Harvey33

I'm deciding between the two, and I know they're very different. I didn't really know what kind of place I wanted when applying, and figured I would have figured it out by decision time, but didn't, of course, so now I feel like I'm comparing apples and oranges.

I know the decision largely comes down to big city vs. close community. What do you think are the pros and cons of the different environments? What about the schools specifically? I am visiting them both in the next couple weeks, and hopefully one will draw me more than the other, but any advice is definitely appreciated.

BTW, McGill would cost about 12k/year, while Vassar would cost about 25k/year. My family is willing to pay for either (with me helping a bit with work-study and loans for Vassar), but it is still a consideration since we're not rich.

Thanks!

SEGA

My daughter is a Vassar freshman and was accepted at McGill last year. I am also a McGill graduate. These are totally different schools. At Vassar you will be in classes of 15 to 30 students and will know your professors well. Unless you have an IB diploma and will enter second year at McGill (as Quebec students will) your Freshman classes will typically be large lecture classes. This may be less of a concern in the Sciences where McGill is historically very strong than in the Arts where McGill is currently trying to improve it's offerings but is less strong. McGill is an excellent pre-professional public university but it does not provide the personalized education that a top LAC does.

Montreal is a fabulous student town with 3 other large universities and great entertainment and cultueral venues. Vassar students pretty much have to make their own opportunities and to a large extent they do - read other threads on this forum. Both these institutions expect their students to work very hard so presumably entertainment is of secondary importance to you.