I recently got into both mcgill in Montreal and northeastern in Boston but I haven’t been able to tour either if them because of corona :(.
Im going to major in physics definitely and if I go to mcgill possibly linguistics or an arts major as well (I got into their BS and their BSandBA programs)
I know mcgill probably has the better physics program, but northeasterns coop program makes it hard to count out.
Id consider myself kind of an alt person (I do have green hair and walk around in long black skirts) and Im a leftist, but I think I’d be fine at any school that isn’t exclusively the « lacrosse player » stereotype, so that’s not a huge worry. Also having to use French would be more of a pro than a con because I already know a fair amount and am excited to learn more
Can anyone comment on the general vibe/energy/feel of each school? What students and classes are like, the general attitude and what a daily schedule looks like, or really any comments on the schools. thanks!
We did tour both, and D1 was accepted to both. They are both large schools. They are both in attractive cities. They are both academically very good.
What is your nationality? What would each of these cost you? Right now the Canadian dollar is quite low, which makes Canadian schools a bargain. Of course if you are a Canadian, the low Canadian dollar does not make the Canadian schools cheaper but does make the American schools more expensive.
At least for us McGill was very affordable and Northeastern was way over budget and not affordable.
Montreal is a great city for a student. Since you speak a little French this will help you get around Montreal but it definitely is not needed. In the part of Montreal near McGill (and Concordia which is right up the street) almost everyone I have met has been fully bilingual. If I walk into a store or restaurant and start speaking French they usually immediately switch to English but seem to give me credit for having tried. Spending four years in Montreal is likely to cause a significant improvement in your French. If you want to intentionally improve your French there are very good intensive French courses available over the summer in Montreal (and Quebec City and a few other places in Canada). These are very affordable.
I do not know anything about physics at Northeastern. However, I would expect that you would find both schools to be academically challenging and academically excellent. If you speak some French you should be able to get internships in Montreal as a McGill student, and of course the coop program at Northeastern is well known. I know of physics internships elsewhere in Canada, specifically at UBC, and apparently students come “from across the country and abroad every year”. A daughter who is studying at a different university in Canada has found very good internship and/or coop opportunities. In this regard I think that you would do well at either McGill or Northeastern.
Boston, although liberal by US standards, tends to be more conservative than Canadian cities. I think you would fit in better at McGill.
What’s your plan? Why are you majoring in physics and interested in internships? Why type of internships do you have in mind?
Also, I doubt NEU physics is on par with McGill.
To give some insight
I received a pretty hefty scholarship from NEU that makes it only ~3k more a year, but I would also have to pay for summer classes to graduate in 3 years, while I start as a U1 at mcgill so I know I would graduate in 3 years there
Im hoping to get hired after undergrad and then get my employer to subsidize my grad degree. I’ve spoken to a lot of professionals and all have said, especially as a woman in physics, this is doable and if I pay for my grad degree I did something wrong. That’s why internships are so important to me. NEU is worse at physics but better at internships, while Mcgill is better at physics but I’ve heard it almost impossible to get an internship unless you’re fluent in French.
That being said, I don’t think either school is a bad choice career wise and now I’m just trying to supplement what I’ve read about them to make up for not touring
Also I’m an American IB student (my Lang b is French)
My son is a first year at Northeastern in engineering and computer science. Being from a more spread out urban area, he likes being in a walkable city with good public transportation. He runs on the Charles River trail and plays on a club Ultimate team. Other things he likes are chess club and the free, non credit language classes. He is continuing his study of Chinese and also taking Korean.
Academically he seems to be receiving individualized advising with a plan that takes advantage of his AP credits and allows him to do EE and CS. Northeastern allows you to easily change majors.
What my son liked at admitted student day was hearing about student research and coops and how these opportunities either solidified a planned major or resulted in a change of plans. If NEU puts the student presentation powerpoints online, definitely give them a look.
What you’ll miss out on is the feel of the place. My son felt comfortable with the other admitted students and parents as well as the attending students when we were on campus the day after admitted students day. I didn’t cue in on a high percentage of alternative looking/like green haired students but we live in Austin so I might not cue in on that.
I’m not familiar with McGill so I can’t make comparisons.
Good luck with your choice and best wishes for finishing out your senior year under adverse conditions.
What type of grad degree? PhD physics programs in North America would be fully-funded (by the uni), take straight out of undergrad, and wouldn’t give you enough time to work anywhere outside the uni anyway.
If a master’s, what would you do with a master’s in physics?
Again, what is the end goal?