UBC or McGill for biochem?

ankitaghatak

Not sure which one to pick :confused:

What do you'll think?

Reply 1

zero_gravity

Original post by ankitaghatak

Not sure which one to pick :confused:

What do you'll think?

Either one should be good, but I would lean towards McGill for the reputation.

Reply 2

ankitaghatak

The courses at UBC seem to be more tailored for undergraduate students. Also, McGill doesn't offer housing after the first year.
Is the reputation really worth that much? (Definitely doing postgrad)

Reply 3

zero_gravity

Original post by ankitaghatak

The courses at UBC seem to be more tailored for undergraduate students. Also, McGill doesn't offer housing after the first year.
Is the reputation really worth that much? (Definitely doing postgrad)

Reputation shouldn't be a problem, since both schools are excellent. It would also depend on where you are based in. If you would like to work in Asia, then UBC would be a better choice in terms of reputation. If you were to go to Europe or the US, then McGill would be more reputable.

However, I do believe that housing in Montreal isn't a problem, given the cheap rent in the city. I can't say the same for Vancouver.

If you feel that the courses are more suitable for you at UBC, then I would lean towards that direction.

What type of postgrad programs are you looking for?

Reply 4

ankitaghatak

Actually wanted to do postgrad in either Canada itself or the US. What would you suggest?

I'm not completely sure about it, but most likely something in the biology department. Eventually hoping to head into research in that field.

Reply 5

zero_gravity

Original post by ankitaghatak

Well, I don't know too much about US universities, so I won't comment too much on that, but I do know that you will have to take the GRE exams in order to go into grad school. For Canadian universities, that is not necessary.

Either university is good and I think you can't go wrong with either UBC or McGill. In terms of biology though, I feel like UBC would be a better choice, although McGill wouldn't be a bad choice either.

Reply 6

ankitaghatak

Does reputation matter for postgrad? I have heard that it does to US universities.
Yes, I felt like UBC was a better place for biology overall. It's ranked higher than McGill for biology too, albeit only by a rank or two.

Well. Still pretty confused as to which to pick. Thank you for your advice though!

Reply 7

zero_gravity

Original post by ankitaghatak

Generally reputation is not a big issue in Canada. All universities tend to be regarded as equal, although some are seen as better than others (like McGill, U of T, UBC). However, it is true that reputation is important in US universities (that is why there is tier-based ranking in US universities).

I would say that for postgrad, it would depend on the supervisor that you would choose for your dissertation. So you could still go to a mediocre university and still end up doing well with a supervisor that is well-known in his/her field.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 8

Fitty59

Idk if it's true but what people say makes sense: UBC is ridiculously hard to get into compared to an equally ranked university because there is such a massive percentage of applicants being from Asia. I live in the area and the cities around it are basically starting to become China ^.^

Also I'll throw in some other things to consider since I don't know much about the courses. McGill (the east in general) will constantly have snow, and the west rain. Pick what u like :tongue:

going to McGill campus tomorrow but I can say that UBC is nice and modern (unlike UT which i didn't like)

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 9

ankitaghatak

Original post by zero_Gravity91

Absolutely no idea what to do right now. The deadline to accept the offers is 1st May so I'm hoping a month will be enough to decide. But at the moment, completely clueless. They're both great universities.

Reply 10

Fitty59

Original post by ankitaghatak

I'm going to McGill tomorrow, maybe a review of the campus will help? ^.^

Reply 11

zero_gravity

Original post by ankitaghatak

A month should be enough. You just have to weigh out the pros and cons of both universities. I can't really speak for you here, since I'm not sure exactly what your preferences are, but I can assure you that both are great universities.

I think it all comes down to cost and the city life of Vancouver and Montreal. Note that both cities are extremely different (one is more Asian-oriented with a high cost of living, while the other city is bilingual in French and English with a much lower cost of living). You also have to know that it snows a lot and is extremely cold in Montreal during the winter, so you will have to be prepared for that.