<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I got an offer from both McGill and UBC for their Arts faculty. Could anyone give comments on which one is better? especially for their economic program?</p>
<p>thanks a lot!</p>
<p>McGill!!!</p>
<p>Thanks! Would u think that I don’t speak French would be an big issue at McGill ? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Both are great schools. But UBC has the best economics program in Canada, and McGill’s isn’t anything special.</p>
<p>Not speaking French is not an issue at McGill. Most students at McGill do not speak French.</p>
<p>I agree with IAmPOS: UBC, along with U of T and Queens, has one of the three best econ departments in the country (not on par with the top 5 econ programs in the US: Harvard, MIT, Chicago, Stanford, ?, but UBC is still excellent). McGill is good but not at the same level as UBC for econ.</p>
<p>Here’s my perspective as a recent (2008) graduate of McGill.</p>
<p>First of all, undergraduate programs at the top large schools across Canada are all fairly similar. I would look into living conditions and your ability to get local internships, etc over the specific programs since teachers and course structures will change. What a lot of undergrads forget is that if they rent an apartment close to their university in city A, they could take a financial hit if they need to go to city B for work experience or summer internship. Also, local recruitment contacts and interest in taking on interns who aren’t halfway cross the country will always be stronger in an appropriately matched city.</p>
<p>That being said, if you’re looking at economics at McGill under BA, I would recommend the Joint Finance Economics program because that’s a great blend of courses under the Arts banner but with a great deal of exposure to the Faculty of Management’s courses. I didn’t specialize in economics, but I did take a few classes with Prof. Christopher Ragan (who I regularly see in the Globe and Mail) that I really enjoyed.</p>
<p>Other points to note:
- McGill is an English school in a largely bilingual city in a French province. Instruction is in English but you have the option of submitting your papers in French.
- Are you looking to go straight into grad school? There’s considerations to be made in going to smaller, less competitive undergrad if you do… Competition in large schools can be brutal.</p>
<p>Could you elaborate on your first point, regarding internship opportunities. Does it imply that UBC might be a better choice since it is in big city area?</p>
<p>Joint Finance is a great suggestion. Would you think I could have double degree for Finance and Economics? Or I am just taking more management courses?</p>
<p>I am planning to go to graduate school (MBA, accounting or finance). Is UBC is large school which make competition too brutal? </p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>To elaborate on my first point, I’m saying that if you want to be in an industry which tends to be in a certain city or region, you’d probably want to go to school in that city or region. That way, you’ll be able to make better contacts while you’re a student. [Note: I’m <em>NOT</em> saying that one city is better than another!]</p>
<p>During my years in the Faculty of Management at McGill, executives and recruiters were always invited to speak at different events, and they were almost exclusively from Toronto or Montreal. L’Oreal, Ogilvy, Just for Laughs, etc were just a few that I interacted with. If I wanted to build upon these relationships and apply for internships, it’s easier because not only have they met me in person, they also know that I would have less of an issue either staying in Montreal or moving over to Toronto for the summer.</p>
<p>If your aim is to enter oil and gas, then perhaps going to school in Alberta will provide more on-the-ground contacts for you to hear about opportunities. If you want to eventually work with Canadian Tourism Commission, you might want to go to a school in Vancouver that’ll allow you to be placed with them for an internship. With so many internships nowadays being unpaid, losing money on a lease you have in one city to take on a short term lease in another makes little sense.</p>
<p>Regarding Joint Finance/Economics, it’s one program. Not a double degree. You can either do it as a BA Joint Honours in Economics and Finance ([Joint</a> Honours Component Economics / Joint Honours Component Finance (60 credits) | Programs, Courses and University Regulations - McGill University](<a href=“Arts Undergraduate Programs | 2010–2011 Programs, Courses and University Regulations - McGill University”>http://www.mcgill.ca/study/2010-2011/faculties/arts/undergraduate/programs/bachelor-arts-ba-joint-honours-component-economics-joint-hono-0)) or BCom Joint Honours in Economics and Finance ([Joint</a> Honours in Economics and Finance](<a href=“http://www.mcgill.ca/desautels/bcom/program_info/course_info/honours/econ-fin/]Joint”>http://www.mcgill.ca/desautels/bcom/program_info/course_info/honours/econ-fin/)). The biggest difference being the core management classes that’re required for a BCom.</p>
<p>And for the last question… Many people don’t realize how competitive bigger schools like McGill and UofT are. Being amongst the best the brightest is great for group projects and interesting discussions in class, but it also makes the curve brutal. (Note: not all faculties apply curves. However, I can tell you for a fact that McGill Management definitely curves.) If you want to enter a graduate program right after your undergrad, you want to look great on paper for the recruitment officer. Would you rather have Bs all over your transcript at a more competitive school or As? How hard is it to get recommendations from professors when you’re 1 of 100s and you never established a good enough rapport with them? If you’re brilliant, sociable, ask great questions, and can hold your own with the best of them; then you’ll get into your desired grad school without any problems no matter where you go. If you need more nurturing or rely on a little bit of grade inflation… Think hard about what you need. I have friends who purposely went to lower ranked, smaller schools for their undergraduate just so that the bar would be set lower for them to jump over easier. It’s cold, calculated, and pretty brilliant on their end.</p>
