<p>If you don’t want to read my precise situation (below) please give your general views on the two universities, for an undergraduate degree in science or economics.</p>
<p>In terms of reputation, Dartmouth seems like a better deal (ranked #1 in U.S. for undergrad by usnews), and the fact that a lot of Dartmouth grads seem to end up in very good positions because of the well-connected alumni network. In addition, at dartmouth I wouldn’t be locked into a particular program (I applied for science at Mcgill, so presumably I’d be locked into that). Dartmouth is also a much smaller school so the attention/education would probably be better.
On the other hand, Mcgill is substantially cheaper (total costs for me average to about 20,000-30,000 for Mcgill and ~50,000 for dmouth, plus whatever miscellaneous expenses), which is important (but not deal-breaking) to my parents. Also, Mcgill is in Montreal, which I’ve heard is a very nice and urban city, whereas dartmouth is in a rural setting, perhaps (too) insular…</p>
<p>Particularly if I’m hoping to work in the U.S. or go to graduate school for an M.D. or an M.B.A., which school would I be better off at? I initially bee-lined to dartmouth because of the ‘ivy-league’ name, but now, with both sides weighted i’m slightly lost.</p>
<p>any unbiased arguments for or against both colleges would be welcome!
Thanks.</p>
<p>I also got into both Dartmouth and McGill! But at McGill basically the moment I stepped on campus, I realized that it was not for me. They didn’t put much effort into the admitted students day, and the city was huge and very cold (though Dartmouth is cold too haha). McGill and Dartmouth both have very beautiful campuses (specifically the buildings are cool). But at McGill you wouldn’t get to know your professors, (30,000 + kids is a lot!) and graduate schools can require up to 3 recommendations. However for me the financial situation is kinda reversed (mcGill $30,000, Dartmouth $10,000) so I wouldn’t be able to help on that aspect. I really recommend visiting if you haven’t already. The feel of both schools are completely different.</p>
<p>I’ve heard the argument about McGill having a lot of students many times, but after researching, I’ve found out that class sizes are usually larger than those in US Colleges, but certainly not 200-300 or anything remotely close to that. </p>
<p>McGill is a fantastic university, and its prestige us well appreciated by the entire world. However, the cons of McGill are (as I found out during my personal researh…might be false) the number of students that make you feel like just another face in the crowd, dorms such as New Rez (which is basically a hotel…and that kinda kills the college experience for me…even though the rooms are nice…although Douglas is very collegiate), low ranking of particular majors, and lack of uber selectivity(this is purely personal fulfillment).</p>
<p>Dartmouth is an amazing college. In terms of world prestige, it is not as great as McGill. But trust me, grad schools in USA love Dartmouth graduates. Furthermore, the frats at Dartmouth help create connections which serves kids later on, especially on Wall Street (this is according to many Dmouth students). I do not know much about dartmouth personally though.</p>
<p>Btw, Montreal is an amazing city. It is absolutely lovely. But the city life is not for everyone. Cost of living is also reasonable.</p>
<p>I do not recall ever seeing the USNWR ranking Dartmouth in the top 5, let alone #1. Dartmouth has been ranked between #6 and #11 ever since I have been following the rankings, back in the late 80s. </p>
<p>This said, there are only a dozen or so universities in the US I would recommend over McGill, and Dartmouth is one of them. The academic and non-academic opportunities offered at Dartmouth will be hard to duplicate at McGill. Of course, cost is a consideration, and you need to ask yourself, are the benefits of attending Dartmouth worth the extra $100,000+? Only you, and your parents, can answer that question.</p>
<p>Another thing to consider is that internationals will take a back seat for getting those so-called “opportunities”. The immigration law in the US is so pain in the neck that it often locks you into a company or even a path you don’t like but have to “settle” just to get the Green Card, wihch can take years. After that, it takes another 6 years to get the citizenship. Many years can be wasted for all that. I know quite a few people ending up this way. That the US is a land of opportunities is a myth for the locals (a study shows that US is one of the worst in terms of social mobility among the developed world); it’s even worse for internationals. In contrast, Canada is much easier to get the citizenship status.</p>