<p>I'm considering transferring to Mcgill from my current uni (American student btw). I'd be applying for an Environmental Biology major, most likely. Although it's still up in the air whether I'll even have the required classes to apply, I'm curious to learn more about the Macdonald campus. Here are my questions:
Is it possible/practical to take classes on both campuses? I read how there's a shuttle but from reading forum posts by students it sounds somewhat unreliable. I am interested in taking language classes and I couldn't tell if there are such courses offered on the Macdonald campus.
How many students reside on the Macdonald campus? What are class sizes like?
Do Macdonald students go to the city often, say on the weekend? Is there much interaction between campuses? Do Macdonald students go to parties at the other campus?
Weird question now, but what are the people like at Macdonald? A coworker of mine was an engineering student at McGill for a year (left bc of large classes, he wasn't on the Macdonald campus of course) and he was saying that Macdonald was a school for "lumberjacks" haha, so I'm just wondering if everyone there is very naturey and such... which isn't a bad thing I just like to know different kinds of people.
Really any info you could give me would be great!</p>
<p>No one in my family is a current student at McGill right now, but we did just come back from a visit of the main and Mac campuses. I’ll let current students tell you about the “insider” stuff, but here are some pointers: We went in off-season. The shuttle bus was not in service, and even when it is, we were told it’s a first-come, first-served arrangement for both students and workers. We got a ride from main campus to Mac and it took 40 minutes without any traffic. We returned via public transportation, and it took almost one hour on the express bus/metro/walking. It involved getting the bus right on the Mac campus (very accessible; have to have exact coins), making one stop, then being dropped off at a central Montreal metro stop. From the metro, it was a ride to the campus area (maybe 3-6 stops?), then about a four block walk. I really cannot image that commuting regularly between campuses is feasible unless you were to spend an entire day at one or the other campus. Weekends would be fine, but coming back to Mac late at night would not be ideal, and it just isn’t possible to do more than one round-trip in a day.
It is notable that no one at the main campus, including our tour guide, had ever set foot on the Mac campus nor could anyone tell us anything about the program there, even though a Mac student is a 100% McGill student. It is completely absent from the introduction to “McGill.” I’m not going to lie; it does seem to be regarded by Montreal students as a separate entity, or at best a “back door.” I do not think it is justified, because physically it is very separate and a world apart, but it is still part of McGill.
The Mac campus is beautiful. Obviously we were there when it was relatively empty, but there were activities going on. Everyone was super-nice and definitely not of the “lumberjack” image; met international students who were very sophisticated. The grounds are immaculate; picture-postcard quality. There is a large body of water in front of the main entrance – a lake? a river? – that adds to the ambiance. The buildings are a mix of old and new. There is a junior college sort of attached to Mac, and we wondered whether people confuse Mac with that school and think of it as a junior college instead of part of McGill?? Anyway, there are a lot of services available to Mac students – a weekly bus excursion into the town for groceries, etc., kitchens everywhere because you have to cook your own dinners, a couple of small café type facilities (fyi, the jr. college next door has a full cafeteria service if you want to use it), a farm with amazing produce (we heard you can have your own garden plot to grow veggies); limited health services (you can use the Montreal campus services as well). The gym really needs updating; you would probably want to do outdoor activities since the surroundings are well suited to hiking, skiing, etc.
McGill’s environmental studies program is internationally ranked, and the Mac campus is the center of that program. So, if your interest is in that area, then you should consider it. But, if you are looking for a Montreal experience, you will have to aim for the main campus. </p>
<p>Wow, thanks for all the information!
So is Macdonald not in Montreal? Sorry, not very familiar with Canada…
Macdonald sounds really nice though! Definitely more interested in going.
So there isn’t much in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue? Like grocery store and any department or clothing is downtown?</p>
<p>No, Mac is not in Montreal; totally different town with completely different pace. The town looks nice. The road leading to the Campus is a narrow, two lane road with nice houses. There are stores and restaurants of course, but shopping for clothes is better in Montreal. </p>
<p>Do people still speak French there?
Bit of a Francophile, hee hee.</p>
<p>Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue is a bilingual town on the mostly Anglophone West Island. Most residents and students are bilingual. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>