Advice to Incoming American (and Other international) Students

A major complaint from Canadian students at McGill is that many American students, even dual citizens, know very little about Canada. I would suggest that you do some reading, even if it is just Wikipedia articles, to get up to speed.

Learn about the parliamentary system and other aspects of Canadian government For example a province can choose not to abide by a Supreme Court decision; several provinces have public Catholic schools; most private schools, secular and religious, are subsidized by the government. That all sounds very “un-American”!

Also read up on the unique history of Quebec and Montreal . Learn why there are two major English universities in a French speaking city. And you will hear about Bill 101! You will be a part of Montreal’s 400,000 strong Anglophone minority, which has a long and turbulent history. Learning a bit of French will help. You will quickly learn that “sortie” means exit, “poussez” means push and “tirez” means pull so you will not have problems at doorways :smiley: . But I recommend going beyond that.

Bonne Chance!

Now that decisions are being released I am bumping this thread.

Canada is an amazing country (I’m canadian so I’m biased as hell). If anyone has questions about Canada PM me!!