McGill, UWO, or UofToronto?

[hkmousey]

Hello all:

I am US Graduate student who has been accepted to the PhD programs at Mcgill, University of Western Ontario and University of Toronto respectively. Now I am facing a very "tough choice."

McGill offers me Graduate Fellowships and International Student Award (I will pay the same amount of tuition as Quebec PhD students). No fundings from UWO and UT.

Which one should I pick? I welcome any recommendations and comments ...

Thanks!

[someDay]

There is a general agreement that one should not accept unfunded offers, so you really don't have much of a choice? McGill and UoT are both very excellent schools, so you should definitely accept McGill's offer. Gratulations BTW!

sD.

[pietjekanarie]

I would say: go for the funded offer. You don't want to start a PhD without funding. Montreal is also a very affordable and great city. Toronto is probably very nice too, but I think it is much more expensive and since you won't get funding from U of T...

I don't know about Information Studies, so it is a bit hard to judge about which school would be better for you. Anyway, McGill has a very good international reputation and it often recognized as the best university of Canada. U of T ranks above McGill for certain programs. I have no clue about UWO.

[johndiligent]

Agree with the above. Go with the funded offer.

I commiserate since I'm also in a position of having to reject Toronto's offer but feeling reluctant because it has such an excellent reputation, especially in my field. But everywhere else I've applied has confirmed significantly more funding so I've just told myself that Toronto's out of the running. Though it hurts.

There's another thread on here about how it's not just about avoiding debt, but also the fact that schools offering funding are the ones that most want you to attend and have the most invested (literally and figuratively) in your success. Someone at that school went to bat for you, not just to get you an acceptance but also to get funding. For those reasons, there's a much better chance of your success at a funded environment.

[kent shakespeare]

definitely McGill!

Great U in a great city! Even beyond funding, it's a great choice.

[Phalène]

McGill is a great school and you really can't go wrong living in Montreal. Better brush up on your French, though!

[pomodoro]

Personally, I would choose between McGill and UofT - UWO's program is quite different as it is more of a practical library school. If your focus is more information studies-based, U of T would be your best option. As "library" or information schools are considered professional school in Canada, I'm not surprised that UWO or UofT didn't offer funding. McGill most likely would, since they actively recruit American students. That said, some things to consider:

For Uof T:

iSchool is the top IS in Canada

The cost of living in Toronto is much greater than Montreal ($1000-1100 for a good, clean apt.)

There's more to do in Toronto - nightlife, cafes, restaurants, Robarts library (largest holdings in Canada)

For McGill:

one of the top IS schools in Canada

Montreal is a beautiful city, overall a comfortable place for students to live - btw, stay on the westside if French is not your forte

more reasonable cost-of-living ($800 for a good, clean apt.)

For UWO:

FIMS almost lost their ALA accredition a few years ago - they are in a much better state now

London is a pretty area, but there isn't much to do after a while. (FYI - the town is very much geared towards undergrads- infer what you will from this statement!)

------

As an addendum (and no offense intended to anyone), I'm always surprised at the level of international support for McGill. In my experience, McGill isn't considered to be as illustrious in some departments as it would seem to international students.

[Scoobydoobyray]

I'm from Montreal and did my undergrad at McGill....forget UWO....no one outside Canada knows it and it's in a tiny city. McGill has a Better international reputation than UofT even though UofT is actually a better school but first impressions go a long way. They're almost at par but I would go where the funding is. Montreal is also MUCH cheaper than Toronto. I mean uncomparably, so. Plus Toronto is very corporate, you need a car to get anywhere while Montreal has a lot more culture and you can walk anywhere you need to around campus and the surrounding downtown area. Choose McGill....I wish the program I got accepted into offered me some funding! You're lucky. Jump at it!

[dithering]

Personally I would go with McGill but I've lived for five years in Toronto and would like to debunk some of the myths about living there.

I lived in a great bachelor for 750/month all inclusive, that's about mid-range, campus was a 10-20 minute walk; the apartment was for young professionals. I've lived with roommates between 330-525 dollars a month in nice, safe student neighbourhoods with all the amenities. Toronto isn't at all corporate unless your in the three block vicinity of the financial district (From King north up Bay street to Adelaide) it has an extremely vibrant cultural community and an abundance of festivals particularly in the summer. It also has a couple of lovely beaches in the summer. You definitely do NOT need a car to get anywhere, a car and parking is a huge hassle in the city. Biking is best and public transportation is problematic at times but for the most part decent and convenient.

My experience during undergrad at U of T was excellent, top quality professors and overall a challenging and extremely stimulating experiences. There are an abundance of wonderful study spots, cafes, parks, libraries, etc., around and outside of the campus area.

[NorthernStar]

As a U of T student and as someone whose friend is getting her MA is IS here (and not overly thrilled about the program), I would advise you to go to McGill - reputable university + funding. It's a winner. Congratualtions on your acceptances and good luck!

[shakespearebro]

I realize I'm just parroting conventional wisdom, but there's a reason it is conventional. Go with the funding, ceteris paribus.

[thepoorstockinger]

I am going to repeat a lot of what people said but:

- Montreal is much, much cheaper than Toronto. Housing/food/transportation in Montreal is probably the best value of any major city in North America. It's actually astounding.

- While visiting Montreal a few weeks ago I was reminded just how francaphone it can be. You can get away without french but you need to be willing to look foolish from time to time and you may feel a bit out of place at times. Montreal smoked meat makes up for this.

- Toronto and Montreal both have good transit systems. I disagree with the poster above you claims you need a car to get around Toronto. As long as you stay out of the suburbs Toronto is fairly easy to navigate by streetcar and subway.

- Toronto as a city is a good place to be a graduate student. There are lots of universities, archives, a fantastic public library system and you're within easy commuting distance of lots of other universities.

- My understanding is that Toronto's Information Sciences programs are supposed to be the best in Canada and are certainly better respected than McGill's. Although they do have different strengths that I don't really feel comfortable trying to explain since I am not an MLIS student.

- I also am constantly surprised by the international reputation of McGill. The way Americans in particular talk about it is very, very strange to me. It's one of Canada's better schools in general, but I don't think it deserves the praise non-Canadian seem to heap upon it.

I don't know what I'd do if I were you, but I think it comes down to two things:

1) Toronto is probably a slightly better program

2) McGill will end up costing you much, much less