<p>I am a Canadian looking schools now up there now that I have finished all the American applications. </p>
<p>I am looking at UBC, Mcgill, and U Toronto. What is the atmosphere like in these schools?</p>
<p>The big three Canadian schools (being the ones you just mentioned) are usually compared to UMichigan because they’re large, public, and of similar reputation. </p>
<p>McGill is known as more of a party school because it’s in downtown Montreal where the drinking age is 18, but academics are still taken very seriously and to someone coming from, say, a state school, it might not seem like much of a party school.</p>
<p>U of T and UBC are both larger commuter schools. U of T’s main campus is in downtown Toronto, and UBC’s is about 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver. </p>
<p>They’re all good schools. U of T is usually recognized as the best for grad and the worst for undergrad (mostly because of its size). McGill has been falling a bit in rankings because of a lack of funding from the Quebec government (because it’s an English school) and UBC has been rising because it does have good funding. </p>
<p>People compare Toronto to New York, Montreal to a more European/international city, and Vancouver a mix between old and new (with a large Asian population). At UBC, you’re less than an hour away from both beaches and ski lodges.</p>
<p>They all have quite a few internationals, although UBC and U of T have more Asian/brown students and McGill has more Americans. I know family/friends at all three, and in general, people at McGill seem the most satisfied with their choice and at U of T the least.</p>
<p>PS - I’m a Canadian HS senior who has applied to, visited, and researched each one.</p>
<p>^I agree with what he said. If I was going to a Canadian school, I would go to UBC.</p>
<p>thank you,
my GPA is 3.78 (95%)
, aiming for a 2100 SAT from an american International School in China.
I need a backup school that is good business or engineering
I thought about Simon Fraser, U Ottawa, and Carleton as the 3 backup’s
can you give me more opinions on these?
thanks</p>
<p>UBC alumni here. I considered and visited Mcgill+ U of T before deciding against both.</p>
<p>UBC is a commuter school and its located in the western most part of the neighborhood of Vancouver, point gray. Its a 25-35 minute trip to down town by transit. The campus, however has more housing than any school in Canada, and guarantees housing to all students outside the GVRD (basically Vancouver and surrounding) so there is a little bit more going on than other places. The campus also gorgeous arguably the most beautiful in Canada, since it has views of the mountains. That being said I’d pick the school based on what faculty. If your in Business/Commerce you may be better off at Mcgill or U of T. This isn’t because Sauder is bad, but UBC has a location disadvantage. Bay Street and Canada’s financial district is in the east, so students from business schools in that area are more actively recruited.</p>
<p>On the other hand UBC is great for job placement for engineering/applied sciences/computer science. UBC has good programs in the life sciences.</p>
<p>For arts/social sciences its a tough call. Each school has strengths and weaknesses. UBC has excellent Economics, Political Science, Asian Languages department. Mcgill is lagging in those areas, but is more revered for pure liberal arts.</p>
<p>thanks, UBC is my ideal school because of its internationally accessible location, the beautiful campus, and the lower costs since Im Canadian. What do you think are the chances of me getting into Saunders? </p>
<p>and… which school would u say is a very SAFE school for me as a backup?? for business/commerce? </p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>@ashesatdusk: I found the actual buildings at UBC fairly unattractive, but the natural surroundings are obviously very nice. I think it depends what you’re looking for with campuses. I prefer McGill’s because it’s right in the downtown but still distinct enough that you know when you’re on campus. U of T’s is a bit too spread out.</p>
<p>@jimyjim: Sauder* is one of the best business schools in Canada. I have a brother attending and he loves it. It’s true that you won’t get recruited as soon as a Rotman (U of T) student because, as ashes said, Canada’s financial district is in the east. But that’s not to say there aren’t lots of opportunities out west too. Sauder has strong ties with Asian companies. Desautels (McGill) isn’t very good but most people go there because McGill itself has the most international name recognition. The three go Sauder > Rotman> Desautels. But as mentioned, the east has its advantages.</p>
<p>Admission is difficult though. And it’s impossible to say without your stats. My brother got rejected from Sauder with a 94 average and had to transfer in second year. Rotman is probably the easiest to get into (mid-80s) and Desautels and Sauder are usually around 90 (cut-offs always fluctuate). If you’re thinking about doing business in Canada however, Queen’s, Western (Ivey), and York (Schulich) are known as the best.</p>
<p>@IAmPOS: Actually, when I visited UBC just few weeks ago, they’ve finished most of their reconstructions and renovations so the “newer” buildings are quite nice! They are not like Harvard’s stone buildings, but nice, clean, and modern.</p>
<p>@jimyjim: I say the best school for a “back-up” would be Dalhousie. I know that Dalhousie had some mixed reputations (actually more mixed reviews…), but I personally think it’s a good school and offers just as much as most Canadian universities. However, it is in Nova Scotia so if you are interested in very urban areas, then the small east coast may not be your ideal environment.</p>
<p>But obviously it’s now April, so you must have gotten your acceptance letters by now and probably chose where to go! Where did you chose to go?</p>