>

<p>I heard U of T doesn’t have a lot of school spirit. What about McGill?</p>

<p>Which will be easier to find a job after (in the US, also Canada)?</p>

<p>Thank you! I love these two schools and am visiting them this spring/summer. I just wanted to find out some information before I go!
Thanks</p>

63

<p>Hey Tomo, I predict a bit of a rocky 2nd semester Jr Year
Unweighted GPA 3.7 but SAT 2240 with 3 750+ subject tests
Do I still have a chance???</p>

64

<p>Wow! A lot of questions!</p>

<p>@coffeecup</p>

<p>I responded to your question re: acceptance rate in another thread, at least that is my take on it:
A reason for the relatively high acceptance rate is that about half of McGill’s undergraduates are from Quebec. All Quebec students pass through the CEGEP system. CEGEP’s are an entirely separate level of education after high school. (Quebec students graduate high school after grade 11!) The curriculum and grading standards are very standardiized in all CEGEP’s both French and English. I believe McGill computes something called the “R” score for each CEGEP student. If the student does not have a certain R score, they know not even to bother to apply to McGill.
There is another English university in Montreal, Concordia University, and the joke is that Concordia exists to educate English Quebecers who are not eligible for McGill! This is not entirely true. McGill does not publish separate acceptance rates for American and other international students but I imagine they would be a lot lower. </p>

<p>The weather in Montreal can be a con but it can also be an “experience”. If you hate the cold and snow, it will be a problem! McGill is entirely into numbers. Good AP test scores can definitely help your application. EC’s are irrelevant and not even on the application. This is a link to MINIMUM GPA and test scores from previous years:
[Admissions</a> standards for previous years](<a href=“http://www.mcgill.ca/counsellors/us-counsellors/admissionsstandards/]Admissions”>http://www.mcgill.ca/counsellors/us-counsellors/admissionsstandards/) Meeting the minima in no way guarantees admission. </p>

<p>McGill is really the only Canadian school known in the US outside of academia. Historically, 10% of students come from the US. If applying for admission to an American graduate or professional school, including medicine, a McGill degree will be fully recognized for what it is. Most employers would also recognize you as a graduate of a leading university. Many employers will be attracted to someone who thought “outside the box” in choosing a university: you did not go somewhere where half your high school went. It shows a sign of maturity and independence. By the way, you need to develop independence very quickly at McGill. </p>

<p>As for what McGill offers, you should request printed information through their website and explore the different faculties and programs on the website: [McGill</a> University](<a href=“http://www.mcgill.ca%5DMcGill”>http://www.mcgill.ca). You can discuss this with your high school counselor. Like most schools, printed info is being downsized and on line info is being increased. Science, especially life sciences, and engineering have always been the hardest to get into. If you are interested in premed, life sciences would be a common, but not the only, route to that. </p>

<p>@bluesharpies</p>

<p>The University of Toronto is the number 2 school in Canada but is virtually unknown in the US outside of academia. McGill does not offer journalism or film. I am not sure if U of T does either. There is a communications program at McGill but I am unfamiliar with it. There is a large American student body at McGill, 2400 students I believe. U of T has only a few hundred American students despite being twice the size of McGill. American students are quite comfortable at McGill and there is no “discrimination”. If you are a Rush Limbaugh conservative and feel that Sarah Palin should be the next president and you express these views, you may have problems! Then again, such views would not be popular on most US campuses. </p>

<p>McGill school spirit is what you make it. Intercollegiate athletics exist but are not a source of school spirit at any Canadian school. McGill students identify with their Faculty (school) and each faculty has an active Undergraduate Society. </p>

<p>By way of size, the main campus of U of T is the largest campus in North America, 46,000 full time students! In terms of city choice, Montreal definitely. Toronto is Chicago with a low crime rate. But I am biased. </p>

<p>@jayjay</p>

<p>I don’t like chancing people but your SAT’s are great and GPA not too bad.</p>

