<p>Help! My D is deciding between USC and McGill leaning towards studying biological sciences (not necessarily pre-med). I appreciate the obvious differences (weather, public vs. private, U.S. vs. intl., etc.) She likes the international flavor of Montreal and the opportunity to learn French. She likes the idea of USC's school spirit and strong alumni association. USC is primarily known in the west versus McGill's perceived reputation in the east - both are city schools and about the same size. Big considerations are post graduate opportunities such as getting into grad school, securing jobs, etc. What are the differences between the school's personalities as well as student bodies? What kind of person excels at USC? Thoughts?</p>
<p>Congratulations to your D on two wonderful choices. We have a close friend attending McGill who loves it there, and have noticed some differences (not including the weather!):</p>
<p>USC makes it extremely easy for students to switch majors, add a second major, or take a minor or two. Studying across Schools is encouraged. I have heard changing majors/Schools may not be possible at McGill, but of course, please check.</p>
<p>At USC, the largest lectures (intro courses) hold less than 200 students and always include a weekly discussion or lab section with 18-30 students. The professor always keeps office hours and is accessible by email, as are the discussion/lab TAs. In contrast, our friend has mentioned attending a large intro bio lab with over 600 students at McGill, and watching lectures online rather than showing up sometimes, so each university will have a different feel in this area. </p>
<p>USC offers many research opportunities to freshmen who want it, so building up a great resume is very easy. As mentioned, professors are easily accessible. Those two aspects, combined with making good grades will be most instrumental in earning a student great post-grad opportunities. </p>
<p>We are big fans of USC for the personal attention a student gets. Emails come regularly with offers for paid research, internships, study abroad, academic scholarships, etc. It is easy to email an adviser and get an answer quickly. Mentor professors take students under their wings to guide them through post-grad opportunities. </p>
<p>Best of luck in your D’s decision.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the information! This is like comparing apples to oranges but both are great options.</p>
<p>McGill has little name recognition outside Canada and academia. It’s a good school but if money isn’t an issue go with USC, a brand name institution.</p>
<p>Sent from my SGH-T989 using CC</p>
<p>As a McGill alum and parent of a pre-med McGill grad, I regret to say - go to USC. Unfortunately while the education and price at McGill are great, the grading makes it impossible to get into med school - class averages really are curved to Cs (and some actually fail more than half the class- all of whom were gifted science students) and truthfully the Canadian kids are better prepared than you in the intro sciences. Unlike US schools, to major in bio, you need to take almost every class in science - less than one elective per semester. Classes are all large; interaction with professors is non-existent, even though they will let you work in their lab with their grad students, you won’t speak with them; they will write a nice reference letter, but very different from US college experience even if on paper doesn’t seem so. If none of that bothers you (though it should) Montreal is a great city, and students have a great time going to clubs. You will need to rent apartment years 2-4, which won’t be a problem. You don’t need to speak French; you don’t need to worry about it being a commuter school- because you will only be friends with the thousands of non-commuters living in the dorms. I love Montreal and McGill, but we learned the hard way - it’s not for American pre-meds. Daughter #2 just chose USC over Wash U to ensure she gets the college experience Daughter 1 missed.</p>
<p>Just to chime in re McGill class averages: our personal experience (though just after first year) is that class averages appear to have been curved to Bs. Our D’s unofficial transcript lists the class average for all of her classes next to her final grade. The averages for all her classes thus far have been Bs (B, B+ or B-). She is a US student and exceeded the class average in all of her classes (all science or math) first year. </p>
<p>We will see what the next 3 years brings, but so far her experience as a U.S. premed student has been positive. She has had to work much harder than she did in high school, but isn’t killing herself and has had an active social life.</p>
<p>Just to follow up my daughter decided on USC and is very excited about being a Trojan! Thank you all for your input.</p>
<p>Congratulations Carrie. Welcome to the Trojan family.</p>
<p>Congrats, ya it’s warmer in USC land if nothing else! Thanks for updating, nice to know what happens to people. Still wondering about the mm1965dad (or something like that) and the daughter choosing between Mork USC and Yale…I am thinking they went another direction since we haven’t heard anything for awhile… Aren’t you glad the decision is done and you can move forward? In the winter a friend told me that the best day is May 2nd. She was right.</p>
<p>It is really nice to hear your daughter is enjoying McGill; sorry to seem so negative, but if you want to get into a top US medical school, her GPA will need to be above 3.8 and that is very hard at McGill. My daughter’s transcript had several C and C+ averages in bio classes; she had a lot of B+ and A- but that still leads to a mediocre GPA. At most US schools, the average GPA is 3.5. FYI, the average GPA of those applying to DO schools ( ie because they can’t get into MD med schools) is 3.5. Many med schools screen out any applicant below 3.7. Times have really changed. Make sure she takes 6 cr English, 3 cr stats, 3 cr biochem.</p>