<p>mcgill's a great school...more so a great campus..but remember montreal is kind of cocky..montrealians won't speak english unless you are very desperate and don't know any french. even then they are hostile..but most of the students will speak english don't worry. mcgill's a little weird with their acceptances. most of their students come from quebec, and then they proceed to accept international students...and lastly, ontario.. hm</p>
<p>queen's is great because it has a great campus life...its in a city, but not a big city...so there isn't really any external life other than in the campus. everyone who goes to queen's can testify to a really amazing frosh week</p>
<p>u of t is huge. there are a lot of people so if you can't deal with being "a number", might not be the school for you. however some of the colleges are tight knit like trinity - the most prestigious one there. its a small community inside a big one so best of both worlds. of course, its in toronto - big city, lots to do. u of t is very competitive.</p>
<p>Sorry for hijacking this thread from Waitlists to McGill.</p>
<p>Does McGill offer a strong sense of community? Is it as easy to make friends as at some of the U.S. residential colleges? What about the professors? Are they nurturing? Are the classes huge? What about extra-curriculars and volunteer opportunities?</p>
<p>We have visited Montreal on many occasions and love the city. We also speak French, so that is not an issue. </p>
<p>One of my best friends got off of the wait list at Duke, but upon considering things, he chose not to go. His dream is to go to med school and he belives that going to a tough undergrad such as Duke will hurt his chances. All along, he said he applied to schools like Cornell and Duke just "to see if he could get in and cement his status as a good student." Nonetheless, I'm still very proud and excited for him.</p>
<p>nonconformity-- i see you say you are going to mcgill for education. do you know how things work if you go to school in canada and want to teach in the us - is there reciprocity like there is among states? i know someone who wants to be a teacher who is considering applying to canadian schools, but they haven't looked in to the certification issue yet.</p>
<p>Anothermom,
As I haven't formally matriculated or attended classes at McGill, I really can't answer all your questions. But as a child, born and bred in NYC, I have to say that I purposely looked to large Universities in major urban settings for admitttance.<br>
McGill, as you know, conducts all classes in English so language was not a barrier (English is my native language). Again, an urban setting for me, was not a barrier but rather a goal.
As to a University setting--I wanted the diversity offered by such a setting not only in the college population but in the courses offered.
Some people I know suggested that I apply to a suburban LAC but it just wasn't for me. To each his own, I guess.<br>
Oh, and are the classes huge, I hope so. And as to opportunities to volunteer..I have been actively volunteering in many ways throughout my high school years thanks in part to my residence in a large city.</p>
<p>for people who got in off waitlists so far at Duke and Wake Forest... how were you contacted? Regular mail or a phone? If by mail, was it a personal letter or just a standardized letter? Thanks.</p>
<p>truegibberish - I found out that I got off the waitlist at Wake through a phonecall. They left a message telling me to call them back, I did, and they told me the news over the phone :)</p>
<p>unbelievablem,
mcgill has an amazing teachers program. many of my current teachers went to the program at mcgill and it is definitely easy to get a job after that program.</p>
<p>there's one at queen's called arts & concurrent education or something like that and only around 40 get accepted or something, and supposedly that is a great program too.</p>
<p>I just got off of the Reed waitlist =D !!! Now i'm so confused... St John's college or Reed? ah! but I'm excited- reed wasthe hardest school i applied to. YAY!</p>
<p>My whole point is that I want to teach in Canada...specifically inuits in nunavut, and McGill education has a program for that.</p>
<p>The program is five years long. Instead of getting a bachelors and a masters, in Quebec teachers must get a bachelors and they have to qualify for the Quebec teaching license. A little different...</p>
<p>However, if I wanted to return to the US of A, which will now be known as Canada Junior, the girl from the ed department of McGill told me I would simply have to take a few "intro to education" courses and I'd be golden.</p>
<p>misscompetent--glad to hear the program's so good, my dad is making fun of me because he's a big fancy biologist and he went to McGill for BIOCHEMISTRY, la di da, and he thinks I only got into McGill because the ed school "sucks." (His word, not mine) Now I'm going to be like "IN YOUR FACE, dad!"</p>
<p>"All along, he said he applied to schools like Cornell and Duke just "to see if he could get in and cement his status as a good student." Nonetheless, I'm still very proud and excited for him."</p>