<p>^^But if you go to a non-competitive school for undergrad and then enter a competitive grad school, you may be unprepared for the workload. Many students who enter grad programs drop out or flunk out.</p>
<p>UBC is a large school (40 000 students). It is very competitive, particularly in mathematics-related disciplines (like economics); UBC placed in the top 10 schools in North America again this year along with the likes of Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, MIT etc. in the Putnam competition (by far the largest and most prestigious university-level math competition in the English-speaking world). U of Toronto and Waterloo were also in the top 10. </p>
<p>Given that your grad plans are not pure economics but seem to be more business related, I think that davidsebastian’s advice concerning Joint Finance Economics program is good, especially if you go to McGill. As well, because of your future plans, I don’t think that any difference in the calibre of undergrad economics programs at schools like UBC, McGill or U of T would be substantial enough to be a dealbreaker. Look at other factors, like some of those that davidsebastian mentions.</p>
<p>@davidsebastian
the ratio of smart people will be the same at any decent school. unless you plan on going to a dumpy school, you are not going to be at the top or close if you get straight Bs at mcgill. tell me which schools are you talking about?</p>
<p>and if you do go to a dumpy school, where theres hard drug use everywhere, where you won’t have many friends as no one will be like you, and if you do get a 4.0, and if you do get stellar recs from unknown professors, and you somehow find internships, you very well may be on your way to a top grad school. tell me, how many people want to go through all of that?</p>
<p>If OP is more interested is more interested in business economics than academic economics, it should be noted that UBC offers a BComm in Econ for the former, and a BA in Econ for the latter.</p>
<p>Hi, i had a similar query. I wanted to know which college out of UBC/Mcgill has a better Economics course.
Also i plan to pursue post-graduate course in econ/related field in the top ivy league college.
which one would be a better bet:UBC or Mcgill.</p>
<p>Did you not read anything in this thread??</p>
<p>well, the latest QS rankings say that Mcgill’s economics programme is 18th best in the world while UBC’s was way below.</p>
<p>If you base your uni choice on rankings (especially QS) then you are making a big mistake.</p>
<p>UBC’s Econ undergrad is way better than that of McGill’s, if you consider the major program that is.</p>
<p>McGill’s major program goes as far as introductory micro and macro economics whereas UBC’s goes up to advanced micro and macro. UBC’s econ program will greatly increase your chances of getting admitted into grad school.</p>
<p>McGill does have a good Honours Economics program but that one is only for highly talented students. Around 35 students graduate every year from that program after an initial 150 students registering to it. This honours program has the same course content as the major program at UBC.</p>
<p>QS is the worst college ranking system there is. </p>
<p>Times, ARWU and a few other solid ranking systems rank McGill lower than UBC and McGill really is up there due to its Medical program.</p>
<p>The three other universities in Montreal (Uni of Montreal, Concordia and UQAM) all have better Econ programs (when it comes to the Major concentration) than McGill and the employers know that.</p>
<p>I am compelled to write a response to your comment as it does not do the Joint Honours in Economics and Finance program justice. As a graduate of the Jt Honours program at McGill, let me explain how the Jt Honours program works.</p>
<p>The Joint Honours program in economics may have the same name as other courses in schools like UBC and the like, but the content is drastically different. The courses are effectively masters level and there are many QY/masters students in your class (~5-10 out of the eventual 15 or so left). As the previous poster mentioned, the first course (Honours Microeconomics) starts off with ~150-170 people. Half of the class fails and leaves after the first semester. THIS GRADE COUNTS IN YOUR GPA even if you get demoted to the majors program. From what I recall, you are removed from the program if you get under a B (3.0) in any of your honours courses. The average on the first test was something like 40%? There is NO CURVING for honours program classes. If you fail, you fail. </p>
<p>Micro is probably the steepest part of the curve, but once you get into Econometrics you notice the stark difference between the caliber of McGill Honours vs any other school. you will cover more econometrics in your first year honours statistics class than in your harvard econometrics course. For example, the honours econometrics material is just a little bit harder than this comparable graduate course at MIT: [MIT</a> OpenCourseWare | Economics | 14.384 Time Series Analysis, Fall 2008 | Lecture Notes](<a href=“http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/economics/14-384-time-series-analysis-fall-2008/lecture-notes/]MIT”>http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/economics/14-384-time-series-analysis-fall-2008/lecture-notes/). You can look all of the course materials up on Jean Marie Dufour or Russell Davidson’s website. Discrete dynamical systems is a b____ too.</p>
<p>UBC’s major program PALES in comparison. Harvard and MIT’s version of economics/econometrics is a joke as well. That being said, of the 15 folks left, only about 5 people deeply understood the econometrics part.</p>
<p>Final Disclaimer: I joined because I liked the challenge. That being said, if you are looking for a job after college, majors programs with higher GPAs and curving are better suited to you. Half of my honours class is doing their Masters/Phd, the other half is in investment banking / hedgefunds.</p>
<p>MontrealManHo: Are you mad, sir?</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://umontrealmemes.com/2012/01/25/le-processus-des-admissions-universitaires-explique/]Le”>http://umontrealmemes.com/2012/01/25/le-processus-des-admissions-universitaires-explique/]Le</a> processus des admissions universitaires expliqu</p>