Orientation Week-Parents

<p>So I know that the students will be getting accustomed to McGill and going through Orientation week, and my parents are definitely coming up to Montreal with me to move my stuff and to get info from the Parent Infromation Sessions going on throughout the week, but what else are they should/do they need to attend? Or after attending one of the meetings ie. the earliest is on Tuesday, just go home and say their goodbyes? While I love them, I'd rather not have them follow me around when I'm trying to mingle with other freshmen, unless this is the case, which is fine.</p>

<p>Also, when should we file for REZ Voice and Data Service, and it is really necessary if say I get a cell phone and try to go to wireless places (except for those late nights...)?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>jhhilly: As a dad, we helped our daughter move in and went to the Orientation tent to see if there was anything we needed to know. That was all. Nothing else was too worthwhile. If you want, go to the Botanical Gardens with them- or to Old Montreal. Then say "goodbye". Once again, as a dad, I did not want to be there for Frosh Week. You will understand why shortly. Most parents will leave early-- very few stay longer than one day or two.</p>

<p>You will have info about REZ Data services when you arrive in your room.
Because so much homework and course work is on-line I recommend getting
the service. Anyway, sign up is free for the first month.</p>

<p>what is this "REZ data service"?</p>

<p>All the residential dorms are wired for high-speed LAN internet service. It costs about $35 per month.</p>

<p>Right then what is this about Bell and Rogers wireless internet connection plans? Is that if you just want the Internet only?</p>

<p>Don't know. Must be for cellphone internet access or off-campus access after you move out of Rez. All dorms rooms have hard-wired connections to the net. You can set up a router and make it wireless if you want-- or you can use someone else's unsecure network. They are all around.</p>

<p>Almost all cafes in MTL. have free wireless service while you study as long as you buy a cup of java. In large classes many of the prof's put their
lecture power points on the web and some even post their lectures in wav
format. In my daughter's math classes, homework was done and submitted over the web.</p>

<p>Do students bring their own printers or do they use computer labs?</p>

<p>BOW: Students can give you a better answer, but here is our experience.
My daughters first year in Solin Hall, she used her roomates printer-- they were friends from home and planned what to each bring. Her second year, she lives alone in a small apartment and said she didnt need a printer, she would use one at the school labs.</p>

<p>Two weeks later we bought a printer for her apartment. Why? Either 1) she needed it due to the amount of printed material to be handed in or 2) she liked to sleep as late as possible before classes and didnt have time to get to a school printer.</p>

<p>Anyway, printers are so cheap these days.</p>

<p>"Once again, as a dad, I did not want to be there for Frosh Week. You will understand why shortly."</p>

<p>WHY NOT?</p>

<p>its basically this stupid whorefest. People laying on the ground, humping eachother while drunk.</p>

<p>Type in McGill on Youtube and you will see. I would reccomend not going. I dont go to mcgill, but i always hear bad things about it (unless you are a slut)</p>

<p>When is this "Frosh Week" aka "Whorefest"?</p>

<p>idk cause i dont go to McGill, but yeah, it is not really whorefest, just that everyone (not literally) gets wasted and humps people at the park...thats what the videos make it look like.</p>

<p>If i go to McGill (it is my top choice next to U of Chicago...but i apply this fall),
i will probably go, but only because a good number of people go and travel the city with "straight edge" groups and whatnot.
But i don't drink or party so that's just me.</p>

<p>It is probably pretty good for social reasons though cause if you party, you know who else does, and if you don't you can make friends pretty easily with people who dont.</p>

<p>Have fun at McGill though.</p>

<p>Dunno about you guys, but I'm definitely going to frosh week. Sounds like a blast to me.</p>

<p>hahaha i'm a frosh leader and since it's coming up soon i thought i'd chip in.
yes, frosh does have unlimited beer, but if u don't want to drink, u may be in the minority but certainly not alone, there's other non-alcoholic beverages to drink. about the promiscuity- i personally did frosh and did not witness anything, although i heard stories over breakfast at the caf... but then again who's to say what really happened...
frosh is fun! and there's rad frosh the last 2 days that's got a completely different focus than beer</p>

<p>I'm doing radfrosh, but I'll admit I only signed up because they said there'd be white water rafting...Also they said we'd get to know the city more, which seemed like something I should do. I don't want to be one of those people who spends four years at a city school, yet doesn't know anything about the city four blocks away from the campus.</p>

<p>straight up P! dude, i was thinkign of doing the rad frosh when i saw white water, but then I read on and it said something like level 3 or soemthing. that sucks, plus that's pretty much the only exciting thing going, and the rest is vegan breakfasts, and gay right talks, and vegan lunch.</p>

<p>Like McGill Dad, my husband and I also moved our son into his dorm room on the Hill, went to the parents' tent. Bought him groceries and school supplies and shoved off. Why? The school has many wonderful events planned for incoming Freshman. It's a chance for the new students to get to know their dormmates and professors. It's not really a time for the parents. But that doesn't mean that we left Montreal, we just left the campus.
Montreal has a lot to offer the parents. Great restaurants, shopping, cultural activities.</p>

<p>Personally, I think how McGill handles orientation is totally wrong and quite ridiculous. It seems like there was immense pressure on the students to drink. You can give the speech about "no one is being forced to drink... there ARE other beverages... blah blah blah" all you want but it doesn't change the fact that almost every event centers around drinking. I mean... pub crawl? Yeah it sounds like you'll totally fit in with that if you are sober!</p>

<p>I enjoy drinking and all, but McGill takes it way too far and acts like a "cool" parent welcoming his/her children. You shouldn't meet your potential lifelong friends totally hammered and you shouldn't alienate the people who aren't into partying/drinking right off the bat. If McGill is really the "Harvard of Canada," then perhaps maybe they shouldn't be trying to prove how cool they are all the time. I don't see Harvard pressuring students to get drunk on the first day.</p>

<p>atomicfusion, if youre at harvey mudd how can you talk about mcgill's orientation? were/are you there?</p>

<p>and if youre going by what a few kids (mostly incoming freshman) say here, then i'm surprised that you are so easily influenced. there are about 6000 incoming freshman at mcgill. i wouldnt consider these few voices a representational sample</p>

<p>atomicfusion: you're surprised Frosh events are all about drinking? What planet are you from? The first week of (or prior to) class in every cegep/university in the province is all about drinking for new students. The only difference between here and the US is that here it's actually legal for the students to drink.</p>

<p>I've never heard of anyone making lifelong friends at frosh. I've never heard of anyone being forced to drink, but those who don't drink doubly realise how much of a waste of money all the organised frosh events are. Really, you don't need Frosh to go out and drink in Montreal, and you don't need Frosh (or to drink alcohol) to make friends at McGill.</p>