Which is will be better option for me for physics.

[ujjwal3097]

Hi
I am an international student and planning to do my undergrad at Canadian university. I have been admitted to all the university I have applied to but i am bit confused between university of British Columbia and McGill university. I want major in physics and computer science/maths as a double major. I have already accepted the offer from McGill university but I have mixed feeling about it. I want to know whether should I stick to McGill or should choose University of British Columbia?
I want to know which university is better overall in academic reputation and which will provide me a better academic experience.
Please answer as soon as possible. I have a very little time left to decide which university would be best for me.
I also want to know which university has better reputation internationally. I would be going for a grad school so that matters a lot to me. In the past few years McGill ranking has taken fluctuated a lot. Should I take that into account?
Please provide a candid answer. My future depends on it.

 

[Choppy]

Both are excellent schools. In terms of "academic reputation" they are on par with each other - to the point where it's a waste of your time trying to figure out which one is better in that respect.

You have to look at both programs and decide which one is really the better one for you and your interests. Look at the programs that you're interested in and what courses you'll be required to take. What elective options will you have? What extra-curricular activities are available? What research is going on at each school and how much do undergraduates get involved? Where would you be living? Look at cost: Vancouver is significantly more expensive to live in than Montreal. Ultimately what you should be looking for is the best option for you.

 

[DrSteve]

Please provide a candid answer. My future depends on it.

Your most important step at the moment is not choosing between these two very good schools, but disabusing yourself that your career depends on any single action you might take. If only it were that easy...

 

[marcusl]

If you've already accepted an offer, it's not trivial to back out and switch to another. Since both schools are excellent, your considerations will in any case depend on other factors like cost of living or weather.

 

[ujjwal3097]

If you've already accepted an offer, it's not trivial to back out and switch to another. Since both schools are excellent, your considerations will in any case depend on other factors like cost of living or weather.

In recently decided to double major in computer science and physics and in 2016 ranking UBC is way ahead of McGill in computer science. Should i take this into consideration or are they both almost same?

 

[Choppy]

In recently decided to double major in computer science and physics and in 2016 ranking UBC is way ahead of McGill in computer science. Should i take this into consideration or are they both almost same?

What do you mean exactly by "way ahead?" What criteria were used in the ranking? What schools were ranked? Of the criteria used in the ranking process which criteria are important to you?

The thing with rankings is that sometimes they can provide valuable, relevant information, but in other cases you may just as well have assigned a random number to a handful of schools. For example, the criteria used in the Maclean's rankings of Canadian universities include factors such as: student scholarships and bursaries, overall budget, and faculty grants. It's great if a school has lots of available scholarships, but from the point of view of a student what usually matters is whether or not the student actually gets one. There's no point in choosing to attend school A over school B because it generally offers 30% more scholarships if you don't get a scholarship at A. With respect to overall budget - this can be a good thing too, but again you have to look at the details and relevant factors to you. If most of the additional money goes into programs that are not relevant to you, or maintaining equal quality residences in a high cost-of-living area, or paying for sports that you have no interest in participating in. The list goes on, but hopefully you get the point.

What matters is how YOU rank each school by the factors that are relevant and important to you.