<p>NBAChris - in comparison to the public schools in NS, sorry. I did know several people there.</p>
<p>How does UToronto and Mcgill rank in engineering compared to american counterparts like Michigan, Illinois, Berkeley and Cornell?</p>
<p>good question.. ive been wondering the same thing</p>
<p>patience<em>is</em>a_virtue: I believe U of T actually just passed Mcgill for Rhodes scholars in 2004. </p>
<p>Vinzzy:
Mcgill nor U of T is most competitive school in Canada that would be Queen's probably. if you mean selective. Queen's and U of T are generally considered the academic powerhouses of Canada.</p>
<p>Where did american's come up with this Mcgill- Harvard of the north thing anyway. Oh yeah: the Mcgill Public relations office.</p>
<p>However, ivyleaguer, McGill had the highest entrance average this year (89%) out of all the Canadian schools. That means that at least for this year, the top students in Canada chose McGill. </p>
<p>And Macleans ranks it at #2, while Queens is down at #5. U of T was #1, a position that I don't argue that they deserve :) However, I would say that U of T and McGill are the academic powerhouses of Canada.</p>
<p>According to the McGill website as of two days ago, McGill still boasts the highest number of Rhodes Scholars, with 125. I searched the U of T website and was unable to find info regarding total number of Rhodes scholars that they have---they provided charts of data from the 1960s to the 1990s, which showed U of T having more, with McGill a close second. Queens languished way behind these two. </p>
<p>I don't know where the Harvard of the North thing came in, but there is no denying that both McGill and U of T are very fine institutions.</p>
<p>The Rhodes Scholar issue is an interesting one but can't really be used as indicative of as much as some claim. In Canada, there are 11 scholarships available annually. Two are awarded in Quebec and two in Ontario. Looking at it in that regard, the fact that there have been more awarded to U of T is probably more significant than it looks, simply because there is far more competition in Ontario than in Quebec.</p>
<p>Harpgirl, if that 89% figure is correct (I'd enjoy seeing a link if you have it :)), it doesn't actually mean that the top students in Canada chose McGill. It just means that the average is higher. Keep in mind that the first year class at U of T is significant larger than that of McGill. They're both good schools, there's no question about it. In Canada, though, it's true that U of T and Queens are probably considered the top two schools. Queens is quite a bit smaller and not an urban campus so the experience there is different than it would be at either U of T or McGill.</p>
<p>Just out of curiousity, which Canadian university is considered best for the natural sciences (e.g. biology, biochemistry, chemistry, etc.)?</p>
<p>most of my friends who want to major in life sciences are applying to Queens - according to them, Queens is the best in that field. However, since I'm not that familiar with life sciences, I can't say for sure.</p>
<p>here is the link to the 89% figure that I mentioned earlier :)</p>
<p>And my question remains that if U of T and Queens are considered the top two schools, then why are U of T and McGill ranked the top two schools by Macleans? </p>
<p>I have no doubt that Queens is an awesome school, and if they had the program option that I wanted, I would definitely have applied there. However, worldwide, there is absolutely no doubt that McGill is the most prestigious Canadian school. For canadian students, especially those from other provences than Quebec, there is a definite anti-quebec bias that I noticed while travelling in Canada that might make it profitable for them to attend University outside of Canada. However, for those of us looking to return to the states, or overseas, to seek employment, a McGill degree pays off because it has the most international recognition.</p>
<p>harpgirl27,</p>
<p>Do you know how McGill fares in the arts faculty, because that is what I am going into. I was always fixated upon Queens as my Canadian school of choice, but the idea of living in Montreal, learning at Canada's most revered institute is equally appealing. I always thought of McGill as this big, cold school for science and business, but that's just my prejudice. I'd love to learn more from a more reliable source.</p>
<p>I was speaking more of reputation Harpgirl, not ranking. I don't deny that Mcgill is an excellent school but they accept less students than U of T that's why they are more "selective" this year. Ontario Universities overall still are contending with the double cohort which has driven up their admissions. U of T accepted more students the last couple of years because they made a committment to, which somewhat drove down admissions GPAs. U of T still has the largest amount of students applying there than any other university in the country.</p>
<p>As for queen's despite it's slip in the rankings, it's still on the top of the list for many students and has an acceptance rate of about 10%.</p>
<p>Hello- I have appreciated reading all of your comments and opinions about Canadian versus US grades, air pollution, etc! Can any of you experts elaborate on the "party school" aspect of UBC? She is waiting for the decision about her application- how difficult is it to get into Faculty of Art? What is the reputation of UBC compared to UVic and Simon Fraser, two Canadian universities not discussed in any of the threads? I appreciate your help and insight- thank you!</p>
<p>sglass,</p>
<p>UBC is considered the best university of Westen Canada, and one of the most well-regarded in the world actually. A worldwide ranking last year put it at about #35. While SFU and UVic are fine schools, I don't think they can compare to UBC in any field.</p>
<p>Thank you for your helpful input. It is her first choice...let me know if you ever think of anything else!</p>
<p>One thing about Canadian Universities is they don't spend much money on research like American schools, in the U.S. So there isn't as much research going in Universities in Canada. Forexample the UCSF a very small graduate school with very few students spend almost twice as much UT on research.</p>
<p>More thanks! This is really useful. The research funding aspect is not as important as the international relations focus where her interests lie...my only real concern was the size (40,000- ish) and how difficult it has been to find objective information (reputation, etc) aside from McCleans. We did visit the campus this summer. I'm thrilled to have finally found a conversation thread about Canadian schools and not "IVIES" and "back ups"!!!! Thanks....</p>
<p>I agree that the number of Rhode Scholars produced is not the best indicator of a school. Some brilliant Rhode Scholars come from virtually unknown schools while others may hail from distinguished institutions, they still may not be the brightest crayon in the box. I have to say however that during my graduate studies, most of my Canadian friends hailed from U of Toronto, McGill and Queens. These seem to be the heavy weights of the Canadian university system and these students do appear to have a slight edge upon graduation. Lastly, I am surprised to find out how many Canadians study abroad. In my graduate course, out of 11 of us, there are 3 Canadians and in the other paper, there is also another 3 Canadians. They come from all over Canada....anglo quebec/franco quebec, toronto, praries, newfoundland......</p>
<p>VTboy. Where did you get that information? Canadian universities like Mcgill and Uof T are research intensive universities and are world class in their field. There was a recent science magazine that listed U of T as the one of the best universities in the world to do research. Insulin among other medical breakthroughs were discovered here. You really should go back and recheck your facts.</p>
<p>ivyleaguer, you beat me to it! I was going to question the same thing. :) I believe he is wrong about U of T in that respect. Here's a link to lots of interesting and pertinent information about U of T.</p>
<p>sglass, I'm also a mother of a prospective student heading to a Canadian university. We lived there for many years so I'm pretty familiar with the schools, especially ones in the East. If I can be of any help, let me know.</p>
<p>Does anybody know if there are any major differences between Queens, U ot T, and McGill. I know that U of T is the enormous school, with about 55 000 kids, and that is one of the reasons that I am not going to apply there. So actually, my question would be better when rephrased as what's the difference between Queens and McGill, especially in the arts?</p>