From a Current Nepalese McGill student:
SAfter noticing all the fuss, I'd thought I'd put in my two cents. I mean, I thought that since I AM CURRENTLY ATTENDING MCGILL and I AM A NEPALESE-AMERICAN FROM BOSTON that I could tell you about my own experience.
McGill University is located in downtown Montreal and has been in existence since 1821. The University has faculties of arts, science, engineering, education, nursing, law, medicine, management & commerce, music and schools in architecture, urban planning, computer science, nutrition, environment and agricutural and zoological studies.
SIZE: McGill currently has about 30,000 students, 18,000 of whom are undergraduates. The size may seem intimidating, but because each of the faculties and programs are quite close-knit, you get the advantages of a large, world-class university with a small-town school community feel. Additionally, about 20% of the students are from outside Canada with significant numbers of students from Asia. Most students speak at least two languages with a significant portion speaking three or more.
RESEARCH: McGill has countless research projects being conducted by world-class researchers currently. Significant studies include those in the areas of stem-cell, cancer, psychology, economics, political science, finance and organizational behaviour research. Like any university, you must stand out in a class to get noticed by a professor, and you may not be in a class small enough until your second year; however, it is up to you to make the firts move and take initiative.
Class sizes for the first year willbe large and students in the faculties of arts and sciences will find more often than not that they will have access to TAs more than professors. However, by the third year, classes (in most programs) are less than 20 students and more often than not, students have access to professors.
UNIVERSITY STRUCTURE: McGill is a school for over-achievers and I do not mean this lightly. One of the frustrating things about McGill is all the red tape that students, staff and faculty encounter in everything from paying bills to switiching faculties. Not a lot at McGill, administratively speaking, is not complicated. Additionally, professors will never come to you; you must show interest to them before they will notice you. This will happen at any research university; at McGill if you show the initiative, professors will show themselves to be surprisingly receptive. Currently, I am working with a professor from the faculty of management on labour law cases and have performed under her in case competitions Canada-wide.
STUDENT LIFE: Student life at McGill is exceptional, and with Montreal as a backdrop, there's something for every student. The Students' Society of McGill University has a varied number of clubs and services under its portfolio. In addition, the society runs a vegan-friendly kitchen, several publications, a cancer support and research group , several ethnic and cultural groups, and several Canadian branches of university unit NGOs.
First Year students are guaranteed student residence. Often that's where you ill meet your best friends and potential roomates. After first or second year, mst students move off campus; rents are quite affordable and food expenses are not prohibitive at all. Also, Montreal is an incredibly safe city with the lowest rate of violent crime in North America.
RATINGS: Not that these should matter at all, but if interested, McGill is rated quite well, tough I agree that this should not be a deciding factor. Recently, McGill has been cited as one of the top ten universities in the world according to the Times of London and number twenty one (ahead of four ivy leagues) in the Times of London Educational Supplement. McGill is one of two Canadian Universities in the American Association of Research Universities. McGill has the highest number of Rhodes scholars in Canada and like many top-notch universities, has students who have won awards too numerous to list.
In fact, McGill is considered as good as, if not better than many top-tier US schools. Look at the Gourman Report as well as he Times of London for reference.
