University of Toronto vs McGill University

Though UToronto may seem like an obvious choice for the students, based on the global rankings of the university. There are various other factors which can be considered while comparing the two academically leading universities in Canada.

Student Community

Based on the enrollments observed for the 2019 session, over 20,000 international students enrolled with UToronto, while around 12,600 international students made up the student community at McGill University.

The acceptance rate of U of T (43%) was lower than McGill University (45%). The female:male ratio at McGill University is slightly better than the University of Toronto. For the former, it was 58:42 while the latter had a ratio of 59:41.

For Indian students, UToronto offers over 1000 fellow Indians studying at the campus, currently. McGill has only 775 Indians pursuing education at the campus. McGill can be a preferred choice for if you prefer studying at a college with a smaller student community. UToronto is for students who like the idea of being a part of a larger student community, and a highly diverse student population.

Cost of Study

Undergraduate programs at U of T costs around 34,000 CAD to 54,000 CAD. While the UG programs at McGill will cost you around 18,000 to 43,000 CAD. Similarly, postgraduate programs at UToronto cost around 22,000 CAD to 63,000 CAD while at McGill cost around 13,000 to 70,000 CAD.

While student accommodation is available at both the universities, UToronto has a better and larger student capacity in housing dorms. However, McGill has a lower rate of accommodation in comparison with U of T.

Honors

Further comparing based on the Nobel laureates produced by each university, U of T has 10 nobel laureate alumni feathered to its honor and McGill University has produced 12 nobel laureate alumni.

Location

Both Toronto and Montreal are QS Best Student Cities in the World, located in the South-east of Canada. Though Montreal (#6) aces the ranking over Toronto (#11) for QS Best Student Cities, Toronto offers better entertainment, shopping, food options.

Of both the cities, Toronto is ahead of Montreal in the desirability indicator among the students as the population is majorly English speaking.

Campus

Where the University of Toronto has 3 campuses, McGill University has one campus with three sites. U of T stands out with the number of sports, medical, and extracurricular facilities offered, McGill University has its own Museum to offer to the students studying at the campus.

UToronto not only offers more facilities but has a larger student union and a better library collection adding to its scoreboard.

Research

University of Toronto has a long standing reputation for its research and innovation. The University has been a birthplace for ground-breaking moments within the scientific field, such as the invention of the electron microscope, discovery of stem cell research as well as insulin.

McGill University does not lie behind in this category. Not only is it a member of Association of American Universities (an organization with top North American research universities) since 1926, but is also a founding member for Universitas 21 (an international network of leading research-intensive institutions working together for the enhancement of international scope and global reach).

However, what makes U of T relatively better than McGill University is the higher number of cited researchers and a better research ranking by Times Higher Education (2020). Where McGill ranked #42 for its research, U of T made it to #18 on the pedestal.

An overall comparison of the two universities suggests that UToronto aces McGill University in various factors like diverse student community, better overall rankings and subject strength, multiple campuses to choose from, relatively better research facilities, and better city location. What may make a student choose McGill University over UToronto are factors such as cheaper study and living options, getting to learn a new language, and relatively higher rate of acceptance.