Choosing a University: Campus vs Program

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I recently returned from a trip out east to tour my top two colleges, McGill and U of T. Unfortunately, I loved them both (I was hoping I'd hate one of them to make my decision easy). I've now made a pro and con list for each, and even though U of T "won", I've noticed that it really only comes down to two factors. Campus/atmosphere and program/research.</p>

<p>The McGill campus just clicked with me. I could definitely see myself there. It was the perfect balance of campus and city that I'm looking for. The U of T campus was also nice, but not on the same level as McGill.</p>

<p>I want to do linguistics and computer science, and at McGill, I'd have to double major, while U of T has a joint major (meaning there's quite a bit of interaction between the two departments). McGill has a limited number of comp sci courses that Arts (my faculty) students can take, and virtually no computational linguistics (what I want to get my Masters in) courses. But at U of T, I can take any comp sci course I want, and they have at least 5 or 6 computational linguistics courses. They also have a research group for computational linguistics, while McGill has none.</p>

<p>They both have awesome linguistics programs and overall reputations. I like both Montreal and Toronto, and all the other factors are either comparable or negligible. </p>

<p>I'd appreciate any advice on which factor, campus or program, is more important. I'd be inclined to say the program is, then I realize that it's possible that I change my mind and do something totally different, in which case the campus is more relevant. </p>

<p>TL;DR version: I love both School A and School B. School A has an amazing campus and a pretty good program for what I want to do. School B has a nice campus and a great program for what I want to do. Which do I choose?</p>

2

<p>Is UT the Univ of Texas?</p>

<p>Are you instate?</p>

<p>Can you easily afford either school?</p>

<p>Are you concerned at all about winters in Canada or do you like cold weather? (I’m guessing that your recent visit was mild weather, right?)</p>

<p>What about non-academics? What about the social side? Does UT offer more in that area?</p>

3

<p>UT in this instance would be University of Toronto.</p>

4

<p>I think I’ll be in the minority, but I say go with the program. My son is a junior and chose his school based on program alone. I’m happy to report that he hasn’t changed majors and has learned to adapt to a school that he judged as just o.k. This also meant turning down a school that he loved. “This is a good school for my major” is what he tells people.</p>

5

<p>U of T is the University of Toronto. </p>

<p>Costs and weather are similar and fairly non-issue. </p>

<p>Non-academics…they both have quite a bit to offer because of their size. But I’ve heard that McGill is more undergrad-friendly. </p>

<p>Any other opinions?</p>

6

<p>I second on the program…</p>

7

<p>Since so many students change major I would go with the campus.</p>

8

<p>ditto what Erin’s dad says – besides, it’s not like you can go wrong with either choice, so just go with the one that ‘clicks’ more with you.</p>