Hello,
I was recently admitted to McGill for the Faculty of Arts, I plan on studying History and Political Science. I was also admitted to King’s College London for a degree in History and International Relations.
I cannot decide which one to attend as I have many different variables to consider: I prefer London and Europe as a whole, McGill is cheaper, and I plan to attend law school in the US after completing my undergrad.
Which university is more prestigious or stronger in History and Political Science and which one would serve as a better precursor to law school? Could attending school in Europe hurt my chances of making it into an American law school? Does prestige matter? If I could hear opinions or comments from people I would be very grateful!
Thanks
US law schools do not care about one’s undergraduate school. Your LSAT score will be the most important factor in US law school admissions.
Have you considered St.Andrew’s University in Scotland for IR & history ?
St. Andrew’s offers a joint degree program with the College of William & Mary in Virginia for undergraduates. (Wm. & Mary also has an excellent law school.)
Since you plan to attend law school in the US, you need to keep undergraduate debt as low as you can. Law school is expensive in the US.
@Publisher Sort of late in the game to be suggesting a new university to apply to. That is not what the OP is asking.
McGill operates essentially on the American system of higher education and it would give you good preparation for an American law school and life in North America.
Is the degree program at King’s College 3 years or 4 years ? If just 3 years, then it may cost less than McGill.
@TomSrOfBoston : Attending McGill University is unlikely to prepare one better for a US law school than would attending King’s College in London.
@Publisher I actually have applied to St. Andrews for that exact degree, however, the cost of tuition is approx. $50,000 which is too much for undergrad. I also am not a huge fan of the location.
@TomSrOfBoston Thanks for replying. I had the same thought as you in terms of McGill’s similarity to that of American universities, but I much prefer the degree and courses that are taught at KCL. Do you know if I would be at a disadvantage applying to American law schools as an international? If I am not mistaken, Canadians are not considered international when applying to American law schools, correct?
Canadians are international when applying to American universities.
@TomSrOfBoston Oh really? I’ve heard that since Canadian schools use the GPA system they are at an advantage over other foreign students that do not have the American GPA. Do you know if this is true?
Never heard of that. Admissions officers at a top 100 university in the US are knowledgeable about overseas grading systems. You will take the LSAT regardless of where you do your undergar work.
KCL is only 3 years but I have Canadian citizenship so McGill would be much cheaper.
Why do you prefer the degree and courses at KCL.
Some big differences are flexibility and assessment. At KCL, you would only study what you signed up for. At McGill, you may change majors. At McGill, it’s the American system of continuous assessment (probably what you are use to in the Canadian school system). In the UK, marks typically come down almost entirely to big tests at the end of the year.
Oh, and London is a good deal more expensive to live in that Montreal. McGill would also be cheaper for you as a Canadian. McGill does have a reputation for grade deflation while the vast majority of students at KCL would get a 2:1 or better (though Firsts are still given out rather sparingly).
Why would you want to go to an American law school?
I prefer the degree because it would allow me to focus solely on my subject matter, which I truly love. My whole life has revolved around my love of history. I live in the US as I am a tri-citizen (European, American, Canadian). I love London and I would like to spend a few years in Europe before returning to the US. The grade deflation at McGill is one of the things that scares me. I want to practice law in New York one day.
If you want to be in Europe the UK is perhaps not the right place to be heading. Maybe the Netherlands (I believe applications are still open) XD
KCL is going to be the guts of USD$45K/yr. If StAs is too much at USD$50K, not sure that KCL will be that much better.
If there isn’t the money for your parents to gift you both undergrad and law school, imo McGill is the clear winner. US law school is desperately expensive, and contrary to a lot of popular imagination, most lawyers don’t make tons of money- and most of the ones who do sign their lives over to BigLaw for a good period of their life (the main exception being the ones in IP, for which additional expertise is usually a prerequisite). It can take a long time to pay back law school debt.
Other than some gen ed requirements (which you may have satisfied with AP credit), you can knock yourself out with history courses at McGill too. In fact, if you wanted to, you probably could take as many history courses in 4 years at McGill as in 3 years at KCL. McGill also has study-abroad/exchange programs (like many unis these days) including in the UK. If you’re deadset on becoming a lawyer, I would save money on undergrad.
And yes, you’d probably have to work hard to get a good GPA at McGill . . . but you’d have to work hard to do well in law school to get a good job, work hard in any high-paying Big Law job to pay off your likely gigantic law school debt, etc. And if you don’t go down that path or it doesn’t work out, you’d probably rather have saved money in undergrad so you’d have extra money to spend later.
In short, it’s tough to make a reason-based case for KCL. I suppose you could still choose KCL because of feels, but be cognizant of why you are doing so.
Many law schools offer substantial scholarships and some offer need based financial aid.
@collegemom3717 Hello, I’m not sure why you say KCL would be 45k USD a year, the tuition and housing combined would be around 32k pounds per year, but I may be able to get the EU tuition, making the cost 23k pounds a year. Not to mention that a degree at KCL is 3 years whereas a degree at St. A would be 4 years.
@PurpleTitan Thanks so much for the input! Are you saying that after I do the first year of gen-eds I can primarily focus on history and politics.
I suppose you’re right when it comes to working hard, I already go to one of the highest ranked schools in my state and feel that the workload is fairly rigorous and I would consider myself quite determined. I suppose that it’s all the complaining about impossible grades on McGill forums that I have become worried, but that may be selective bias and not entirely reflective of the actual school grading system. And yes, the main reason for KCL is because I love London and Europe as a whole, its where I’m from.
Both are excellent schools and won’t hold you back when going further in your education. It seems to boil down to your desire to live in London vs. the lower cost (as a CAN ) of going to school at McGill. BTW, have you ever lived in Canada? If not, you will qualify for the Quebec rate, which is about 40% of the CAN rate.
McGill can be pretty tough in some faculties, but the Arts can be pretty doable. I would be aware that most Honours programs are pretty rigorous. Would KCL really be any easier, though?
One other thing. Some US students who have a lot of AP courses, and CAN students who have gone through CEGEP, get credit for the 1st year and can complete their degree in 3 years.
@Chris2002, you will only get EU tuition if your parents have been tax resident in the EU for the previous 3 years.
£32K pounds is ~US$41K atm, which covers tuition and room, but not food, transport, or anything else. Most housing is self-catering (no food), and you have access to a shared kitchen. Some of the UoL Intercollegiate houses offer catered accommodation (meaning breakfast (8-9:30) & dinner (6-7:30), but not lunch) & KCL has a block of rooms there, but you need to add about £3K/40wks onto the rents. Meal plan option exist but are not common or as easy as you might be expecting (for ex, if you are living near Intercollegiate you an get the plan above for ~£2k/40wks (iirc)).