Masters programs in Canada (Qualifying Year?)

[whatodo]

Hi, first time poster.

 

I am in my last year of a BA Econ at an average-ish Canadian university, and currently have around a 3.53/4.3 GPA.

 

I'm planning to apply for Masters programs, ideally U de Montréal or McGill (I realize McGill Econ is generally considered weak). The problem is that, because I wasn't in honours or specialization, as far as math goes I've only done stats, Cal I+II, etc. No real analysis and very little econometrics.

 

As far as I understand, both of these programs offer 'qualifying years', whereby you are admitted but first take a year to catch up on econometrics, etc. Could anyone tell me if this is a good idea, or if just switching into honours extremely late is preferable for any reason?

 

Finally, could anyone give me any idea how difficult it is to get into those two programs specifically? I don't have any incredible research experience, etc.

 

Thanks!!

[Elliephant]

I have a friend who did his undergrad in business at Laurier, worked for a while, and then entered Carleton's MA while doing a qualifying summer/first term. He was very happy with the arrangement, but maybe it's because he had no desire to go back to undergrad. Regardless, the option is certainly there. Besides, lots of people actually get into good Canadian MAs without more math than you have (provided you've had some sort of stats course).

[mrdoodler]

McGil not being highly ranked these days still has very competitive admission due to the large number of applications. This year they had more then 10 applicants per spot, so it depends on your particular profile. U de M is much less competitive, i know someone who was accepted with lower GPA then yours but coming out of the Honors program from a neighboring school. Maybe u can take some maths or at least advanced undergraduate Micro as a signal u can succeed in graduate classes.