How to get into McGill | Ultimate University Guide

McGill University — located in Montreal, Quebec — is one of Canada's best-known institutions of higher learning and one of the leading universities in the world! With students coming to McGill from over 150 countries, their student body is the most internationally diverse of any research-intensive university in the country. In addition to a stellar faculty, McGill is known for attracting the brightest students from across Canada, the United States, and around the world. McGill students have the highest average entering grades in Canada, and McGill's commitment to fostering the very best has helped their students win more national and international awards on average than their peers at any other Canadian university! In fact, the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship has gone to a nation-leading 145 McGill students! To learn more about how to get into McGill, keep reading!

McGill is best known for its stand-out programs in:

• Software Engineering:

Where students can gain hands-on experience and prepare for work in fields including video game development, robotics automation and flight navigation software design.

• Technological Entrepreneurship:

A minor that explores how to create and manage successful new ventures, including for-profit companies, co-operatives, social enterprises and entrepreneurship initiatives.

• Nanotechnology:

A multidisciplinary minor incorporates courses from the faculties of science, engineering and medicine; topics include nanomaterials in areas such as pharmacology and electronics, and their environmental, health and social effects.

McGill is certainly an innovative place to gain exciting new skills and foster great experiences. Interested in starting your post-secondary journey at McGill? Check out our latest Ultimate University Guide youtube video to find out how you can get in!

General Admission Requirements

In order to start your studies at McGill, you must first complete the General Admission Requirements!

• For Canadian students, you must be currently graduating, or a graduate, from Canadian high school.
  • Your admission will be based on your top 5 academic Grade 12 courses that are prerequisites to the program you're applying to.
  • A University-level English or French will be one of your top 5 courses, no matter what!
• For residents of Ontario and Quebec, your requirements will be a little bit different from each other. To read the full requirements depending on your academic status and place of residence, make sure to head to McGill's Undergraduate Admissions website.

Averages

McGill students have the highest average entering grades in Canada, therefore, high academic achievement is a must for entering McGill students!

While an 85% average is a requirement, the average entering grade at McGill is over 92% making it very competitive to apply. There are also seats reserved for students from Quebec, making the admissions process highly competitive at McGill.

We recommend that you use your time effectively in your last year of high school to really boost your GPA — so keep yourself organized and stay on top of your assignments, it will pay off greatly when it comes time for university admissions!

English Language Requirements

McGill applicants whose mother tongue is not English, and who have not completed an undergraduate or graduate degree from a recognized foreign institution where English is the language of instruction or from a recognized Canadian institution (anglophone or francophone), are required to submit documented proof of competency in oral and written English with their application!

• Proof of competency in English is provided by taking one of the tests (TOEFL or IELTS) as specified on the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office website https://www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/international/apply/proficiency. The minimum scores specified on that website must be met by all applicants.
• Here are 8 different tests that can be used to prove English competency!
  1. McGill Certificate of Proficiency in English – Language and Culture or English for Professional Communication or Bilingual Professional Communication
  2. Cambridge C2 Proficiency (formerly Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE))
  3. Cambridge C1 Advanced (formerly Certificate in Advanced English (CAE))
  4. Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL)
  5. Duolingo English Test (DET)
  6. IELTS (International English Language Testing System) – Academic version
  7. Pearson Test of English – Academic
  8. TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
  PLEASE NOTE: Appropriate exam results must be submitted directly from the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or directly from the IELTS Office (International English Language Testing Systems) to McGilll University (Code 0935), Department code for: general Math (072) and Statistics (059). An institutional version of the TOEFL is not acceptable.
  • Applications will not be considered if a TOEFL or IELTS test result is not available!

Degree Specific Requirements:

If you’re looking for specific eligibility requirements for a McGill program, try using their Undergraduate Program Search tool! By using this tool, you can browse programs by category, or search keywords of your interests. Once you find a program that intrigues you, it will tell you which grade 11 and 12 courses you need to take as prerequisites. If you’d like an example for some of McGill's more specific program requirements, check out our video!

The Key to Getting In:

The key to getting into McGill is to know the grade averages that allow entrance into your program, to secure the course prerequisites you need to take for your program, and to prepare your academic and supporting documents ahead of time for your application. Applications for McGill open on October 1st — good luck!

Need Support To Get Into McGill?

GrantMe has admitted countless students into their dream schools. If you’d like to know more about how GrantMe can support your goal of getting into McGill, start by taking our quiz to see if you qualify!