UMASS Commonwealth, McGill, or Emory?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>i need to decide by this saturday where i want to go! I would like to go to Emory but it is extremely expensive while McGill is cheaper and UMASS is the cheapest. I don't know what I want to major in, but I like math, some sciences, and art. There is a possibility I might be a doctor, which is another reason why I don't think I should go to Emory because then I wouldn't have enough money for Grad school.</p>

<p>I'm thinking about going to UMASS but am worried that I will lose motivation to work hard. also, I'm not sure if its classes are really good enough to get me into a good grad school.</p>

<p>Is it true that graduate school is the school that "matters" when it comes to getting a job, and that all you need in undergraduate school is just a good gpa/be well rounded to get into a good graduate school?</p>

<p>I am also hesitant about going to McGill because I would have to declare my major by the end of freshman year.</p>

<p>So which school? I don't think going to Emory just for its fame is a good enough reason.</p>

<p>THOUGHTS PLEASE???
THANKS!</p>

2

<p>McGill is just as good as Emory, and commands similar respect among graduate school adcoms. Plus, Montreal is a terrific city. My vote goes to McGill.</p>

3

<p>McGill. Only go to Emory if your family won’t have a problem affording it and you like it a lot more than McGill. Atlanta’s weather is a lot better than Montreal’s, though, if that matters to you. In every almost other aspect, McGill is equal to or better than Emory.</p>

4

<p>is McGill really just as good as Emory? I heard that McGill was comparable to NYU…which I deff don’t think is as good as Emory…</p>

5

<p>“is McGill really just as good as Emory?”</p>

<p>Absolutely. Internationally, McGill’s reputation is probably higher than Emory’s, although I think they are of very similar quality.</p>

6

<p>If you do really well at a college, you can get into a good grad school. If you don’t, it won’t matter where you went. </p>

<p>I’m a big fan of McGill. The students there are terrific.</p>

7

<p>I just realized that McGill offers nothing in visual arts…the closest they get is Art History. Other than premed, I’m interested in arts and advertising. This poses a big dilemma since going to McGill means that I am basically deciding now to totally give up visual arts and pursue something in science.</p>

<p>this leaves me a choice between UMASS and Emory. Once again, emory is really expensive.</p>

<p>I have a feeling I might end up at Umass Commonwealth college.</p>

<p>bad idea??</p>

8

<p>It’s primarily what you do in college that matters, not where you go. So much of it comes to fit and finances.</p>

9

<p>I find it unbelievable that someone finds U of Massachusetts, Emory and McGill comparable. None are awful. Do yourself a favor and do some research first, then come back with contrasts and questions.</p>

10

<p>Mcgill, in my opinion, does not offer a great undergraduate experience whereas Emory does. I live in Canada so many friends have told me that Mcgill classes are huge, professors don’t care about teaching and only care about research. Also, TA’s teach a bunch of classes. A relatively recent problem for Mcgill is that it is very poorly funded. Mcgill, being a huge school, has a 800 million dollar endowment and most of this money is focused on grad school resources and professor research grants. On the other hand, Emory has an endowment of 5 billion dollars which is one of the highest in the WORLD! A huge portion of this money is spent for undergraduates. </p>

<p>Let me lay out a comparison in terms of specifric aspects:</p>

<p>Undergraduate Focus:</p>

<p>Emory> Mcgill partly due to the reasons mentioned above… but also because Emory has much smaller classes, no TAs, better endowment etc. I think few will disagree Emory has more of an undergraduate focus than Mcgill. In this regard, Mcgill can be compared to top publics. Btw, if Mcgill were to be ranked on USnews, it would be probably between 30-40 similar to NYU and some large publics. </p>

<p>Professors:</p>

<p>I don’t know about Mcgill but Emory’s visiting professors/lecturers are honestly amazing… the Dalai Lama, President Jimmy Carter, Sir Salman Rushdie etc. Emory’s endowment allows it to attract professors that are top in their field. I imagine Mcgill has good profs as well. </p>

<p>Student body Strength:</p>

<p>Emory>Mcgill… this is a bit of an unfair matchup because Mcgill, being much larger, will inevitably have a weaker student body. Emory, being much smaller, is much more selective than Mcgill. However, certain progams at Mcgill are very selective while other are not. For example, Mcgill Life Sciences is very selective but Mcgill General Arts is not. Emory is selective throughout all of its programs. </p>

<p>Academics: (not focusing on grad programs)</p>

<p>I think they are fairly similar in their academic capabilities but, due to (I think) the superior undergraduate experience at Emory, I would have to give the edge to Emory. Emory is extremely good in the sciences but I am not too sure about Art but I imagine, like most top schools, it has a broad depth of art offerings that will satisfy your needs. So all in all, I would, for pure undergrad academics, give the edge to Emory. Grad school is a very different story and Mcgill may be as strong and maybe even stronger than Emory but, like I said, Mcgill almost exclusively focuses on its grad programs so this is expected.</p>

