<p>the title pretty much says it all.....for everyone who is at McGill, whatever year that may be.....what is it about the school that you like the most? the worst? and were you surprised about anything? oh, and please say your faculty and year.....thanks!</p>
<p>Hey, I'm a U0 student in Arts and Sciences. As far as my first year here, hmm... I guess I just LOVE living in Montreal (ok, so that's not exactly about the <em>school</em> but it does have amazing appeal!) and I love being in classes with tons of intelligent, thoughtful, motivated kids around me - I've met such a diverse array of great people. I guess the worst is the typical "McGill bureaucracy". It's hard to really get around all the red tape sometimes - and most of the advisors are completely useless. Introductory classes are pretty thorough material-wise, but they're all HUGE lectures, which I didn't like at first but actually kind of enjoy the anonymity now. There were no real surprises - McGill, as a school, is pretty much exactly how I thought it would be. Really good facilities and resources, great people, lots of work and lots of learning, and a very active campus/city life.</p>
<p>Yeah, the red tape is no fun, but having been to France, I've seen much, much worse. But I'll echo staringatmyshoe. Big anonymous classes in U1 (U0 too I guess, but I didn't do that one) you'll have to get used to (after that, depending on your choice of class and program, they won't be so big or anonymous). Another 'bad thing' that never was a problem for me but has been a problem for other people I know is the lack of flexibility in schedule. McGill expects you to concentrate on your studies, so they don't offer a lot of variety of sections and course schedule. If you need to work part-time to pay for your school fees you might as well go to Concordia. It can also be somewhat of a problem for joint-majors programs, as certain required courses might be offered only one semester a year at a particular time which can conflict with another required class in another department, so you have to be really careful in planning your schedule if you want to finish without having to take an extra semester or two. </p>
<p>So those three issues (red tape, big classes in first 1-2 years, lack of scheduling flexibility) are the worst McGill has to offer, and it's greatly offset by the best: you will be surrounded by (mostly) motivated, (usually) friendly, hard working, really smart students from a variety of backgrounds. McGill provides very good computer access, and has great libraries (both my brothers made extensive use of them in their grad studies, despite going to other universities). Montreal is of course a fine, safe city which offers a wide variety of activities and experiences for university students, so that counts as part of the best McGill has to offer (though at times, the climate can feel like the worst, but from my point of view it's because it's too warm during what should be winter).</p>
<p>As far as surprises go... The music faculty offers surprisingly good concerts for cheap (how about that?). Yeah, I like Classical music and opera. But it's the only surprise I could think of.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, faculty and year... Graduate Studies/Science. I do believe I'm PhD 4 now (feels like I've been there forever ;)).</p>
<p>to be perfectly honest the greatest part about my first year here so far are my friends and my rez. I'm having a lot of fun in Molson and being with my new friends here. Those trump anything else even including the awesomeness that is Montreal.</p>
<p>the worst part (aside from useless advisors (EXCEPT BComm office people who helped me)) are early classes and bad profs. I'm in a few math courses that I refuse to attend because the professors set me back rather than helping me to understand the materials. Read the books instead.</p>
<p>Yeah, certain undergrad advisors are no good, but I don't think this is particular to McGill. The best thing to do is to go to your departmental undergrad society and ask your more experienced peers about classes, major/minor options and other program related questions. They often are much more helpful than professors.</p>
<p>Incidentally Prospect151, what math courses are you talking about...</p>
<p>I love this "best/worst of McGill", anyone else who would like to share their insights with us? many thanks! :)</p>
<p>Although I am not a McGill student (yet), I speak as someone whose brother is currently a senior at McGill, has visited it numerous times, was recently admitted to the Arts program and will be attending McGill this coming fall. From the sense I get of it, here are some things to love and not to love about McGill.</p>
<p>What to love:</p>
<p>-Great Academic reputation in the USA, Canada, and the entire world
-Many very qualified professors and students on campus
-A very friendly, diverse, down-to-earth student body
-Perfect, safe location in one of the greatest cities in North America
-Even beyond the legal drinking age of 18, McGill students are treated like adults, unlike many American students who are babied by their schools
-Especially for American students, going to college in Montreal is a chance to experience a different culture
-Speaking as a male, I find the female population of Montreal to be among the most beautiful anywhere!
