Though UMich does have the residential college. But many classes would be big.
I can’t say much about the school quality, but you definitely do NOT need to know French to study at McGill! Montreal will have stores and restaurants with English and French speakers since the city is a very common place for tourists. Also, McGill is the most internationally recognized school out of those three, so that could allow for potentially better networking - especially with international relations as a concern. Due to its large grad programs, they will be more impersonal to undergrads, but I personally think that McGill is the better choice out of those.
Plus, you’ll be in Canada :))
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Montreal is also home to 400.000 anglophones (English mother tongue).
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common problem
University of Michigan, no question.
I transferred from Carleton College to University of Michigan.
The bigness of U of M was no problem; the smallest of Carleton College, more so.
Also not a sports fan, BTW.
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“Kenyon is well respected and seems tailor made for the stage in life you’re at right now. Undecided? That’s what a school like Kenyon is built for.”
You’d have more options at UM LSA which I’m assuming is the college the OP is accepted to given the Econ and I/R majors. Especially if the the OP is truly undecided and takes say a computer science or engineering elective and says, this could be interesting, then without question, UM is the clear choice, at least in terms of exploring majors.
Other factors like sports culture, campus feel, the OP would have to decide once the visits are done.
“Kenyon conveys an encoded prestige, which, in my opinion, makes it the most prestigious school from your group”
Well UM and McGill convey overt prestige, which imo, makes both of them far more prestigious than Kenyon. Especially for Econ and International Relations, very few schools are better than UM for those.
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My take -
Best US Brand - Michigan
Best Global Brand (international relations) -McGill
Most Academically Talented Students - Michigan and McGill
Best Teachers - Hard to say. If same level schools, I would give to the liberal arts colleges, but Kenyon is not the same level.
Jobs after College - Michigan and McGill @Lindagaf, that is your friend’s daughter and not the school. McGill kids kill it.
Graduate School Admissions - All fine
I see nothing wrong with you going to Kenyon, but be aware of the opportunity cost.
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UMich would disagree. IMO, most of the Anglo world would disagree. Actually, most of the world, period, other than maybe the Francophone portion.
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When my daughter was making her college decision, we were put in touch with a current Kenyon student who grew up in one of the largest cities in the US and whose final two had been U of Michigan (honors) and Kenyon. She chose Kenyon and was super happy with her decision. Our daughter also declined a very selective Honors program in our state flagship because she wanted a LAC (and thankfully, she got enough merit and other aid to make it doable). It’s not about which school is “better,” it’s about what experience a particular student prefers.
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How do you define a “level”?
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I doubt much, when it comes to teaching ability, that there would be much difference between the faculty at WASP and Kenyon.
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QS World Rankings:
Michigan 21
McGill 31
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Profile of the students coming in for the most part, but truly can’t find what I am responding to.
Found it - yes, the average accepted applicant and applicant attending would be stronger academically at Michigan and McGill. Feel free to agree or disagree with facts.
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I don’t get it.
Additionally, I would say Kenyon has good word of mouth reputation, but its US News ranking doesn’t really place it in the ultra-elite group like Williams or Amherst or some of the Claremonts. It’s #28 for the latest ranking, and while I fully think the ratings system is flawed, I think it still does have an impact on the “prestige” if that’s important to the OP.
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Which facts are those? Please link to data.
School published profile information, Naviance and common data set.
Anything different that you know of?
The average GPA seems to be the same at Kenyon and Michigan, although test scores are higher for Michigan. Whatever. Academic ability is not all about stats, as we know. The main point is that the quality of professors is not determined by the “level” of students (whatever that means), I’m missing a connection there. I myself teach at a large state research university (top 50, if you love ranking), and, while our humanities and social sciences majors are much less competitive than STEM ones, the professors in those fields (humanities and social sciences) are amazing, with multiple teaching awards and degrees from Ivies and other top institutions (again, if prestige matters). My daughters’ Kenyon professors this semester have Ph.Ds from Princeton and U Penn, among others. But at this point, I think I said all I had to say about this. I’m not arguing against Michigan or McGill, both are amazing schools, I just wanted to give personal feedback re Kenyon since I have a student there.
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Some people believe the strength of a student body helps to determine the strength of the college. I am one of those people. No disrespect to Kenyon.
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Sure. When the student bodies exhibit a 10 point difference in average ACT or so. But when the difference is 33 vs 31, I challenge you to be able to tell the difference. Are you in HS still? I can’t imagine any adult thinks a 2 point difference in ACT is meaningful.
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