U of T or McGill?

<p>Which has the most freedom in the undergraduate curriculum? I've been accepted to the BA and BSc at McGill and the BSc at U of T. Basically which school is most like a liberal arts school (like the ivies) in the US (that's where I really want to go but chances are slim)?</p>

<p>are you a transfer?</p>

<p>no freshman</p>

<p>I'm interested too. Which school is more like a liberal arts college?</p>

<p>Actually, neither is like a small liberal arts college in the US.
They are closer to large state universities, albeit at a very high
scholastic quality. If you want the "liberal arts" experience you should
look elsewhere to be happy. You will not find the personal attention,
faculty contact or caring advisers at McGill or UT that you find at
Amherst, Penn, or Mt. Holyoke. It is a different type of school that requires much more personal initiative and self-starting for success. It is the
European model of university, and some students thrive under it and some do not.</p>

<p>Let me second mcgilldad's comments. My son just graduated from McGill and my nephew from U of T. The one characteristic that stood out for me was their academic rigor. They are modeled on the European concept of the university, a place for advanced academic studies. Unlike the liberal arts colleges we've been visiting with my younger daughter, McGill requires students to take responsibility for their own education. I don't want to imply that the schools are simply grinds, though. Montreal, and to a great extent Toronto, too, are great cities with much to offer the young and adventurous.</p>

<p>how have you already been accepted?</p>

<p>McGill has apparently began to roll out some admissions decissions. For example, I sadly received my rejection notice yesterday. You can check Minerva to see if yours is ready. </p>

<p>As regards to the posters original question, I would have to agree with the other posters that neither McGill or the University of Toronto qualify as anything close to a Liberal Arts College. They're both very large universities located in bustling urban centres, so they're relatively impersonal just by design. </p>

<p>If you're looking for a Canadian school with a Liberal Arts College-like atmosphere, you should really look at schools like Queen's, which combines high academic acheivment with a (relatively) peaceful environment. In addition, Brandon University out in Manitoba is really like that, with the close-knit environment. The Universities in the Atlantic Provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland) also seem to have that kind of environnment, just on the grounds that they have far fewer students than schools in the rest of the country.</p>

<p>True, both are universities, but which is closer to a liberal arts college, if one had to choose one? I have the feeling that McGill is more like one, seeing that it's located in Montreal, a pretty laid back and intellectually diverse city, but I'm not sure. Thanks for any help.</p>

<p>I guess McGill because it's half the size of UofT...</p>

<p>I applied last year and I was accepted at both and deferred for a year.</p>

<p>glendalais89 - Sorry to hear about your rejection. I have looked into Atlantic schools, but they are just so far removed from any metopolitan area - I want a more big city school that has a personal feel - if that even exists in Canada?</p>

<p>^^</p>

<p>Check out Ryerson University in Toronto and Carleton University in Ottawa, but the deadline might of passed for both schools.</p>

<p>McGill and U of T are nothing like Liberal arts colleges, but I would assume McGill will feel more like one because of its smaller population and more people live on campus, whereas U of T has a very large population that commutes to school. If a liberal arts college is what you want, i think you'll be quite disappointed at both U of T and McGill. I would say the most liberal arts university in Canada, would be Trent University.</p>

<p>I'm sorry to change the subject so quickly, but to those who have received their decisions, when did you apply and when did you receive your decision?</p>

<p>actually U of t has two suburban campuses that inflate its population. those two campsus have about 10,00 students each. if you're downtown you will never see them so don't be so dissmisive of U of T compared to Mcgill if you are going strictly by population.</p>