<p>I'm a Canadian college student who just finished my second year of university. I was accepted as a transfer student to both Northwestern and McGill university and am having a hard time deciding which school I should attend.
I'm trying to get into investment banking and I know that NU has strong connections with the Chicago banks, but I have also heard that McGill is known to the large banks. What do you guys recommend?</p>
<p>McGill:
Tuition = $7,977.61 CAD / year. I'm assuming this doesn's include housing/living expenses
2 years left on degree
Would probably room with my friend who has an apartment in Montreal</p>
<p>Northwestern:
Tuition = $63,228 USD / year
Would live on campus</p>
<p>I think both cities would be great and I like the idea of being able to make use of my French in Montreal. I'm just wondering whether the enormous cost of Northwestern is justified by its prestige?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I think Northwestern has a slight edge in prestige and academics, but McGill is an amazing institution as well. Either will position you well for a banking position post grad. I know some Canadian schools like University of Western Ontario do well in placing students in NYC banking jobs, but not sure how well McGill does. Do you have a strong preference to work in the U.S.? Then, it might make sense to spend the extra bucks to attend NU (as long as this isn’t a big burden on your family). If not, I’d personally choose McGill (as someone who is a NU alum). Good dilemma to have!</p>
<p>In terms of name brand prestige, the two schools are pretty even. In terms of world rankings there is no clear favorite between the two. I don’t really know about McGill’s finance department though, from what I have heard its biggest strength is its science department and if you are planning to work in the US, a US university will probably prepare you better since the focus will be on analyzing the US banking system which is very different from the Canadian one (as we saw when the US banks collapsed). If you plan to work in Canada, then go to McGill.</p>
<p>However given the obscene difference in price (63k per year is madness!) I would definitely pick McGill unless money really is no object AND you plan to live and work in the US as an adult.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is nearly enough difference between the two to warrant the high price tag. NU without any financial aid for two years could be a large down payment on a future home. If you were asking about some local school that isn’t well known, I may have said Northwestern, but I’d definitely go with McGill</p>
<p>^^I agree. With the price differential, in your case it makes more sense to go to McGill</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies! My only concern is that people tend to overestimate McGill. Also, while Northwestern seems to be improving (lower acceptance rate, higher endowment, etc.) McGill is falling behind.
I know that Northwestern is definitely targeted by the top i-banks. Does anyone know how McGill is viewed in the US? I know that it is looked at highly in Toronto but I am hoping to work in either chitown or NYC in the future.</p>
<p>^It’s difficult to get into top i-banks. Do you have interesting ECs? If you pick NU, you only have one summer left before your senior year, so you only have one shot at an internship which seems to be almost the only way to get your foot into the door these days. Also, for those firms that recruit in the fall, you wouldn’t have anything to show from NU; for example, you would have no GPA from Northwestern. That could put you at a competitive disadvantage in a field that is already very competitive. </p>
<p>Another thing is NU is more competitive than what you’ve been used to. There’s a risk that you may not do well. NU is on quarter system and you will be competing with more competitive peers (more than McGill) that have two years of experience under this system.</p>
<p>By the way, how much do you know about ib associates and what their typical day is like? Can you handle long hours and high stress for the work that is likely not as interesting as you may imagine?</p>
<p>It just seems to be too much of a gamble for something that I am not sure how much you know about.</p>
<p>I’d pick McGill and try to get into ib from there; if you really want to work in Chicago, you can ask for trasnfer or apply for an MBA program after some great work experience in Canada.</p>
<p>Speaking as a Canadian, Northwestern has a huge lead in both prestige and academics. McGill is very easy to get accepted to. In addition, having attended a Canadian university that isn’t ranked much lower than McGill, I will say that Canadian universities are not the best They are under-funded, overcrowded, and generally not nice at all.</p>
<p>That being said, McGill will be much less expensive. Make sure you don’t choose Northwestern unless you have a very well-off family. I was accepted to Northwestern as well, and I had to choose UNC because it is less expensive. I never applied to McGill because I wouldn’t want to go there. I imagine it would be similar to my last institution which was the worst lol.</p>
<p>Personally – if it were not a hardship to your family, I’d recommend Northwestern.</p>
<p>If it is a hardship (and the difference in costs is huge here) McGill is a great school.</p>
<p>Is it worth the difference? No one can really answer that but you.</p>