McGill University
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McGill and its students take great pride in the institution’s prestigious reputation. This explains the immense popularity of shirts bearing the Harvard logo and the witty phrase underneath “America’s McGill”. This comparison, however, is extremely flawed. McGill is much bigger than Harvard, so there is a greater feeling of anonymity. Many introductory classes have upwards of 200 students, and lower level science classes tend to be around 600. McGill is one of the top universities in Canada, but this reputation comes mostly from its fantastic research opportunities, and talent is somewhat unevenly distributed amongst the different faculties and departments. Management and arts students often get flack from their peers in engineering and science for the comparative “easiness” of their programs, though these accusations are mostly baseless. Overall, there is a range of intelligence throughout the university, but in general, when comes to grades, everyone puts in serious work.

Another major reason behind McGill’s reputation is its excellent faculty. The faculty at McGill is both knowledgeable and approachable. Many professors know their fields inside and out, but on a whole, they are remarkably unpompous. Despite large class sizes throughout almost all first- and second-year courses, professors still engage the classes in discussion, and many have tried to learn their students’ names. Large courses are broken into weekly conferences or tutorials taught by TAs. TAs are the ones who do all the grading, so respecting them and participating in conferences is vital for success. Whether it’s the great faculty, the omnipresence of the grad students, or the mixed student body, McGill offers a really good education that is unique to itself and more than just an Ivy’s cousin to the North.

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Academics at McGill University

MacMaiden116

Animal Sciences '14

5.0

A+

Many Great Quality Programs

McGill offers a wide variety of programs. I am at the MacDonald Campus and I love the atmosphere and all of the professors are engaging and there to help you when you need them. The campus is also beautiful!!!

Feb 15, 2012

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Academics at McGill University

happytransferee

Geography '14

4.2

A-

Huge but Rewarding

The classes are challenging yet expectations are also reasonable. The introductory and even 300 level courses are big and it can be quite easy to stumble upon an incomprehensible prof but then again there are SO MANY extremely intelligent and dedicated professors as well. For my style of learning, the large lecture class is perfect. You know that you are learning the very important staple information (especially theoretical) of your major and then also get to learn about new research since the professors are very involved in research as well.

Jan 24, 2012

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Academics at McGill University

diesel87798

Spanish Language and Literature '12

3.8

B+

Academically Challenging

Academics overall are very challenging and professors do expect a lot from you; given that, a lot of introductory courses are very large and professors will not have the time to get to know you so showing an interest in the area and that you have worked hard is a way to get in. Most students here learn and know how to work hard and party hard which is a nice relief and support for you (you'll be with your friends in the libs all day before going out at night). Expect to learn a lot from your professors, but unless you are in the more popular fields there will either not be too many courses offered (in my case) or the courses will be so specialised (in the higher levels) to certain professors' specialities (that may not interest you). Most majors do, fortunately, allow a lot of freedom when choosing courses

Jan 04, 2012

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