<p>City:</p>

<p>Montreal> Atlanta from what I hear… I have never been to Montreal…and I love Atlanta but people say that Montreal is amazing… but also remember, ATL is great as well and you will get a good social life at both. Although Mcgill is an English university, Montreal is in Quebec and so French is spoken a lot. Montreal will probably have more “culture” … although that means different things to different people. </p>

<p>Reputation among Academia:</p>

<p>Mcgill= Emory… I would say the two are very similar but Mcgill may have a slightly better international reputation… but Emory is very up and coming in terms of its international reputation. 13% of the class of 2013 was International, which is one of the highest among top privates. Other schools, like Vanderbilt and Notre Dame, have less than 10% International students. Interpret that how you will. On a personal note, many of my friends here in Canada had heard of Emory even before I told them I applied. They knew it was a good school. One of my friends even went as far as to say (although I disagree with him), “Emory’s the only school that matters in the Southern US”. </p>

<p>Facilities:</p>

<p>Emory>>> Mcgill… seriously, this is not even close… like I said, Emory has a 5 billion dollar endowment for around 12 k students and Mcgill has a 800 million dollar endowment for 30 k or so students. Mcgill, along with other Canadian universities, suffer from low funding whereas this is not the case at Emory. Remember that Mcgill is a public university in Canada, whereas Emory is a private university in the US and so the universities in the latter category will usually be better funded than publics like Mcgill. In fact, Emory is building FOUR new freshman buildings for our (Class of 2014) year so if you come to Emory, you will be living in brand new buildings. </p>

<p>Campus Beauty:</p>

<p>Remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but, to some degree, its objective. I imagine that most would think Emory is more beautiful than Mcgill and this again relates to funding. One of my friends who visited Mcgill said their psycology building looked very bad. When I visited Emory, I absolutely loved everything about it. To provide a comparison, I visited Queens university which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful campuses in Canada (even more beautiful than Mcgill) and it was rundown compared to Emory.</p>

<p>Diversity:</p>

<p>Emory>Mcgill… It is well known that Emory is the most diverse top 20 US school in the US. 40 + percent of the students identify themselves as minorities. </p>

<p>Research Opportunities:</p>

<p>Emory=Mcgill… I imagine the research opportunities will be great at both. I am not completely sure about the specifics about Mcgill’s research offerings… but for Emory, the Centre For Disease Control (CDC) is right in our backyard. Emory has great ties with many research firms and so getting involved with research will not be a problem at all!</p>

<p>All in all, I think Emory, for undergrad, is the better choice… because apart from academics, where these two are relatively similar, there are other factors where Emory wins. Both are world-class universities but it comes down to where the universities focus their resrouces. Mcgill focuses most of its small endowment on grad schools and grad students… whereas Emory can afford to shower undergraduates with money. The Emory tour guide told me that “there is always construction on the Emory campus” because they are always improving and building new facilities. </p>

<p>Oh, and also… this year’s Emory class of 2014 is a great bunch… from all over the US and all over the world… if you go on the facebook group, some are coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Korea, India, UK and many, many more. Mcgill has students from 100 + countries (not sure about the exact number) and Emory also has students from 106 countries (undergrad + grad students) so both have an international appeal.</p>

<p>If you have any more questions about Emory, PM me and let me know.</p>

11

<p>You can certainly get a fine education at the Honors Program at UMass- Commonwealth College. There must be kids from your high school who went there. If you don’t know who they are, ask your GC. Get their phone numbers and call them (yes, actually speak to them). Did you go to Accepted Students events? They can answer questions alot better than folks on CC. I know a couple of kids who are very happy at UMass in the Honors Program- actually pleasantly surprised. And the difference between $20,000 and $50,000+ per year is ALOT. Even if your parents could theoretically afford it.</p>

12

<p>I attended McGill. I think it offers an excellent undergraduate experience.</p>

<p>Also, I find it hard to believe that Emory is more diverse than McGill. McGill is extremely diverse and tolerant. There are students from many different countries at McGill. A wide variety of viewpoints are expressed and accepted at McGill.</p>

<p>In addition, Montreal is generally a much nicer city than Atlanta. Montreal is far more cultured, sophisticated, diverse and tolerant than Atlanta. Montreal has excellent public transportation, while Atlanta is a car city for the most part.</p>

13

<p>But does McGill have any sort of visual art courses? does it let students take courses from other colleges in Montreal if they don’t have the course? I will obviously be asking them but I just want to get as much input as possible!</p>

14

<p>Concordia University in Montreal has a visual arts program and there is cross registration since McGill does not have that major. Concordia is also an English university.
<a href=“http://studio-arts.concordia.ca/[/url]”>Department of Studio Arts - Concordia University;

