<p>McGill is riding on its reputation... it's not "Canada's Harvard" at all anymore. Iif you want a really good liberal arts experience, go to King's or Queen's (--funny how that works out). Engineering: WATERLOO and U of T. Commerce: WESTERN (IVEY) and QUEEN'S. Science: U of T, UBC and McGill.</p>
<p>I always thought that "Harvard of Canada" was meant as "best university with best reputation in the country" more than anything else (that is, if you look for similarities beyond that, you won't find that much, and the "best" is of course debatable in many ways). But to paraphrase Bernard Shapiro: McGill is McGill, if people want to call it the Harvard of Canada that's their choice, but McGill stands on its own and doesn't need the comparison.</p>
<p>I'm quite surprised at the amount of resentment towards McGill there is in the rest of the country.</p>
<p>if mcgill is the "harvard of canada" then waterloo is the "MIT of canada". both schools can stand on their own, but the name does help indicate that you'll get an excellent education at either of them.</p>
<p>“In the Times Higher Education (THE) QS World University Rankings 2009, McGill was ranked the best university in Canada, the best public university in North America, and 18th in the world.”</p>
<p>The best public university in North America; this seems an important distinction.</p>
<p>McGill is a good school. Just because it’s so easy to get into compared to other schools doesn’t mean it isn’t a good school. </p>
<p>It may not be as prestigious because it is so much more accessible, but a school doesn’t have to be prestigious to be a good school.</p>