McGill or University of Edinburgh?
Discuss current events and changes in the education system and ways you'd like to see it improved, from secondary school through to postgraduate study.
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Re: McGill or University of Edinburgh?From an American's perspective, absolutely McGill, especially for medicine.
But...
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.u...09-Top200.html
This calls them pretty even; however Edinburgh doesn't rank like that in most UK-only tables (but tables aren't that important when it comes down to it).
A lot of it depends on where you want to work in the future. -
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Re: McGill or University of Edinburgh?Hard to say, reputation is a pretty nebulous thing. Edinburgh has done well as a city and institution marketing itself abroad- even though I think the University has some pretty fundamental failings that seem to have been hidden rather well when it comes to projecting their image abroad. In Britain, I suspect most people will have heard of Edinburgh and possibly not McGill, but then, when it comes to it- you'll be needing to impress employers who know about these things, not the people on TSR. Personally, if I had the choice between the two, I'd choose McGill. It's arguably Canada's leading institution, whereas Edinburgh (at least recently) has been accused of caring more about making money and keeping its 'brand' strong than actually focussing on the quality of education or looking after its students.
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Re: McGill or University of Edinburgh?This. Well said.(Original post by 0404343m)
Hard to say, reputation is a pretty nebulous thing. Edinburgh has done well as a city and institution marketing itself abroad- even though I think the University has some pretty fundamental failings that seem to have been hidden rather well when it comes to projecting their image abroad. In Britain, I suspect most people will have heard of Edinburgh and possibly not McGill, but then, when it comes to it- you'll be needing to impress employers who know about these things, not the people on TSR. Personally, if I had the choice between the two, I'd choose McGill. It's arguably Canada's leading institution, whereas Edinburgh (at least recently) has been accused of caring more about making money and keeping its 'brand' strong than actually focussing on the quality of education or looking after its students. -
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Re: McGill or University of Edinburgh?But Edinburgh is arguably Scotland's strongest institution. I know it has competition from St Andrews and Glasgow, but McGill also has strong competition from British Columbia and Toronto.(Original post by SunOfABeach)
This. Well said. -
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Re: McGill or University of Edinburgh?McGill > BC. Definitely. Toronto... we can discuss. Still, Canada has 90 universities whereas Scotland has only 14 therefore Canada as a country is more "competitive" than Scotland.(Original post by RamocitoMorales)
But Edinburgh is arguably Scotland's strongest institution. I know it has competition from St Andrews and Glasgow, but McGill also has strong competition from British Columbia and Toronto. -
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Re: McGill or University of Edinburgh?While competition within their respective countries and number of institutions is a side-point, Edinburgh's international (and national) reputation irritates me (and oddly, particularly Edinburgh grads) a fair bit. In a way not-too dissimilar to the LSE, they've been accused of lacking feedback and contact with the senior staff, caring more about bums of seats (especially the ones that pay the big fees) than a students education, and looking to protect their image at all costs. This has manifested itself through closing departments that aren't performing well enough in research, even if they provide a valuable resource to students, focussing staff on output of cited work than teaching undergrads, and making money to buy in more staff for work unrelated to the original purpose of a university. Im sure much of what they do is very good, but it's upset a hell of a lot of students in the process. I've spoken to a couple of Edinburgh graduates who are on my program in Oxford, and they seemed amazed at how much the university seemed to care about supporting its students. There really shouldn't be such a marked difference in approach to student care as there is between two supposedly leading institutions, who try to set standards as high as possible.
McGill has big links with Scotland, and I've met a few of the students- they seem a happy and satisfied bunch with the way their university goes about its business, keeping costs to its students low at no advantage to the institution, and steadfastly refusing to grow to the size of Toronto (which it probably could). As a student, these are the things I care about, not whether someone on TSR might rate one above the other on reputation in their heads. -
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Re: McGill or University of Edinburgh?Canada's also a lot bigger than Scotland and has a higher population. So it's only normal that there's more universities over there.(Original post by SunOfABeach)
McGill > BC. Definitely. Toronto... we can discuss. Still, Canada has 90 universities whereas Scotland has only 14 therefore Canada as a country is more "competitive" than Scotland. -
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Re: McGill or University of Edinburgh?Yep. That was my point actually. No contradiction.(Original post by EnthusiasticEnthusiast)
Canada's also a lot bigger than Scotland and has a higher population. So it's only normal that there's more universities over there. -
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Re: McGill or University of Edinburgh?Well its interesting what you had to say about Edinburgh as it is a uni I am looking at. So what type of problems did you experience at this institution (I am assuming you were there!) that should be aware of when deciding whether to choose it or not? I'm interested in computational physics entry into the second year. So you think I should look elsewhere? Other choices being Oxford, Durham, Sheffield and Exeter, and if not Edinburgh then either Bristol or Bath. Welcome your opinion.(Original post by 0404343m)
While competition within their respective countries and number of institutions is a side-point, Edinburgh's international (and national) reputation irritates me (and oddly, particularly Edinburgh grads) a fair bit. In a way not-too dissimilar to the LSE, they've been accused of lacking feedback and contact with the senior staff, caring more about bums of seats (especially the ones that pay the big fees) than a students education, and looking to protect their image at all costs. This has manifested itself through closing departments that aren't performing well enough in research, even if they provide a valuable resource to students, focussing staff on output of cited work than teaching undergrads, and making money to buy in more staff for work unrelated to the original purpose of a university. Im sure much of what they do is very good, but it's upset a hell of a lot of students in the process. I've spoken to a couple of Edinburgh graduates who are on my program in Oxford, and they seemed amazed at how much the university seemed to care about supporting its students. There really shouldn't be such a marked difference in approach to student care as there is between two supposedly leading institutions, who try to set standards as high as possible.
McGill has big links with Scotland, and I've met a few of the students- they seem a happy and satisfied bunch with the way their university goes about its business, keeping costs to its students low at no advantage to the institution, and steadfastly refusing to grow to the size of Toronto (which it probably could). As a student, these are the things I care about, not whether someone on TSR might rate one above the other on reputation in their heads.
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Re: McGill or University of Edinburgh?McGill is Canada's top university. No other ones, even UBC and University of Toronto (although both fantastic), can top McGill...so rest assured of its reputation.
Uni of Edinburgh is good...as well... but I think it is really only regarded as prestigious in the UK
it's known in Canada a fair bit because Canadians are generally aware of UK unviersities, and the Uni of Edinburgh has done its fair share of advertising in North AMerica... but still, if you're planning to stay in North America.. I'd opt for McGill
if you're planning on returning to the UK, or Europe,.. then i think it's equal and it's up to you to choose
a note: winter weather in montreal --- LOTS of snow, -6 celsius to -12 celsius (-15 with windchill some days)
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