15

<p>Here’s my take on your dilemma.</p>

<p>Emory/McGill are what one might consider to be top tier elite schools on the undergraduate level. UMass Amherst is not an elite school (undergrad) but it is certainly not a pushover school. Anyone who claims otherwise never went there and if they did, they certainly never bothered to challenge themselves.</p>

<p>Depending on the type of personality that you possess, you can fail or succeed in any of these schools. Emory and McGill will definitely have a larger concentration of like minded and very gifted students. There is no doubt about that. However, UMass will have it’s fair share of gifted students. You’ll probably have to assert yourself and take tougher courses in specific subjects to find these students in bulk. If your intended major/path is Engineering or Computer Science for example, you won’t have a hard time finding very smart kids to hang out or study with.</p>

<p>The bottom line is, none of these schools are so poor that you can’t find dozens or hundreds of valedictorians and 2300+ kids around campus. College is what you make of it and this is a good thing! Since you are the essential part of the equation here, only you will know whether you might succeed in a large university environment vs. a medium sized one.</p>

<p>There are also multiple other factors to weigh. Your regard for the university itself(prestige plays a role in everything, even how people pick their cars so let’s not pretend it doesn’t exist), location, tuition, facilities, travel costs, availability of extra-curricular activities, school spirit/sports, food, teachers and so on.</p>

<p>Having other people from top schools tell you how great their school is can be productive. You might learn a thing or two about their school. But don’t kid yourself into thinking that you’re making the right decision because of it. Unless you are completely dishonest with yourself, there really is no wrong decision.</p>

16

<p>What does your aid look like? I had to turn down Emory because even though I loved it and would’ve loved to go there, it was way out of my price range in affordability. (I had to turn them down again for graduate school, but that was because I got a better offer somewhere else. LOL, I never realized this before. Maybe third time will be the charm with a post-doctoral position or something.) Which school is the ‘best’ doesn’t really matter in context if your parents can’t afford it.</p>

<p>You said Emory is “extremely expensive.” What does expensive look like in the context of your financial aid award? How much will you owe after 4 years? How much will your parents have to borrow or pay out of pocket, and will they be able to do that? Same questions for McGill and U. Mass-Amherst. Compare them in the context of finances.</p>

<p>I am biased because I went to high school and college in Atlanta, and I like the city, and I loved Emory’s campus and their resources and their considerable diversity and their gorgeous LIBRARY. But I’ve never been to Montreal (and I’ve heard good things, very good things. I really want to visit.) It’s also very true that Atlanta is a car city and that can put a damper on your fun, let me tell you, although Emory seems to be the kind of campus where people stay on the weekends (the school I eventually went to wasn’t).</p>

<p>It is true that if you go to graduate school, your undergraduate institution doesn’t really matter as much when you go to get jobs. It’s also true that if you plan on going to graduate school, the name of your undergraduate institution doesn’t really matter, but rather what you do there. But “well-rounded,” no. Graduate schools don’t want Renaissance men and women; they want specialized scholars who are going to do well in their specific field. Medical schools don’t care if you played hockey; they want to know that you have research and/or clinical experience in the area and excellent math and science grades. Psychology programs don’t really care about Model UN but they do care about that psychology REU you did two summers.</p>

<p>Also, yes, if you are considering going to graduate school (particularly expensive professional schools like medical school) you may want to cut your costs. Once you have an MD where you went to undergrad ceases to matter at all. Unless you marry into a society family or something.</p>

17

<p>Juillet, do you/did you go to Ga Tech?</p>

18

<p>OP, check out this forum for high-level thoughts between choosing UMass vs. elite school. I know it’s not specific to Emory or McGill but it still might apply.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/912541-umass-amherst-commonwealth-college-full-ride-vs-caltech-uchicago.html?highlight=umass[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/912541-umass-amherst-commonwealth-college-full-ride-vs-caltech-uchicago.html?highlight=umass&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

19

<p>I don’t think Emory is worth $50,000 if you have other, more reasonable alternatives. It’s not an Ivy or a top LAC–it’s a fine school, certainly, but so is McGill. As far as UMass goes, you can definitely get a great education there, but you have to be proactive (as you probably would have to be at McGill–in that sense I’ll bet Emory is more nurturing). I think you’d be fine at any of these choices, but make sure they’re affordable.</p>

20

<p>^I think Emory and Mcgill are both a bit above “fine”. However, what struck the most from your post is this: “It’s not an Ivy”… umm, so you’re holding its Southern location against it? It can’t be in the Ivy League…You could’ve said “its not a top school” but then your point would be ignored because, by any reasonable measure, it is. Next: “its not a top LAC”… once again, that’s coz it isn’t an LAC to begin with. Your points don’t make sense, to be honest.</p>