<p>To be honest, no matter how much I research these, I really have no way to compare them since people don't seem to compare Canadian schools to US ones too often. I've visited McGill and found it a pretty nice place, although I'll still have to visit BC (which I'll do tomorrow) and McGill again (April 15th) to actually learn a bit about the schools. However, that still won't help me decide. Am I crazy for not choosing one or the other, or are they actually pretty similar in quality, prestige, etc? It seems although I'd like the social atmosphere of McGill better, although I'm worried by the apparent downward trend that it's been having lately. Money is not an issue.</p>
<p>By the way, I'll be doing premed. I know these schools really aren't the best for that, but I kinda overshot with my college apps and am left with these.</p>
<p>Downward trend? what do you mean?
McGill is excellent for pre-med prestigious med school here, and nearly all science kids go off to med school or top research schools.
McGill and BC are not similiar at all... Prestige wise, McGill is a world class University, BC is more of liberal arts environment.</p>
<p>I've never even heard of Boston College. Although I'm a Canadian student and really have done no research for universities other than NYU, Harvard, Penn, Duke, etc., let that be an indication as to which you should go to. When people who don't dig deep know about your university, you know it has prestige.</p>
<p>You should ask yourself if the university has a good science program. And McGill does, pre-med is just the term used to demonstrate the req. classes to apply into med school (i.e. 1year of G. Chem, Organic. Chem, Physics, Biology and typically 1y social science, sometimes Calc). From my understanding, McGill's science faculty is the best faculty in the school, thus you should get a quality education.</p>
<p>Consequently, if your intention is to go to a top notch medical school, McGill ranks very high. It is #2 in Canada, behind UofT. Off the top of my head, McGill is a tier one North American Med School; However, it is quite likely at the bottom of the tier, due to Yale, Stanford etc.</p>
<p>In terms of undergraduate education, Boston College may rank slightly higher than McGill. What people forget though, is if you are intending on pursuing education beyond the undergraduate, the school does not matter... only the GPA. The med school application review committee could not care less if you went to Harvard or a no name university. Heck, the single most disadvantageous pursuit may be your major, if you take say biology your chances of an interview are much lower than if you took a economics or English major. The reasoning? Med schools want a diversified body of students, about 90% of applicants come from the science pool and of those roughly 60% have biology majors. Taking a not to so popular major allows your application to stand out among the rest. i.e. two students have the same marks, same e.c, mcat but one is a biology major while the other took english.. chances are the english major gets the interview and not the biology major.</p>
Consequently, if your intention is to go to a top notch medical school, McGill ranks very high. It is #2 in Canada, behind UofT. Off the top of my head, McGill is a tier one North American Med School; However, it is quite likely at the bottom of the tier, due to Yale, Stanford etc.
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I'd rather go to a US med school, though. BC and McGill should be about the same in that regard assuming I had the same GPA, MCAT, research, etc., right? Which school should be easier GPA-wise? McGill doesn't scale; would that put me at a disadvantage?</p>
<p>I didn't think about the major, though. To be honest, I was planning on biology, biochem or chemistry, although I guess I should put more effort into choosing something different. I only applied to Science and not A&S, though; doesn't that keep me from declaring a non-science major?</p>
<p>I disagree that boston college better than Mcgill in undergrad</p>
<p>Mcgill has a much better reputation internationally and in america
Most americans consider Mcgill on par with the lower ivies (darthmouth. cornell, brown) including the adcoms in medical skools
The times (uk paper) has ranked Mcgill 21st in the world...i dont think boston college even made the list </p>
<p>I also agree that going to Mcgill will sirously diminish your chances of having a high GPA. Unlike america where u usually get the marks you deserve (in most ivies everyone has a 4.0 GPA) in canada is known for its deflation and bell curves. </p>
<p>If ur future is ur concern then go to boston...socially u cant really beat Mcgill and montreal</p>
<p>Typically, American Med Schools are easier to get into. The only exception appears to be Macmaster, where as they have a 3.0 GPA cutoff and base much more of the selection on interview and extracurricular. Apparently, Western is intending on dropping all perquisites for the 2006 or 2007 (essentially attracting a larger Art-Faculty population). However, the average GPA is still in the 3.7-3.8 range. Conventionally, those Canadians that are not accepted into a Canadian med school will head south (assuming they can afford it) and the third tier students may enter med school in the Caribbean.</p>
<p>I don't think you should be asking yourself which school would be easier to get a good mark at. The reality is, 90% of your grade is based upon your work ethic. If you are a decently smart individual and consistently study more than it is needed.. you will receive a high enough mark to get into medical school. The reality is, receiving a good mark from McGill is hardly any different from receiving a similar mark from Boston College. You must be smart and more importantly, dedicated. If you lack either of the two, you will not succeed in the ways you wish to. </p>
<p>Also, in regards to major selection. Pick what you like, as you will only do well if you truly like the content. What is important to understand is that there is only one clear cut path to medical school: The Perquisites, good marks, quality work ethic and sufficient e.c'. As you will notice, the major plays of no tangible importance in the selection process. However, as I stated before, Biology is saturated with those seeking to enter medical school. Thus, being an atypical candidate would be in your favour when faced with subjective selection. On a side note, the following majors have the highest acceptance ratios (roughly, atop of my head): English, Philosophy, Economics, Engineering. The lowest being Biology. Each of the "artsy" majors has an over 45% acceptance rate. Why? Because you have to be quite smart in order to excel in both arts and science.</p>
<p>Also note, differences between the Canadian and American medical education system generally only arise during the residencies. The length of residency in Canada is often longer than it is the states (depending on specialty). Thus, a post-residency Canadian may easily be licensed in the United States, but the vice versa is not always so simple.</p>
<p>These are rather different schools, esp. as far as student body composition, although there is some overlap of US people who apply to BC who also apply to McGill as a safety. </p>
<p>Although BC has become hard to get into, it is not known as the most serious-minded academic school around. I think it would be easier to get an A average at BC than at McGill. BC is popular among applicants because of its Div 1 sports programs (now going into the ACC), proximity to popular college city, Boston, and because it's the second best-known name of national catholic universities (after Notre Dame). What's their Med school placement record? Check out the studentsreview.com for some insight.</p>
<p>McGill is a large, government-supported university. Government funding means: big and impersonal, make sure you can figure out what you need to do on your own, disappearing in a crowd if you want, and probably fighting to get extra help. Not much advising and no hand-holding like is expected from US private schools. I suspect some of the smaller departments can be better. The administration seems a little disorganized and under-staffed; it seems they are barely able to keep up with the size of the job. Realize also that Canadian schools only have enough housing for first year students. You need to file immigration papers. You'll probaly want a new cell phone service there. There is a question whether Quebec itself is much in favor of funding an English-only university. Montreal no doubt is safe and clean, a great city experience, a great place to visit, and behind the times as far as smoking restrictions. ;) See:</p>