Hey guys. I recently got into UCLA and I am super happy! McGill and UCLA were both my top schools from a very young age. I am a California resident (living in the SF bay area) with Canadian citizenship. I am torn between the two because they both have the social and academic components of a school I love. I plan to go to medical school in the U.S. but open to other options. A lot of my family lives in Montreal including my grandparents and my aunt. I consider Montreal my second home because I have been visiting the city every year since I was very young. I know a good amount of French because I took French all throughout high school. However, I do have relatives in southern California as well. Since I am a dual citizen and the cost of living in Montreal is a lot cheaper compared to California, attending McGill will be fairly cheaper than UCLA, but UCLA is a reasonable price for me. The only thing I am concerned about is if coming back to the U.S. for medical school will be difficult if I go to McGill.
@sheldon1002 . . . wrt to your last sentence, no, you’d still be a CA resident for the UC med schools.
The US and Canada have a harmonized system of medical education. In fact graduates of Canadian universities are not considered “foreign” in obtaining residencies and licensing in the US and vice versa.
A McGill degree will in no way hinder your acceptance at a US medical school.
Also if you were born outside Canada and have not lived in Canada for more than 3 months you would qualify for the in province Quebec tuition rate (after gathering a lot of paperwork).
As @TomSrOfBoston says, a medical degree from Canada is considered at par with US schools. Undergrad degrees would also not be a problem, though McGill’s grading can be pretty rough. Not sure about UCLA.
My wife did her undergrad in the US, medical degree at McGill, and after practicing for some time in Canada moved down to the US. It was a pretty painless move. Canadian trained doctors are in demand in the US.
McGill's clinical medicine faculty is considered to be very good. I know UCLA is an excellent school, but McGill does not take a backseat to it, IMO, and you might save a lot of money going to school there, especially if you qualify for the Quebec resident price.
If money is not a concern, then go where your heart tells you to. Neither school will hold you back.
Just took a look at UCLA Medicine yearly tuition 42K USD.
McGill’s is 5K CAN for Quebec resident, 16K CAN for Canadian citizen.