Hi! I am considering McGill to pursue an undergraduate degree in psychology and I have heard again and again that it is a challenging and rigorous school. I was wondering if anyone could shed any light on what exactly that entails? Like what do classes look like, what does workload look like? Thanks for any responses, have a great day! 
I’ll give a parent view. My son is a U0 studying economics in the Faculty of Arts. He went to a high stress rigorous public high school in the Boston area. My take is this: he definitely has a lot of work…decent amount of papers and exams. But not overwhelming. The exams can be brutally hard; you really need to learn the materially deeply. For most of his classes the prof definitely aims for a B- average (68% seems to be a common number). That said, he seems to have plenty of time to socialize and for activities. For kids coming from the U.S., the idea that so few kids get A/A- is different and takes some time to get used to.
That said, in less than a year I can see a huge increase in his critical thinking skills and frankly, his global view of things. It’s been a transforming experience for him. He is learning a great deal and having a LOT of fun. Good luck!
^Interested in this also. I am also curious if anyone who is/was a student had experience transferring AP credits? If you enter McGill as a U1 do you have to declare your major/minor right away?
I’m an entering U1 student in joint honours finance and economics, and from my experience, you declare your major at the end of your U0 year (just about now for me). I also transferred 18 AP credits without an issue (just send your AP scores to McGill and they’ll make sure it appears on your unofficial transcript. If you have any other questions, let me know!
Same for my son. He came in with 15 AP credits which transferred without an issue as well. He declared a major and minor just a couple of days ago after meeting with an advisor.
^^ Thanks! I am curious how you picked U0 classes. We won’t get AP results back until well after course registration. Those results will determine U0 or U1 status. Any advice picking classes that will not then become unnecessary if you do receive U1 status?
McGill is the university with the wild add/drops. Let me start by saying that and also by saying (and you’ll hear this a lot) “it will all work out”. We knew that he was getting credit for APUSH. The others we just assumed he would. So we built a class schedule around that. Now the scary part…we learned in panic mode that you need to have several back up classes. He didn’t and when he went to register a bunch of classes were already closed. (U3 goes first…then U2, then U1…THEN U0!) After an hour of panic and work he ended up with a full schedule. There is an website (Getaseat.ca) and he registered there. When a spot opened in a class he wanted he get a notification and he would quickly go in and try to get the class. By the beginning of August he was all set. (The amount of add/drops is insane.)
He actually is registering tomorrow for next year. He is shut out of one PoliSci class…everything else has openings. So he will just be ready to go exactly at 8 AM. 
And he knows by the Fall he’ll have that PoliSci class.
Finally, I would add: he is really, really happy at McGill. He has worked hard, learned a lot, and had a ridiculous amount of fun.
^Thank you! This is very helpful. I am glad your son is having a great experience at McGill!
^Did he get his classes today (except Poli Sci)?
Got them all…except Poli Sci. Done in literally less than five minutes. Ironic part: He signed up for Getaseat a few days before registering for the Poli Sci class assuming it would take forever for a seat to open. The night before he was eligible to register a seat opened (and got snagged by someone else a few hours later). So he is pretty confident he will get that class soon.