<p>i would love your input on why i should go to mcgill over university of north carolina or university of michigan…thank you!</p>
<p>Montreal is probably the factor that most differentiates McGill from the other two institutions you mention. McGill is in the centre of a large vibrant diverse beautiful city which is unique to North America. Its strong French and European influences and its size create a very different environment (which you may or may not like). Canada does have a somewhat different culture from the US and Quebec’s is even more different. UM is in a lovely American college town–if that is what you seek, then you will probably hate Montreal. </p>
<p>McGill does not have the same rah-rah school spirit that most American schools have. Canadians and more particularly Quebecois have a greater reticence than most Americans do. School sports play a smaller role in university life at McGill (which many US students think is a sign of lack of school spirit; others view it as a natural outgrowth of the maturation process that usually occurs after high school or as something that makes McGill more similar to European schools like Oxford or Cambridge where university teams are not a big budget item). At McGill students do not have as much of their identity tied to their school as most students at places like UM and UNC usually do–being a student is integral, but being a McGill student is not an intrinsic part of who they are.</p>
<p>McGill only has enough residence space for first years, so residence life is very different.</p>
<p>McGill is not nearly as wealthy as UM and UofNCarolina. Thus it focuses its money on education; you won’t get the hand-holding/advising at McGill that you would get south of the border. Again this can be a positive or a negative thing, depending on your perspective.</p>
<p>McGill has a much larger international presence in its student body and faculty than almost any US school. This is a very positive thing for some US students and a negative thing for other US students.</p>
<p>McGill’s student body is more diverse not only in terms of national origin, but also in terms of ability. American schools tend to have a much narrower band of ability level in them than Canadian schools. So McGill will have students that would have gone to Harvard, Princeton, Yale etc. had they been American and it will also have students that would not have been admitted to UM because they are not academically strong. If you like diversity, this is great, but if you like being around people just like you, then you would probably prefer UM or UNC where you are much more likely to find close clones.</p>
<p>So, I haven’t really told you why you should go to McGill (and I think that diffidence/restraint in a way is very Canadian and McGillian). Whether or not you should depends on whether McGill’s unique qualities appeal to you.</p>
<p>go to UNoC or UM if you can afford the tuition, if you can’t then go to mcgill.</p>