<p>I recently visited McGill and loved everything about it. However, one thing that has popped up in my college research has been the amount of drinking.</p>
<p>I personally am not a drinker. That's just me. I have no problem if other people do it, but I like being able to do more than party all the time. At McGill, there's a fantastic city to explore, plenty of nature-y things to do on Mount Royal, and a slew of international students to befriend.</p>
<p>So, my question: does drinking truly dominate the social culture at the school? </p>
<p>Is it possible to make friends in Rez if you're not a drinker?
Are there activities in which many students participate that are not dependent on alcohol?
Will I feel totally out of place if I choose not to drink?</p>
<p>I make friends easily and don't mind having one NICE drink in a casual setting. It's just the stumbling around drunk part that turns me off. </p>
<p>I actually asked my cousin about this, and while she doesn’t attend McGill (yet), she lives nearby it to know the campus quite well. Simply put, if you’re not a drinker, so be it. The campus is diverse enough to where you most definitely will not be the only one who would actually prefer not drinking. And, if it helps, I’m not a drinker either, and I will take that one casual drink once in a while. In my opinion, I don’t think drinking dominates the school, but I’d imagine that you shouldn’t be surprised at how many people do drink. </p>
<p>Remember you’re taking that from someone who isn’t attending the university…</p>
<p>There is a large group of students whose social scene is dominated by alcohol, but there is also a large group of students for whom alcohol does not dominate. The hard drinkers often think that everyone drinks as much as they do since their friends do, and you will read comments that say that everyone drinks a huge amount. Not everyone does. There are certainly thousands of students like you who do not need to have 6 drinks to have a good time. </p>
<p>McGill is less homogenous than most American or Canadian campuses–it just has a lot more diversity in many ways, including students’ definitions of what constitutes a good time. At many other schools there is a dominant culture, but because of McGill’s size and student body composition, no single mindset controls things.</p>
<p>Definitely not everyone here drinks. Yes there is a huge party scene, but even if you do go to those you’re never going to feel uncomfortable not having anything to drink. I personally never drank before coming here, and I max out at 1 beer a night and have plenty of friends.</p>
<p>To be honest, the drinkers are mostly american and non-Quebecois canadian. Those are a very small percentage and the majority of students spend time doing meaningful ****s.</p>
<p>I have friends there are definitely going to lectures drunk and stuff… But if you don’t want to that kind of student theres definitely company for non-drinkers. Frosh week might be hard seeing as practically everyone’s legal in QC, and there are a lot of organized pub crawls and whatnot but in the grand scheme of things, its probably not nearly as bad as like Western!</p>
<p>There are a lot of people who drink and are obnoxious about it. Like, high school sitcom obnoxious. But, like other people are saying, it’s such a big school that there are also a ton of other people that don’t drink, from casual teetotalers to religious folks from Canada and around the world. However, if you’re going to come in as not a big drinker, there are some things I would avoid going in:</p>
<p>1) Upper rez. Just don’t do it. I think Pres Rez & University Hall are pretty quiet; MORE housing and Solin also are more laid-back from what I’ve heard.</p>
<p>2) Frosh. There are several alternative froshes but most of them are very specific. If you’re not a radical leftist, a Muslim, or a Christian there’s always Outdoor Frosh; that’s what I would’ve done if I could go back.</p>
<p>Hello, I’m a current Mcgill student (Desautels) and here’s my take on this.</p>
<p>I don’t drink, nor do many of my friends, and we have a great time regardless. There is so much to do in Montreal aside from partying that you shouldn’t have a problem.
I also have friends who do drink occasionally, and we get along just as well.
I have a roommate who goes to social gatherings and only drinks coke, he gets along with everyone alright. It is apparently just as entertaining to watch the drunk side of others from sober eyes. </p>
<p>To be honest, if you get along with people with common interests (a student club, perhaps) then whether you drink or not won’t affect how the relationship turns out. </p>
<p>BUT, I would like to point out that most rez events (the big ones) have some kind of drinking involved, and due to the ‘newness’ of all that to freshmen, many get really wild into the ‘wooohooo’ attitude. Nevertheless, outside these events I never had a problem getting along with rez mates for other activities, and during those events I just hung out with other friends (met through faculty orientation, student clubs and other such things)</p>
<p>And most American university admins that want to see what happens if legal drinking age is reduced to 18 will want to ask McGill students/admins.</p>
<p>I transferred to McGill from a big public school in the US. The drinking isn’t really any bigger here than at a US school. The main thing is you can buy it yourself. This means that people tend to go out to clubs/bars, but not frat parties.</p>
<p>I found coming here, that sure I might drink more often. But a lot of people don’t drink in the same quantities as at american schools. Maybe it’s just who I hang out with, and it comes down to who you hang out with anywhere you go.</p>