<p>I want to save money for grad school, and mcgill seems like it gives me the most bang for my buck. I don’t qualify for financial aid anywhere. </p>
<p>grades-3.8 unweighted 4.1 weighted
SAT:2200
SAT II’s: 2 720’s</p>
<p>Theoretically, I might be able to get into more selective schools. What do you guys think? What expensive schools would you choose over it? I love the city, the international aspect, hate the distance from my family in the Us and hate the cold.</p>
<p>thoughts?</p>
<p>Yes, you will get in - I would bet my $50 for this week on it.</p>
<p>Personally, I would choose the good UCs over McGill (like UCLA and Berkeley), as they are not as expensive as the major private schools, but, I believe, have more to offer. If we are talking in terms of money, 50% less tuition is a very good deal for McGill. </p>
<p>In terms of the city, I would say that Montreal is better than Los Angeles (lived there before) and the Bay area, and better than most cities that have selective schools.</p>
<p>McGill is probably one of the most international schools in the world, but it is only because of the large amount of americans. Just to give a number, I think that it is around 20% international.</p>
<p>In terms of family, I only have one thing to say: everybody has to leave home someday. My family lives on the other side of the world, and I don’t really mind. I am not the kind of person who wants to see my family every week because I miss them that much. Don’t get me wrong, if you want to live close to your family, then please go to a school nearby.</p>
<p>The cold is pretty bad I think. Historically, it get to about -30 celcius during the day, and -40 at night. However, this is probably only during January and a little bit of February. Did I tell you that we just had snow last week? Amazing stuff. Do not be intimidated. If you know the cold, you will know that if you dress-up properly, you will be perfectly fine. Get a North Face lol.</p>
<p>Enjoy applications, I know I did.</p>
<p>I live in NJ, so my state school is less of a bargain. It’s worse than Berkeley/LA and costs more. I just am having difficulty doing a cost-benefit analysis. I think I can get into say Uchicago or Cornell, but I don’t know if I’d be crazy to pay twice as much when Mcgill seems great. I’m also told that Mcgill is vastly overrated by Americans.</p>
<p>I don’t know if many Americans think that McGill is too great - I know that Canadians think that it is great. McGill is respected by Americans to say the least - you can’t compare it to like Harvard or MIT, I would say that it is a step up from UMichigan or so.</p>
<p>And dude…if you can get into UChicago or Cornell, you probably should go there. I think that those universities are much better than McGill. Personally, I would go to either of those colleges rather than McGill, just because their reputation is better and that it is much easier, academically, there. </p>
<p>But if you are going for a cultural, urban, new lifestyle in a new place, McGill is the place to be. I would say that the college experience is just as important as academics in Undergrad, so I guess Montreal, and thus McGill is better in that manner.</p>
<p>I think that NJ is suffciently cold for you to climatize. It is cold, but I don’t think you ever notice it if you dress well.</p>
<p>haha, personally i wouldnt go as far as saying Montreal is better than the bay area cuz imo San Francisco is one of the most beautiful and relaxed cities on the planet (grew up in sacramento, so 2 hrs. away). </p>
<p>Montreal is definitely amazing though, especially in terms of culture. The french culture (and other cultures here like portuguese, italian, etcetc.) makes montreal so interesting and makes it feel truly diverse and international.</p>
<p>If you think you can get into Chicago and Cornell (which it looks like you can) I would really take a deep look at all 3 and compare to see which you like best. I personally love that I ended up here at McGill. Very rigorous, surrounded by fairly smart people, profs are into their research (which to me seems cool when they arent quite the teaching only type), and the city is great. My friends at cornell and UChicago are definitely missing out on social life in comparison to McGill</p>
<p>"what more expensive schools would you choose over Mcgill? "</p>
<p>Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Duke, Chicago and Rice</p>
<p>If I could go to any school on Earth it woudl be McGill.</p>
<p>As far as being under/overestimated here in America, IDK. Although most people have never heard of it, I had a Harvard interview the other night and my interviewer knew about it and spoke highly of it, and I’ve conversed with many doctors, all of whom have nothing but good things to say about it. If a Harvard grad with a Masters in Higher Education and several doctors all praise it, it has to be a pretty darn good school.</p>