<p>Hi, I just heard from a friend about how cheap Canadian schools are, namely Mcgill. I hear it's only $12k a year. So I have some questions about it:</p>
<p>-Are Mcgill or other Canadian schools on par with the Ivy league or top schools in the US?
-How is the school's science and business programs
-I saw that you can get into the Med. school and Law school as an undergrad., is this true. (the website is a little bit confusing).</p>
<p>Also, I saw theres a lot of merit scholarships, how hard is it to obtain those?</p>
<p>There are many Canadian schools that are on par with top schools in the US. The difference is that ALL major Canadian unis are public, while the ivies are all private (and thus more expensive and more "prestigious"). The best Canadian universities include McGill, U of Toronto, UBC, Queen's and Waterloo. For science (engineering specifically), Waterloo is known to be great, while U of T and UBC are more research-based. For business, Queen's or Schulich (run by UWO - Western Ontario) are the best. Overall, McGill probably has the most attractive campus (hello... Montreal is amazing!), international reputation and general quality of education. However, with most of the schools I mentioned, you will get a great education... they are the best in Canada. Also, you cannot get into Med or Law programs without an undergraduate degree anywhere in Canada (it does not happen!). I do know for a fact though that you can take Law as an undergrad in Britain. If you want more info, try Macleans (<a href="http://www.macleans.ca/universities/index.jsp)%5B/url%5D">http://www.macleans.ca/universities/index.jsp)</a>... they come out with the annual university ranking in Canada. </p>
<p>As for cost, yes Canadian unis are amazingly cheap, especially for Americans. Depending on what residence plan you choose, you shouldn't have to pay more than $14 - $15K a year. As for entrance scholarships, some are easier to get than others. To be considered for a McGill scholarship the minimum criteria (as on the website) is "United States High School MINIMUM A- average (or equivalent) over last two years of full-time studies, rank in top 5% of class and minimum score of 660 in each SAT or 30 in the ACT". You also need essays and reference letters, etc. Actually, applying to a top ivy in the US is much like applying for a scholarship in Canada.</p>
<p>Thanks, that helped a lot. Some questions I have are regarding job placement and internships, and how the US will view a degree at a Canadian college. As of now, I have decided to take the business path, while also focusing on a science area in college. Will college at say Mcgill prepare me for grad school at the US (MBA)? Also, do you think I will have difficulty finding a job, say, on wall street as an investment banker or something. I don't know much about Canadian universities and internships. But, obviously, in America, many of those valuable internships turn into jobs after grad. So, I just want to know how will going to a Canadian university affect my career outlook.</p>
<p>As there are only a handful of American colleges that will land you a job on Wall Street, don't count on any Candian school helping you there. They are fine schools, but not in competition with top American colleges.</p>
<p>njchino - I take it you live in Jersey. Usually, I reccommend attending a state school over paying international fees to go to Canada but Rutgers is something like 10k a year in-state which is kind of ridiculous. If you really want the experience of McGill then you should pay the extra and go but the educational difference is marginal. McGill isnt the best uni in Canada but it does have the best intl rep. The school is out of money and everything suffers as a result.</p>
<p>lol, schulich is york (crappy ass school), ivey is UWO (at least better than york )</p>
<p>If you are wondering if people attend canadian universities, representatives from over 80 countries are currently attending U of T - best overall university with greatest rep in canada(like berkeley in Cali) with waterloo being the canadian MIT- all math/science masterminds/geeks end up there or UofT . If you are going to attend any, I would suggest stick to these two.</p>
<p>If you want to know, a graduate from UofToronto Rotman (b-school) co-founded E-Bay... if that helps</p>
<p>One thing I learned about McGill from other Vermont parents who checked it out - housing is only guaranteed for the Freshman year. After that, most of the kids have to find apartments. Totally unofficial information from a faculty acquaintane. Mcgill supposedly gets less money from the province because it's an Anglophone school in a francophone province.</p>
<p>"lol, schulich is york (crappy ass school), ivey is UWO (at least better than york )"</p>
<p>I know the Canadian Schools and York is a fine school (though I myself dont go there so I am not just backing my own school). I really dont feel the need to say anything else about such a blanket uninformed statement.</p>
<p>I should probably add that Canadian schools tend to be less tiered than US schools and are on a - more - level playing field.</p>
<p>Aca, I'm basically guaranteed a full-ride to Rutgers (top 5% and 1500 SAT), so yeh, I'm definitely considering goin there if I don't get into my top choices. Also, I think Rutgers has top 2 or 3 pharmacy program in the nation, along with a great EE program.</p>
<p>If youre a french citizen you get massive discouts for McGill</p>
<p>solaris - if you are french canadian...not french</p>
<p>nj - well in that case, dont waste your time on McGill. You have the stats to get full rides from alot of top schools. Even if Rutgers is the only school you get a full scholarship from, id take it in a heartbeat over McGill. Rutgers is a solid school and you cant beat a free education at solid school...unless of course you get a free/cheap education at an even better school, which quite frankly isnt McGill.</p>
<p>Actually trust me I go to a french school in DC and I know for a fact if you are a french citizen you only pay like 1K+living xpenses</p>
<p>NJ...
