McGill's Major Entrance Scholarships: Application, Interview, and What Gets You Shortlisted

What McGill's Major Entrance Scholarships Pay

McGill's Major Entrance Scholarships pay $3,000, $5,000, $10,000, or $12,000 a year, renewable for up to 3 or 4 years depending on your program length, provided you keep meeting the renewal terms. Most CEGEP-entry Quebec bachelor's degrees run 3 years, while non-CEGEP entrants, including out-of-province and international students, typically complete 4-year programs. That puts total value between $9,000 and $36,000 across a 3-year degree, or $12,000 and $48,000 across a 4-year degree, with the largest tiers reserved for Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

This sits above McGill's general entrance scholarships, which most students receive automatically based on grades alone. The Major Entrance Scholarship is McGill's top tier, and it needs its own application.

Who Can Apply

You need to be applying to a first entry undergraduate program at McGill directly from high school or CEGEP, with an admission application already submitted or in progress. International students remain eligible, though the largest scholarship tiers stay restricted to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

The Application Runs on Its Own Clock

Applications for Major Entrance Scholarships open October 1 on the Undergraduate Admissions Applicant Portal , and the deadline usually falls about one week after your admission application deadline. This scholarship deadline does not move even if McGill grants you permission to submit a late admission application, so apply for admission early enough that the scholarship deadline still works for you.

Treat the scholarship application as a task with its own priority rather than something you finish after admission is settled. A completed admission application with an unfinished scholarship form still misses the award.

What Gets You Shortlisted

McGill's selection committees weigh academic achievement alongside outstanding leadership shown in school or community activities, not simple participation. The distinction matters. Sitting on a club roster for four years reads differently from starting a project, running it, and showing what changed because of it.

Build your application around one or two examples you can describe in real depth rather than a long list of memberships. A committee reading hundreds of files responds to specific, concrete detail faster than a broad activity summary.

What the Written Application Decides

McGill's own scholarship guidance describes a written review, not a formal interview stage. Selection committees read your admission file alongside your Major Entrance Scholarship application, including your essays and references, and decide from that written record. Build your entire case into the application itself rather than expecting a chance to explain it later in a live conversation.

Some faculties add their own steps at their discretion, so check your specific faculty's page for the year you apply rather than assuming an interview will or will not happen. What stays constant is that your written material has to stand on its own.

If You Do Not Win a Major Entrance Scholarship

Students who apply but do not receive a Major Entrance Scholarship get automatic consideration for a smaller one year scholarship instead, so a completed application carries a fallback built in. This makes the application worth submitting even if you are unsure you will reach the top tier.

Pair this application with McGill's other funding options rather than depending on it alone. General entrance scholarships awarded on your admission average still apply regardless of your Major Entrance Scholarship result.

Renewal Terms to Watch

Your offer letter states the exact grade average or credit load you need to keep each year to renew your scholarship. Missing a renewal condition in year two can end your scholarship rather than simply reducing it. Read your own offer letter instead of assuming your terms match a different student's award at a different tier.