I am a US citizen looking to go to college in Canada for my undergraduate studies. I plan to study linguistics and mathematics. I was just wondering if anyone could speak to the differences and pros/cons between these two schools. Are there any major differences between Canadian and American schools? Also, how are Canadian colleges look at by American graduate programs? Thanks in advance!
I don’t know enough specifically about either linguistics or mathematics at either of these schools to compare them for these majors.
Both McGill and Toronto will be academically very challenging. Compared to the top US schools such as Ivy League schools, they will be easier to get accepted to but not any easier to graduate from. This will imply that some students might be over their heads. Also, there is less “hand holding” at Canadian schools. They will assume that you are an adult. Getting A’s will be more difficult than it would be at a top school in the US. If you need help you will need to go looking for it.
I know people who have gotten their bachelor’s in Canada and then gotten their master’s and/or PhD in the US, including at top schools such as Stanford and Princeton. The top schools in the US know how strong McGill and Toronto are.
One big difference of course is that McGill is in a bilingual city, whereas Toronto is in an overwhelmingly English speaking city. You will overhear conversations in Montreal in both English and French, but you will also hear some conversations that go back and forth between the two languages with ease. I personally find that if I go into almost any store or restaurant in Montreal and start to speak French they immediately switch to English. This is probably mostly a comment on the quality of my French but also implies that most of the people who will be helping you in stores and restaurants will be fully bilingual.
Both are large schools. Toronto is significantly larger than McGill.
There are a lot of other very good universities in Canada. Most are not as well known outside of Canada.
Montreal is a bilingual city and as a student you will be able to live comfortably in English. There are over 400,000 anglophones (English mother tongue) living in the Montreal area. But as a bilingual city Montreal would provide the opportunity to learn some French, if you so choose.
Both schools are very challenging academically in the faculties you mentioned. There are a lot of similarities…both are urban schools right in the middle of exciting cities, surrounded by scads of restaurants, bars, museums, concert halls, etc… Both have a defined campus within the city, with some classic architecture, though non students can and do walk through the campus. U of T will have a massive amount of Asian students. McGill less so, but it is still very diverse. There is a significant American population…about 10%, and a lot of Europeans(and others).
Toronto is a very large city(think Philadelphia). Montreal is smaller, but has a big city feel. Both are very diverse, but at it’s heart, Montreal is a predominantly French speaking city, while Toronto is English speaking. McGill itself(and Concordia down the street), however, exist in an English bubble.
I have lived in both cities, have a son going to McGill right now, and have numerous friends and relatives who have graduated from U of T. McGill will kick your butt, but be somewhat charming about how they do it. Toronto is an industrial strength army tank that will run you over and leave you in little bits if you let it…but hey, the noodles are good!
A degree from either school in the faculties you mentioned will be held in reasonably high regard by other top ranked Universities world wide. They will also prepare you to compete just about anywhere.
Oh, and if you are used to getting straight A’s, be prepared for a shock. The grading can be brutal at both schools.
One other thing, since you are interested in Math. The Fields medal is named after a U of T grad. I believe they have a building named after him at the downtown campus.