Current freshmen - see here

Colleges and Universities A-Z McGill University
1

<p>Any current freshman, I'm curious to know a few things (and yes I have one friend there, but we haven't been in contact for the past few months). Anyways, wondering about:</p>

<ul>
<li>Academics (lots of work as in never time to breathe?)</li>
<li>Rez (do you HAVE to move off-campus after frosh?)</li>
<li>Grading (I heard the grading is intense and impossible to get a 3.6+ GPA)</li>
<li>Dating (any of it?)</li>
</ul>

<p>Anything else worth mentioning just mention it and thanks a lot for any reviews!</p>

2

<p>I'm not actually a Freshmen there, but I can try to answer some of your questions just from my experience having lived in Montreal. </p>

<p>Academics: I know from relatives who've gone to McGill that the workload is extremely intense. However, there always seem to be McGill students in the clubs, restaurants and shops downtown, so I think its really a "study hard, play hard thing". (I'm not sure if that's what you were asking, the question was a bit vague.)</p>

<p>Residence: I don't think there's any set rule that you HAVE to move out after your first year; but all the Anglophone Universities (I'm not so sure about the Francophone ones, but I imagine they're in the same situation) in Montreal are woefully lacking in adequate housing for their entire student bodies. For example, Concordia only has two residence halls for a Undergraduate population of about 30,000. McGill is a bit better, but they still only have enough rooms to house 2,400 people out of a Undergraduate population of 24,000. Thus, after your first year, I'm sure you can still apply, but i'll probably take a lot of luck in order to get a room.</p>

<p>Grading: Not so sure about this one. Though McGill is probably referred to as the "Harvard of the North" in no small part because of its academic rigour. </p>

<p>Dating: If my memories of riding on the m</p>

3

<ol>
<li>Academics: Workload is intense according to major. What would you be majoring in? It differs cross-platform.<br></li>
<li>Rez- Most students live off-campus after first year, it may sound a bit scary, but it's 10x cheaper and since 98% of the student population does so, you won't be alone and will have no trouble finding a nice place.</li>
<li>Grading- I would actually say it's very hard to fail at McGill because the grading scheme is so wide (a 55 is passing, which is a C)- getting an A is anywhere from 85-100%.</li>
<li>Dating- What do you mean?</li>
</ol>

4

<p>academics - i'd be a music major
dating - is it common?</p>

5

<p>i was a freshmen last year </p>

<ol>
<li>Academics: Workload isnt bad in my program. I am in management and if you manage your time properly u will have a lot of it. music majors do party a lot in mcgill so i am assumming they dont have a lot to do. </li>
<li>Rez- its a first year thing only. Everyone moves offcampus because its cheaper and its the norm. Rez in first year is a must as u will make all ur friends in rez and have the time of ur life</li>
<li>Grading- i find it very hard to get good grades (85+) however its very hard to fail as well. most people get grades between B- and B+</li>
<li>Dating- probably a lot easier in the first year. its much harder to meet people after u move out of rez. if u want just random hookups or one night stands u can always go to some sleezy club/bar (montreal is full of them)</li>
</ol>

6

<p>haha what music majors do you know? a music majors work load is pretty intense, especially in first year. I'm a student in both the faculty of music and faculty of arts, and I can tell you my workload in music is 10x more.</p>

7

<p>Academics - INTENSE. Unless you're in the Faculty of Management, the other students, even Arts, students look down upon Management. Partially do to jealousy because Management students get so much time off to party and partially because Management is full of frat boys and ignorant rich girls. Funny thing about McGill's business program is that it's not even the best in Montreal, that goes to the Universite de Montreal and Concordia's John Molson School. </p>

<p>Grading - Get used to getting B's and C's. If you get an A- or A, be proud of it cause they are rare here (unless you're in management).</p>

<p>Residence - You don't have to move out in second year, but people who live in Rez for more than one year are either Floor Fellows or anti-social losers.</p>

<p>Dating - People in Montreal don't hate, they just have sex with each other.</p>

8

<p>So, what's the student vibe? are there a lot of preppies? (i'm from a prep school) </p>

<p>Also, would it be easy to pick up french without taking classes, or not so much?</p>

<p>Lastly, are there advisors, or are you completely on your own?</p>

9

<p>With regards to coffeetoffee646's questions:</p>

<p>Atmosphere on Campus
McGill has never seemed to me like a really 'preppy' place. They all study hard and are dedicated to their studies. However, at the same time, they seem fairly chill. Montreal overall is a fairly laid-back city, so that may have something to do with it.</p>

<p>French
Er....that's a very good, if quite controversial, question. I think that McGill students, in particular those who are Anglophones from outside Quebec, really do have to work at it if they want to pick up French simply by immersion. Montreal is more or less a bilingual city, and the problem (I think) with trying to learn French by immersion is that, if you do get frustrated with it, you can quickly fall into the trap of just relying on the English-speaking institutions. </p>

<p>In this environment, I think one really has to force oneself to be immersed in French. Watch and listen to Radio-Canada (which, truth be told, isn't half bad, really); read a Francophone newspaper (I personally prefer La Presse, but it's your choice); insist on speaking French when you go out shopping; and so on. If you really apply yourself, you should be able to pick up the language eventually. </p>

<p>Though, if all fails, the Montreal YMCA (at the corner of Stanley and de Maisonneuve, Metro Peel) offers an excellent language program; and of course, so does McGill. </p>

<p><a href="Disclaimer:%20Quebec%20seems%20to%20be%20entering%20another%20period%20of%20linguistic%20tensions,%20so%20my%20entire%20point%20may%20be%20made%20moot%20over%20the%20next%20few%20years%20by%20changes%20in%20the%20Provincial%20language%20law;%20or,%20heaven%20forbid,%20changes%20in%20Quebec's%20political%20status.">i</a>*</p>

<p>Advisors
There are advisors at McGill, but you have to note that it's a big University, and, as such, you really don't get that much in the way of personal attention. Frankly, McGill really does require you to have a lot of self-initiative/"drive" in order to succeed and prosper.</p>

10

<p>McGill has lots of Asians, a fair number of "indie" kids, some nerdy engineering types, and lots of metrosexual francophone types. Not a very large prep population, and a tiny black population.</p>

<p>Montreal is the best city in North America.</p>

<p>Academics-music is actually a very hard department. I know from my friends. They work really, really hard. Any honours progam is extremely time consuming, as is the faculty of engineering.</p>