Hi CC! So I have an urgent issue that I’d be thankful if you could help me resolve. I found out very recently that I was admitted to McGill. I was planning on attending Durham University in the UK, but I’m not sure anymore (I do need to decide very soon though). Here’s the issue: my program at McGill is not located on the main Montreal campus, but on the Macdonald campus, which is right outside of Montreal. This wasn’t an issue initially; I actually chose that faculty over the main science one as I liked the idea of smaller classes and more hands-on learning. However, I was told by a friend that the faculty used to be a separate agricultural college and later became part of McGill. Now, as far as I understand, a “college” in Canada is usually a community college. This doesn’t seem to be an issue in Canada, because a lot of Universities seemingly started out as “colleges”, but my friend thinks it might disadvantage me for graduate school, as they might “look down on” that degree (I do know that ex-polytechnics carry a stigma in the UK, where I will probably undertake a Master’s degree). This particular campus also has much lower entry requirements for their programs than all other programs at McGill (although I’ve been told that this is because they have so many more students applying for the main science faculty), whereas Durham is extremely competitive for my course (Natural Sciences). Also, the degree denomination that I will earn is a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and not a simple BSc. I don’t think there’s a difference, because McGill seems to be the only university using that denomination, but I don’t know how it will be perceived by other universities. I’m scared it might be seen as a less academic degree. Do you think this will be an issue, or am I massively overthinking it? I wouldn’t mind attending Durham either, but it would cost more than twice the price of McGill, making it barely affordable for my parents. Can anybody give me advice about this?
Macdonald campus has always been a part of McGill since it was created in 1907. It was called Macdonald College until about 20 years ago when the designation changed as “college” came to be redefined across Canada. One reason for the lower admission requirements is that students from outside the Montreal area want to be downtown and not 25 miles away in Ste.-Anne-de-Bellevue.
The degree name is irrelevant. McGill has held on to many traditional degree designations: Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Laws etc.
Your friend does not know what he is talking about.
If you are going to grad school, what you do and what you learn will have a much greater impact than whether some school was formerly a college or not, and I’m quite certain the McGill faculty would be more than capable enough to prepare you for grad school.
The academics who are the ones deciding whether you get admitted in to grad school or not don’t really care about how tough it is to get in to your undergrad or silliness like that. For example, the U of Arizona (which is nearly open admissions) sends more alums to STEM PhD programs than Yale (and yes, 'Zona is several times bigger, but their average undergrad is also much less capable; what that stat shows is that if you are good enough, you would not be disadvantaged by attending a “lesser” school, especially in STEM).
What they care about is what you show you are capable of.
To me, the choice is clear if Durham is barely affordable.
Are you American, Canadian, British or other?
@TomSrOfBoston Oh, I did not know that, I assumed that it only became part of McGill when it became “Macdonald Campus”, because I thought a College was a separate entity. That puts things into perspective a bit. Yeah, I was told the same about the entry requirents when I asked yesterday.
@PurpleTitan Thanks for your comment. Yes, I know prestige does not matter too much when it comes to undergraduate, but I have hard time convincing my parents of that, who believe the best and only way to choose a Uni is to look at global uni rankings haha. (I may have slightly exaggerated when I said that Durham was barely affordable, but it is very expensive, and I was wondering if it would be foolish to turn down McGill for something twice the price).
@TomSrOfBoston I am a dual citizen US and EU (but not UK)
I’m pretty certain McGill beats Durham in most if not all of the global rankings.
Who are these people who think Durham is more prestigious than McGill?
Of greater concern is that the assessment system is pretty different (continuous assessment in North America vs. everything coming down to big tests at the end of the year in England).
What are you use to?
@PurpleTitan Yeah not sure what rankings my parents were looking at…
On the assessment system: I went to a French high school, meaning that we had test pretty much on a constant basis. Was a bit exhausting, but I think I might be more adapted to that system.
Ah, if you are a French citizen that explains the low cost at McGill.
Are you attempting to start this fall?
@TomSrOfBoston Yup. Fortunately, Quebec only asks for citizenship, unlike UK who ask for citizenship + residency.
@Happy4u Yeah. I know it’s super late to be making this decision, I just received my confirmation suuper late from McGill (issues with transcripts). I submitted my deposit for McGill and firmed Durham on UCAS, so they are technically both confirmed (since they are in different countries, I don’t think this poses a problem). I’ve done on time what I needed to do for both (housing, classes, immigration, etc) and haven’t been asked to officially enroll yet, so I just needed to call one of them to tell them I wouldn’t be attending.
Ok. I was just making sure you have the CAQ and study permit in process. The CAQ can take several weeks. Good luck!
@Happy4u Thanks!