Dalhousie or U Western Ontario?

[Psych2.7]

Hi everyone. I'm new here. For the past few months I have been browsing this forum and madly applying for MLIS programs. I applied to 3: Dalhousie, University of Western Ontario, and McGill. I have not yet heard back from McGill, but both Dalhousie and UWO accepted me!

I am sure I will have many, MANY questions for the next few months, but for right now, I am wondering if anyone out there is familiar with the programs at these schools. What are the advantages/disadvantages, and which has the best reputation? I know that one of the big draws for UWO is their work co-op program, but it sounds to be most advantageous to those who have no library work experience, and I have 8 years of it.

As it has proven surprisingly difficult to find MLIS graduates from most of these schools, I only have a few snippets of gossip to go on. Any information at all would be appreciated.

General encouragement would also be welcome, as the fear of leaving my job and moving far away is starting to set in!

Thanks!

[littlewing]

Hello! Congrats!

Dalhousie might have the better reputation, but Western has the option to complete in one year, does that appeal to you? Where would you rather be based? Halifax is a lovely city.

Did you hear back from McGill?

[Psych2.7]

Thanks!

Yes, I heard back from McGill. They accepted me too! By the time I heard back from them though, I had decided it was not my first choice. I've heard from a few sources that although McGill is rated the best university in Canada, their MLIS program is outdated. And, I don't speak French, so if am to end up needing a job while in school, it would be virtually impossible to find one, so I've heard.

I ended up choosing Dalhousie. I'm so excited! Yes, I did know about UWO's option to complete it in 1 year, but that doesn't really appeal to me. I want to be able to take the time to really experience the city, and I'm sure that's not possible in the 1-year stream. Also, I know a few people in Halifax and I would prefer to live in a city that's completely different from where I currently live. London, ON looks like a bigger version of my city, while Halifax sounds like more of a cultural centre with interesting history. I love that!

Is anyone else out there going to Dalhousie?

[keyboardwench]

Hey Psych2.7! Hope I'm not prying but I'm a psych student planning on applying to MLIS when it gets to the time. Great to hear that a psych student's in the program, I was worried about that. I was wondering though, can you give me an idea of your average/GPA? If you don't mind! I'm guessing the minimum 70 for UWO won't be enough XD

[mrboardbook]

_{Congratulation on being accepted to Dalhousie! Halifax truly is a "lovely city" as littlewing already mentioned. The proximity to the Atlantic ocean would be the big draw for me. I'd definitely recommend a visit to the Canadian Immigration Museum - Pier 21. I was able to get a printout of my grandmother's record of arrival to Canada from the ships collection database, even though her boat docked in Montreal.}

_{I'm on my way to the Forest City this May... haven't received a yea or nay for my Sept 2012 entrance yet, but it's only been about three weeks since my competed application package was received by the Univesity of Western Ontario. In most cases, it takes around 6-8 weeks to hear back from the ivory towers. Out of curiousity... was this timeframe similar for your UWO acceptance notice?}

[emeleyes]

_{Congratulation on being accepted to Dalhousie! Halifax truly is a "lovely city" as littlewing already mentioned. The proximity to the Atlantic ocean would be the big draw for me. I'd definitely recommend a visit to the Canadian Immigration Museum - Pier 21. I was able to get a printout of my grandmother's record of arrival to Canada from the ships collection database, even though her boat docked in Montreal.}

_{I'm on my way to the Forest City this May... haven't received a yea or nay for my Sept 2012 entrance yet, but it's only been about three weeks since my competed application package was received by the Univesity of Western Ontario. In most cases, it takes around 6-8 weeks to hear back from the ivory towers. Out of curiousity... was this timeframe similar for your UWO acceptance notice?}

I would imagine you should hear from UWO any day now. I applied for the fall 2012 intake in January and it took about 3.5/4 weeks for me to hear back. They never emailed me though -- I only found out by checking my Student Centre profile...

[spindriftpages]

Hi everyone! I will be moving to Halifax in the summer and attending Dalhousie's MLIS program in the fall. So excited! And a little nervous ;-)

[Psych2.7]

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, I haven't been on this site for a while.

Hey Psych2.7! Hope I'm not prying but I'm a psych student planning on applying to MLIS when it gets to the time. Great to hear that a psych student's in the program, I was worried about that. I was wondering though, can you give me an idea of your average/GPA? If you don't mind! I'm guessing the minimum 70 for UWO won't be enough XD

I don't mind at all. Where I completed my Bachelor's degree, my final GPA was 3.68, but each university will recalculate it according to their own formula. For Dalhousie, it went down by a few points. From their website:

Candidates for the MLIS must hold a four-year Bachelor's Degree with at least a second class standing (B average, 3.0 GPA) from a university recognized by the Senate of Dalhousie University. An academic level of a high B+ (3.3 GPA) or better is generally held by successful applicants.

UWO is confusing because they use percentages, but I believe mine was in the 80's.

Good luck!

_{Congratulation on being accepted to Dalhousie! Halifax truly is a "lovely city" as littlewing already mentioned. The proximity to the Atlantic ocean would be the big draw for me. I'd definitely recommend a visit to the Canadian Immigration Museum - Pier 21. I was able to get a printout of my grandmother's record of arrival to Canada from the ships collection database, even though her boat docked in Montreal.}

_{I'm on my way to the Forest City this May... haven't received a yea or nay for my Sept 2012 entrance yet, but it's only been about three weeks since my competed application package was received by the Univesity of Western Ontario. In most cases, it takes around 6-8 weeks to hear back from the ivory towers. Out of curiousity... was this timeframe similar for your UWO acceptance notice?}

It's probably too late now, but it took about 1.5 months between sending my UWO application and receiving my official acceptance letter in the mail.

Hi everyone! I will be moving to Halifax in the summer and attending Dalhousie's MLIS program in the fall. So excited! And a little nervous ;-)

I guess I will be meeting you in a few months! Is it possible to send private messages on this site? :-/ If so, feel free to send me a message!