-In general, one does not have to take too many classes one does not want to take. I, for example, am thrilled that I won't have to take any foreign language or math classes!
-Very cheap cost compared to many American colleges</p>
<p>What not to love:</p>
<p>-The bureaucracy (as mentioned above)
-Extremely large classes in freshman year and oftentimes in sophomore year
-Only guaranteed housing for one year (although many people prefer getting their own apartment anyway)
-The cold, frigid, freezing, unbearably cold, cold winters</p>
<p>I'm sure there are many more factors I'm not considering, but I think I outlined a lot about the good and bad of McGill. Overall, I'd say there's MUCH MUCH MUCH more good than bad about McGill!!!</p>
<p>Math courses I'm refering to are MATH 133 Vectors, Matrices and Geometry and MATH 141 Calculus 2</p>
<p>Best: parties. as you guys all know, mcgill is ranked as one of top 10 universities in north america,and we have snow AP, four floors, outdoor party in compus, and faculty party everywhere</p>
<p>Worst: tough studay. make sure you do spend time on it, or you will cry your ass off in the end</p>
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Math courses I'm refering to are MATH 133 Vectors, Matrices and Geometry and MATH 141 Calculus 2
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<p>One piece of advice: go see the TAs during their office hours. There's probably a dozen of them in Calc 2 so take your pick. At least some of them will help you beyond the book (Stewart right? I've never been fond of that one).</p>
<p>i'm in the biological sciences (anatomy) and find that the courses in my program have HUGE class sizes. This is quite common in science programs and even in one of my poli sci classes. This makes asking profs questions intimidating and u rely on TA's a lot, but as classes are so big, its hard to get hold of them. I also find that in big classes, its easier to not pay attention and dose off for example. </p>
<p>The best things about mcgill is that there are plenty of activities to do in the university and things for everyone. As someone posted before, it is known as a party school but as the drinking age is so low, parties are pretty controlled compared to any other college in north america, in fact, there was an article a while back where a guy went undercover as a student here and found mcgill parties the most laid back and least alcohol dependent. Another great thing is thatmcgill is in the best location of the best city in canada. Montreal has it all and you cannot possibly get bored here.those are my 10 cents!</p>
<p>i dont understand how mcgill is a party school seemes like evr1 lives off campus after first year so no real parties like at an american state school. kinda like nyu, dont consider it a party school but nyc is def. a party city.</p>
<p>ive never understood the "off campus" concept, i think its misleading. If your not in a rez or or within the block that mcgill occupies your technically off campus. But to me the university feeling encompasses the ghetto maybe even a bit past parc where yyou can see some of the buildings clearly and alot of students end up living in this area. Not many students who are not from montreal end up living at NDG or some other randomly far place requiring several metro stops, which is what id consider to be off campus.</p>
<p>Well, I prefer a Montreal house party to your average campus party as you're more likely to meet people who don't necessarily go to McGill. </p>
<p>Even then, since you're in a city where the legal age is 18, what's the point of partying inside all the time? There's a boatload of clubs, bars, strip clubs, hookah joints, restaurants, public parks etc. that you can go to. I'm not knocking campus parties or the McGill bar (well, Gerts sucks so I am) but being in Montreal for 3-4 years and doing nothing but going to campus parties is kind of lame.</p>
<p>Wait...there are still lots of rez parties (atleast in first year)...right?
I like to hit up bars now and then but i find it kinda of draining and sometimes i just want to kick it in a medium (~50 people) sized house party. Will I be able to find such parties every weekend?</p>
<p>a lot of the posts mention the "bureaucracy", "red tape", etc.</p>
<p>...what are you talking about specifically?</p>