Is McGill worth the price?

<p>I'm currently deliberating between McGill and a much cheaper but reputable state school in the US (I'm an American student so international rates apply). Would any current McGill students or alumni talk about their experiences with the college? Is the education at McGill worth the price tag, considering career opportunities obtained or possibilities for grad schools after graduation?</p>

<p>I started this thread a few years ago:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/mcgill-university/844836-ask-mcgill-alumnus.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/mcgill-university/844836-ask-mcgill-alumnus.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>International tuition was a lot lower when I was at McGill in the late 1990’s though.</p>

<p>Thanks for the link!</p>

<p>Any other opinions or insight?</p>

<p>There is a big difference in price for international students if your major is STEM/Business related as opposed to Arts or even Arts & Science. So when people ask similar question, I always say what is your major? Odds are your case is the former, but it still should be clarified first.</p>

<p>My major is Physics in the Faculty of Science. The tuition is $33K although I did receive the $5K renewable entrance scholarship.</p>

<p>It would be useful to know why you were attracted to McGill in the first place?</p>

<p>Largely for its research opportunities, the Montreal atmosphere, and its reputable undergraduate program. I can also graduate in three years with my IB diploma. I intend to continue with graduate school as well.</p>

<p>Well, it is difficult to answer such a broad question, especially without knowing your financial situation, which state school it is, whether or not you live close enough to the state school to live at home and reduce the cost of attendance even further, etc. 33K is a lot of money, especially if you are considering going to grad school, and you have to consider the cost of traveling back and forth to Montreal added to the 33K. And of course, there are the intangibles that only you know, like the feel of each city and each campus.</p>

<p>That being said, if you do well at McGill, you will be very well positioned for graduate school. If you choose McGill and it doesn’t work out for you, how easy would it be for you to gain admittance to the state school as a transfer? I believe McGill is even more difficult to get into as a transfer than as a first year student. With some schools it makes it even harder to decide whether or not to accept an offer of admission when you know that if you decline, that’s pretty much it. If you know the door will likely remain open to you as a transfer as long as you do fairly well academically elsewhere, that can make it easier to decide.</p>

<p>Thanks for your response. I’d like to say that McGill is just out of my affordability range, which is why my family and I are still debating. The state school is reputable (SUNY at Stony Brook). I plan on visiting McGill this weekend so I will see for myself!</p>

<p>If you can speak French then you can attempt a sophomore-level transfer at U Montreal (from Stony Brook) instead. Much easier to transfer (as long as you have the requisite TFI score, which is 660) than McGill. Rather than paying $33k yearly for tuition, as you would at McGill, it’s $20k… it prepares you just as well for grad school as McGill would. Plus, even though you have four physics options for a sophomore-level transfer, i.e. a specialized BSc in physics, a joint physics-mathematics BSc, a joint physics-computer science BSc or a physics major (you have to declare a minor after two years in that case) in all cases, you’ll be taking classes at the McGill honors level (more on that later) and you only have room for one or two electives.</p>

<p>A Tufts professor once said about that school that the average physics or physics-mathematics BSc graduate from that school took 3-4 graduate courses (from Tufts’ standpoint; one of those courses is taken as a junior) by the time they graduate and it’s about as intense as MIT.</p>

<p>Now, as far as how’s life as a physics major is concerned, McGill operates on two tracks: the honors track and the major track. The honors track prepares for grad school best but it’s supremely intense. The courses in the major track cover less material than their corresponding honors versions.</p>