<p>Hi, I am not actually a parent... but I spoke with my aunt, and she was concerned with her daughter's (my cousin) undergrad studies.</p>
<p>According to my aunt, her daughter got into</p>
<p>McGill</p>
<p>University of Illinois-Urbana Champagin</p>
<p>Villanova University</p>
<p>Washington University (NOT the st.louis one)</p>
<p>Rutgers University</p>
<p>She's still waiting to hear back from Michigan University</p>
<p>She wants to major in psychology</p>
<p>The thing is my cousin is a Canadian who has been living in New York.</p>
<p>For this reason, my cousin wants to go to one of the States school because she wants to work in the States. She thinks Canadian University such as McGill is not well respected in the States.
She wants to go to University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign or University of Michigan.</p>
<p>On the other hand, my aunt wants her daughter to attend McGill, because of the tuition.</p>
<p>Since she is a Canadian, she only needs to pay around $5000 tuition fee per year.</p>
<p>Anyway, since I am not living in the States, I would like to hear from others on their views of McGill.</p>
<p>McGill is highly regarded, and the music school draws US students who are highly competive within top US conservatory/conservatory level programs.</p>
<p>McGill even makes it way out here in Texas. A doc friend and a law school classmate were both McGill grads. Those who have heard of it, admittedly not a large sample out here , think very highly of the school.</p>
<p>In the suburban Washington, DC area, everyone knows McGill and it is well respected. Lots of US citizen kids from this region apply to McGill every year because of its reputation. Just about every year one or two US citizens from my daughter's high school end up there. </p>
<p>Not to mention the Canadian kids who live here! They would just about kill to get into McGill for an Ivy-league equivalent education at only $5000.</p>
<p>For many Americans McGill is highly regarded and often the only Canadian college they've ever heard of, which makes the Univ. of Toronto people unhappy.</p>
<p>Tell your cousin to go to McGill. Those U.S. colleges are going to cost a fortune, even the public ones! She can come to the U.S. for grad school.</p>
<p>McGill is probably the only Canadian college I've heard of, but I've always been told it's very good. Unfortunately the US tends to ignore all things Canadian. How many of us can name five famous Canadians? Back when I was in high school I couldn't, though I'm better at it now.</p>
<p>I go to Western Canada fairly often. (Calgary, Edmonton, Moose Jaw, etc) I had not heard of McGill until I read this board. My son almost applied to the Univ of Calgary though. I think the West is less LAC focused frankly and not in tune at all with the northeast. My sons had no LAC interest at all so we did not really look into them.</p>
<p>five famous canadians, how sad I am not sure I can do that</p>
<p>McGill is reasonably popular among relatively sophisticated kids in this area. I think it's certainly the equivalent of a good U.S. state flagship -- say Wisconsin, UNC. I have some ambivalence about it. My daughter's best friend from high school is there now (and turned down Penn to go there, although not without financial inducement). She has loved it, is very stimulated and happy, loves Montreal. I know some other students in the past 10 years, however, who have not been happy there and have left, including some very intellectual Canadian kids. Its model is large, impersonal lecture classes for the first couple of years, with higher level classes much, much smaller. My daughter's friend there now was in an honors program that made all of her freshman classes seminars, though.</p>
<p>Everyone loves Montreal. Especially 18-year-olds from the States, who can drink legally there.</p>
<p>Five famous Canadians? They're everywhere. How about Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and everyone in The Band except Levon Helm. Ellen Page and Michael Cera (the stars of "Juno"). Alanis Morrisette. Robertson Davies, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje. Edgar Bronfman (Sr. or Jr.).</p>
<p>I have lived in DC area, NYC, Boston area and California. I have known of McGill as a highly regarded school in each of these locales. I have known students from DC, California and New England who have chosen it for its quality (and some for the relative attractiveness of its cost).</p>
<p>My S applied and was accepted and seriously considered it. My impression, as mentioned above, is that it is a model of the large university, make your own way, be a self-starter variety. Not a nurturing LAC, lol. </p>
<p>Your cousin is leaning toward US schools of somewhat that same model; and has, of course, been accepted to a number of great schools. Villanova, eg, would be a more intimate experience.</p>
<p>Concerns re graduate school recognition of McGill would NOT be a reason to avoid it, imo. Cost would be a HUGE reason to favor it. Not knowing how the family's finances play out, how much the kid wants to explore beyond Canada (although apparently she already has), I wouldn't want to say what she should do. But I think "McGill as an unknown in the US" is not a valid concern. Number of people who would recognize it in a cocktail party conversation? Don't know. But that is not the concern.</p>