Hi
My son has applied to both of these summer programs - at Toronto it is the ‘advanced academic’ program. He is a canadian but living abroad, first language english.
McGill is two weeks long and is selective, requiring transcripts and personal statements etc. Classes in the morning, fun in the afternoon. McGill will be sending out offers towards the end of March.
Toronto is three weeks long, is not selective (they didn’t ask about anything except proficiency in English) but more intense - classes morning and afternoon and fun in the evenings/weekends. He got an offer almost immediately.
The problem is that Toronto say you have five days to accept or you lose your place. He thinks he would prefer McGill as he would prefer 2 weeks not three, and would like to get to know montreal. He also isn’t sure if Toronto attracts canadian students or is more for internationals who want to improve their English. I think McGill looks like a good mix of Canadian/US/International with a different first language. However the subject matter of toronto may be a bit better for him (Economics vs Politics and Development)
Should he reject Toronto and wait for McGill, possibly leaving him with nothing, or should he take Toronto and go and have a great time?
Would love to hear from anyone who knows these programs or who has views about selective v non-selective programs etc. Frankly any input at all would be gratefully received at this point. The clock is ticking!