65

<p>Hi I’m an American student wanting to apply to McGill. I’ve lived in Montreal for 4 years in elementary school (yeah a long time ago I know) and I occasionally visit. I’ve taken french classes both in and out of school; during high school I’ve been taking french classes for all 3 years and consistently gotten straight A’s in that class [but due to a scheduling problem I could only get into french 1 in freshman year]. I also have a little brother who was born in Quebec. Seems like a stretch but could any of those improve my chances? I also play girl’s lacrosse but I’ve heard that McGill doesnt really look at extracurrilars.</p>

<p>I remember seeing somewhere on the website that McGill offers both marketing and marine biology but I just want to confirm that. Are those courses hard to get into? Also, does McGill look more into unweighted or weighted gpa?</p>

<p>And lastly, McGill has a reputation for being stingy on scholarships. I really need one, so I’d like more information on that.</p>

<p>Thanks :D</p>

66

<p>Your past experiences in Montreal and the fact that you have a certain proficiency in French would help you in adapting to McGill. I don’t believe that it would factor into the admission decision though. EC’s are irrelevant for admission and there is not even a place to enter them on the application.</p>

<p>Marketing is offered in the Desautels Faculty and Marine Biology is offered in the Science Faculty. Desautels is easier to get into than Biology I would say. You have an interesting split in interests with those two potential majors. Sorry, I am not sure about W and UW gpa. Anyone else know?</p>

<p>As for financial aid, are you a Canadian or American citizen or do you have dual citizenship? That is important. Americans are eligible for all merit based scholarships offered by McGill. Some are awarded automatically to qualified applicants, others require a separate application. EC’s and recommendations ARE required for these major scholarships!!! Stafford Loans can also be used at McGill. </p>

<p>If you are a Canadian or dual citizen, your tuition is much lower and you are eligible to apply for external Canadian government funding.</p>

67

<p>I’m an American :confused:
How about need-based scholarships? How do those work at McGill?
Would it be possible to double major in both marketing and marine biology if they are in separate faculties? </p>

<p>haha this is a bit off topic but how is the ‘alternative’ scene at McGill? What I’m wondering is if the majority of students are the preppy type. I wouldn’t really mind as my current hs is mostly either nerds or preppy people, but when I lived in Montreal I remember a larger goth/alternative scene than in southern california hahah.</p>

68

<p>Need based financial aid at McGill and other Canadian schools is limited to Stafford loans. Pell grants and state issued grants cannot be used in Canada. Canada does not subsidize international students. It is the same in the US, international students are not eligible for Pell grants or Stafford loans here. </p>

<p>Double majors in two different faculties are difficult to build but doable. The new Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree, eases this process but to double major in Management and Science might be a stretch.</p>

<p>As for the alternative scene in Montreal today, can’t really comment. As I said before, McGill is a do your own thing school and no single “type” predominates.</p>

69

<p>Speaking of Double majoring, how difficult would it be to double major in the same faculty? (Materials and Mechanical Engineering)</p>

70

<p>Double majoring or a variation on it should be easy within the same faculty, but check the Fac of Eng website.</p>

71

<p>Is McGill admission based solely on numbers??? If an applicant is more than qualified number wise, they will get in???</p>

72

<p>McGill undergraduate admission is based solely on numbers, merit scholarships require recs and EC’s. The issue is what those numbers will be for a given year and program. Based on the number of applications received per program, I believe McGill then backs into the number of admissions offers to make in order to get the expected yield of students. Clearly admissable applicants will get acceptances and clearly inadmissable applicants will get rejections early on. Once the numbers are crunched for all applicants by program, the cutoffs are determined and the offers/rejections go out. </p>

<p>In short, applicants don’t know what the cutoff will be or what the GPA/Test score tradeoff might be.</p>

73

<p>So I haven’t read this entire thread, but I am a recent McGill Science graduate from the US and if anyone has any further questions I will try and offer my perspective in addition to tomofboston’s.</p>