don't just settle for Rutgers. with your SAT and GPA stats, you could get full rides or major portion rides to some "better" schools, such as Boston University, etc. take a look around!</p>
<p>well yeh, my stats are pretty competitive; rutgers is is my safety. I already have a college list set up, with Wharton being top choice. I was just inquiring about Mcgill because my next door neigbor turned down Cornell and Carnegie Mellon for it.</p>
<p>I've worked on Bay St. and I am now on Wall St. and you can talk about McLean's rankings all day and and night but it doesn't mean anything. Perception is everything. </p>
<p>Go to Wall St. and ask someone if they've heard of Western and here's the conversation:
"Western? Western what?"
"Ontario."
"What's Ontario?"
"You know, Ivey business school"
"Ivey? What do you mean? Is that Yale's new business school or what?"</p>
<p>...or maybe you're a Queen's grad.
"Queen's????!"
"I didn't know there was a university in Queen's. Dude, that's sketchy. Have you been shot at yet?"</p>
<p>Unfortunately the only university that people have heard of is McGill. Without a doubt, it is the "Havard of Canada" and no McLean's ranking will ever change that. No one in the U.S. has any idea what McLean's is. That's reality. John McLean from Die Hard was pretty cool but I didn't know he put out a magazine. </p>
<p>Almost all major Wall St. firms recruit at McGill (Western and Queen's to as well) and you're chance of getting an Wall St. job are relatively equal across all three. MBA chances are probably just as good as well.</p>
<p>When it comes down to it, the real question is where are you going to have more fun? London, Kingston or Montreal? McGill is the 2nd largest consumer of Molson beer (after the Montreal Canadians) and party harder than anyone in the world. You may also pick up a little french. It's work hard, party hard and you'll meet some really smart people from all around the world. Last I heard, average entering grade was 90%+. McGill has more international students than any other school in Canada which speaks to its global recognition. You'll make friends with people all around the world and in the business world, it's not what you know but who you know. Sure, Ivey might have a better business program but like I said, perception is everything. No one cares if you've never heard of it.</p>
<p>Ok interesting, though I think a bit of a limited point of view. From my perspective U of Toronto is also well known outside of Canada. Within academia U of T certainly well known, as is U of BC and Queens. But as the last poster said name is not that important.</p>
<p>Agreed...I would lump U of T in there as well. Arguably, U of T is known because it is in Toronto and pretty much everyone knows Toronto. However, I can't deny that it is a premiere school and possibly Canada's best all round university with some great professors. At the same time, I think it lacks the prestige of some of its peers. As for UBC, I agree that it's a fantastic school but I would say it is much harder to get to Wall St. (or Bay St.)</p>
<p>leyton_reynolds: Mcgill has the highest international enrollment in canada not because of reputation but because it offers a tuition premium to international students. You can read all about it on Mcgill's website. if Laurentian University (yeah, Laurentian who?) offered that premium everyone would be there too.</p>