New Paltz is definitely catching my eye— I’m going to look more into it, thank you!!
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I don’t think I want to go into teaching— but I’m definitely interested in working in PR or media maybe. Honestly though, I really have no clue because I’m always changing my mind 
… I don’t want to struggle financially either but I’m hoping I can explore a little in college
Thanks for your input— I’ll probably take UNC off my list just because of that low acceptance for out-of-state. I have looked at naviance and it definitely doesn’t look good— I eliminated University of Virginia for the same reasons so that’s probably the right call
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Back when we were looking, the NPC for UVM did predict merit aid and was spot on in our case. One daughter applied with a slightly lower GPA and a slightly higher SAT compared to @natalie111. To me Burlington Vermont is an attractive small city.
I am originally from Montreal, had McGill as my safety coming out of high school (and only applied to one other school which was a reach), and have a sibling who graduated from McGill, so let me know if you have any questions.
The last time that I looked (which was a while ago) the crime rate in Montreal is significantly lower than most North American cities of the same size, and I have always felt safe in the area around McGill and in Montreal in general. It is a very walkable city, with quite a good subway system and quite a few things to see and do relatively close to McGill. McGill is a very strong school and is in an interesting place to live for four years. Given the current exchange rate it would be well below your $60k budget. It is also well known in the US and has quite a few American students. The application is also very easy to fill out (way easier compared to US universities).
There are three games that claim to be the first American (or Canadian) style football game (the rules were evolving over time). One was between McGill and Harvard.
Also McGill is really not all that far from New York.
To me this is very important. You can dream about reaches. However, you want to make sure that you will have a solid and affordable school where you will be happy to attend.
I do agree with other comments above that you should include a couple of SUNY’s on your list. Given parents that are retired, to me it makes sense to see what offers you get before you decide where to go. You want to make sure that you will have at least one and preferably a few acceptances that will be affordable.
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This is super helpful!! I’ve also mentioned to my parents that for it being international, it’s actually quite close— but I think they’re mostly just iffy on anything “international” at all since it’s unfamiliar and unconventional. It doesn’t help that Montreal is also a big city (although it being safer on average than American cities is nice to know)
Assuming that I do convince them though, do you think that my stats are enough for admission? I know that they mostly pay attention to academics— so would going test optional be better regarding my SAT score?
McGill being test optional is new for us (my daughter applied before the pandemic when tests were required for students coming from the USA). That being said, admissions at McGill is very stats-oriented. Your grades are excellent.
I think that your chances at McGill are very good. I might be tempted to just ask them whether you should go test optional. You could email admissions and just ask. It might take them a week or two to reply.
I think that you will also find that applying to McGill is very easy. They have rolling admissions (which appears to be the norm in Canada) so the first students to gain acceptances will be academically very strong students who apply first. For students who apply later or have stats closer to the cutoff it can take longer to hear back.
The academics of course will be challenging (which is true of pretty much any highly ranked university).
Along with your acceptance they send information on how to apply for the appropriate student visa, and information on the cost for international students. Keep in mind that the costs will be listed in Canadian dollars, and the exchange rate is very favorable for those of us who are paying using US dollars.
I have referred to attending university in Canada as going “semi-abroad” or “slightly abroad”, since Canada is so close by (at least for those of us who live in northern states) and is quite familiar to many Americans.
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