<p>My d. is just finishing her first year at McGill and is a history major and takes two languages. She has been extremely happy at McGill. She sounds a lot like you, liking very smart people, but also liking fun. As for huge classes, she’s skipped those because of 4 A.P.'s, so she actually entered as a second year student. This semester, except for one (out of five), she really enjoys her classes and profs.</p>
<p>Grade wise she is doing about a B+ overall and working hard to get that. She was an all A student in High School with very high SATS, etc, so that is a reflection of the grading. You will have to work hard as there is a curve and there are a lot of bright kids around.</p>
<p>As for diversity, there are many foreign students, from all over, and Americans, mostly from the northeast, many students from Quebec and Ontario and some from western Canada. She’s made friends with all of the above.</p>
<p>The only negative has been the lack of good advising. She is struggling a bit with that now. You have to be aware of that and not take anything for granted. The rest of the administration has been easy to deal with on the phone and in person.</p>
<p>As an aside, there is a lot to be said about McGill being less expensive then the other schools. I am one of those people who think going into debt for an undergraduate education is nuts. Now that the US and Canadian dollar are close to par, it is not the bargain it was and remember to add in the fees, but it is still not running close to the close to $50,000 per year that some of the US private schools cost.</p>
<p>One of the ways to make a decision is to think about whether you want to live in a large city (Montreal) a small city (Ann Arbor) or a place like Williamsburg. They are all quite different in feeling and culture, so you might want to think about what kind of environment would make you happiest, as the schools themselves are all very good.</p>
<p>Good luck</p>