<p>Let me just start by saying I love Pitt, and I’ve paid my PittStart fees and $300 deposit already.
I had been put on the waitlist for McGill a few months ago, and figured that by now I was definitely not in, which is why I had taken steps toward other schools.
I want to study international development and/or public health - each school has its benefits, but I feel that McGill is stronger academically in THOSE specific fields, while Pitt has everything else I want (location, student organizations, etc.).
I am likely going to stick with Pitt; just wanted to hear any opinions or if anyone has personal experience with McGill vs. Pitt that they’d like to share. I also realize I’m posting this on the Pitt discussion board, which will probably provide some bias ;)</p>
<p>My son picked Pitt over McGill for some specific reasons that may not apply to you. If you have advanced standing due to a lot of AP classes, they really try to push you out to graduate in less than 4 years. We had clear signs that academic advisors are not so quick to approve class schedules if it includes electives not required for the major - but that was in the Sciences so it may be different in your case. McGill is not in as good a shape financially due to the very low tuition Quebec residents pay (mandated by provincial law). For this reason, classes will be larger and facilities not always updated. On the other hand, Montreal is a fantastic city and will also have a lot more international students from around the world. I’d say you have a difficult choice.</p>
McGill is a very strong school overall (considered one of the top 50 in the world by most rankings) so going there would never be a bad thing.
I do not know specifically about their public health program but I do know that Pitt’s graduate program is ranked at #11 by USNWR. That doesn’t necessarily translate to the undergraduate program but it’s usually correlated. So although Pitt overall isn’t as strong as McGill, the program you would be going into would likely be very strong.
Another thing that popped in my head when you said you were considering a Canadian university was the big differences in the health care system there vs. the US. Obviously Canada has a publicly funded health care system which could make aspects of the program and your research opportunities different. This is speculation on my part but I would be surprised if there weren’t differences in health related education/research in the two countries.</p>