Hi all. I’m applying to McGill and Toronto and I’m wondering if there are any US institutions that would be comparable in terms of competitiveness/prestige.
You need to compare the quality of the specific program, not perceived prestige.
@rbouwens Yeah there are probably 200 or so in the US that compare.
Maybe 20-25.
Overall NYU, UmIch, and the like.
Rankings are rarely a good indicator of a university’s quality, but it provides a rough idea. In this case the two Canadian universities you mentioned regularly feature in the rankings as one of the top 20-40 universities in the world. So going by that it is reasonable to assume that they are comparable to the top 20 or so US universities.
A more important comparison than prestige would be the quality of specific programs. If you consider that, then several other Canadian universities are comparable with the best in the world in certain programs (such as Waterloo University in Computer Science).
I doubt it. You are underestimating the quality of the Canadian universities.
Very average schools for undergraduates. The ratings are driven by graduate programs and research expenditures.
Selectivity would be considered well above average but not like any top 25 university or LAC in the US. AVG ACT, 29 and SAT about 1900. Acceptance rate is above 50%.
The low Canadian dollar makes those two schools very attractive today for Americans. That may not be the case in 3-4 years.
Based on what? Selectivity alone? That means very little when The noise is cleared away. Do you have access to other data? I have never thought of these schools as “very average.”
Academics in at least some topics regard McGill and Toronto very highly.
In terms of selectivity as well, some of the programs at these universities are not far behind. For example, the engineering programs at Toronto or Waterloo and the health sciences program at McMaster require ~95% averages in grade 12 (which is not comparable to a 95% average in the US). The reason the admission percentages of these universities are so high is that most Canadian universities admit students just based on their marks, so most of the applicants are students who meet those requirements.
By “admission percentages” I mean “acceptance rates”, not the average mark required to be admitted.
McGill and Toronto publish minimum cutoffs that are firm. For example, to study business at McGill an American applicant would need a minimum of 650 in each section of the SAT I and two SAT II’s. If you are below that, do not even bother to apply. At the undergrad level they are comparable to Michigan, UCLA and Chapel Hill. The average SAT for enrolled Americans at McGill is 2080.
Thanks! Yeah, I was mainly wondering what their reputation in the US was like. I’m actually applying for graduate programs, but your answers are what I was looking for.
For graduate programs, u shd be concentrating on the strength of the particular academic discipline, rather than on the overall prestige of the school.
Yeah I know. McGill and Toronto both have a couple of faculty who share my interests.
While for undergraduate admission, UIUC or wisc might be similar to McGill. And Toronto is definitely more easy to get in.
For graduates, you need to compare the specific programs and professors