74

<p>Double majoring is easy enough to set up on paper, however the actual task of succeeding is very difficult, especially for engineering. Currently I know two brilliant kids in engineering who are in their fifth year, because the program is designed that way. This is also difficult to do in science, because the major programs require a large number of credits, 60-70+. I believe double majoring and double minoring is most common in the faculty of arts, because the major requirements are more accommodating for this. In fact, I didn’t know many students in science or engineering that even had a minor because of the level of difficulty and the vast requirements, but thats just me. If you feel you can handle it I would talk to advisors, as they know how frequently its been done.</p>

75

<p>Thanks klnmop! When did you graduate? I graduated in 1999 and already feel like a bit of a relic at 32 yo! In 1999 almost no one had cell phones, the internet was just taling off and nothing was online! Ah, the good old paleolithic period! LOL</p>

<p>It would be good to have a new perspective in this thread. I was Management and requirements/experiences at McGill vary so much by faculty. I started this thread to offer a perspective on life at McGill in general, and life in Montreal. Given the time of year now, most of the questions here are related to chancing and specifics I do not feel comfortable answering.</p>

76

<p>Actually I just graduated in 2009. Although I may have more of a fresh take on the atmosphere, it will be interesting to see how if and how things have changed over the past 10 years. Somehow, knowing the type of students, faculty, administration, and the city, i don’t think much has changed in terms of general student life. And you you are right about the varying experiences by faculty. For instance, management kids can spend their entire career in bronfman, and while you moast definitley have a group of friends outside management, it is a tight knit and competitive group.</p>

<p>I’m happy to answer any questions, chances questions are difficult because getting someones hopes up isnt fun, but like you siad, it is that time of year… i did the same thing when i was applying.</p>

<p>For anyone who reads this, very briefly, McGill is a very challenging school, however it is possible to 4.0 if you work hard. When I came i didn’t know anyone in montreal, but i met good friends fast and grew up fast. Most importantly, if I were to do it again I would definitely go to McGill again… just maybe study a bit harder.</p>

77

<p>So how much of a challenge is it at Mc.Gill, if you know how to speak a bit of french but still not quite fluent enough for daily conversation. I’m sure there will be french students who feel the same way about English. Its an english school but Do people prefer one language over another? Obviously you will pick up on the language fast but there may be still an “american” accent. Is there ever a problem when you meet someone who knows only french?</p>

78

<p>I applied to Toronto, McGill, and Queen’s and I’m from the U.S. How difficult is it to get into those schools? I heard if you come from the U.S, it is easier to get in.</p>

79

<p>klmnop, what science did you major in? I plan to be a science major- probably something involving chemistry or maybe bio. I heard it’s extremely difficult. I’m afraid that if i do get into Mcgill, I won’t be able to keep up as I wouldn’t consider myself an “excellent” student.</p>

80

<p>@coffeecup2945
It is possible to go through four years at McGill in a complete “English bubble”. A knowledge of French is in no way required. Even in the city (downtown and west end at least), virtually everyone speaks English. If you head east, St. Denis St. clubs for example, you may have some awkward encounters without any French. There are English hospitals fo example and most services are available in English.<br>
I wouldn’t say it is easy to “pick up the language”. I came with 4 years of high school French and took elective courses in French but it was only after an intensive summer program after second year and moving to the east end (the Plateau) that I began feeling comfortable in French. I also discovered that after a beer or two, I was no longer self conscious with my accent and didn’t care if I flubbed the grammar at times. I was communicating and francophones were impressed that an American had made the effort to learn French. Having a francophone girl friend helped too!! </p>

<p>@lorxX099
My experience was that it was harder for Americans to get admitted to McGill than Canadians. That may have changed. (?) There are more Americans at McGill than there are students at most large LAC’s in the US so there is no need for McGill to favor us in their quest to get a diverse student body. The Canadian, especially Quebec, school systems are so different from the American system that it is hard to make a clear comparison.
Queen’s and U of T have few Americans so it may give us an edge there.</p>