My daughter has been accepted to both places. I feel that she would get a comparable education at both places, but that Kilachand would offer her a lot more individual attention, not to mention enrichment opportunities, research opportunities, and connections. We are also from the Boston area. We were wowed by our admitted student day at BU and the reception we attended at Kilachand We visited McGill last week and I was concerned about the large class sizes there, not to mention what appears to be a rather formidable bureaucracy. Plus the school didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat. Not one professor was available to meet with prospective students and their parents, just a lot of admissions reps.
The cost differential between the schools isn’t much of an issue, she got the maximum merit scholarship at BU and we can afford either place. Daughter is convinced that the prestige and opportunities at McGill outweigh anything she will be able to get from BU, plus she loves Montreal. She is planning on studying psychology and attending graduate school.
I had the same dilemma. In the summer I was torn between BU and McGill regarding business schools. I visited both campuses and absolutely loved them. In the end I decided to go with BU. I chose it due to many reasons, the city of Boston has a much nicer feel (in my opinion) for college students. Internships are marginally easier to get in Boston simply because there are a lot more businesses in close proximity as well as the possibility of New York. Internships are now what is key to getting a good job as well. The BU campus also felt like it offered more than McGill as it does have more money. It is also more user friendly, which I gather you have experienced as well due to McGill not being as welcoming. Both schools have amazing but very different social lives. Montreal has a reasonable drinking age of 18 (I live in Switzerland right now where it is 16) unlike Boston and you can do more things out in the open such as going to bars. Boston on the other hand keeps everything low key and students go to frat parties, which in my opinion, is more dangerous for girls than going to bars.
Both schools are great and your daughter should make her decision based on her personal preference. What I have said is entirely based on my own opinion and how I came to the conclusion of choosing BU over McGill. I hope my thoughts have helped 