Hi! I am a senior in high school and ever since I visited Montreal last year I have been in love with the idea of going to McGill. I am interested in going into Political Science with more of a focus on the International Relations aspect. However, I do have some questions/concerns.
Everyone says the McGill workload is outrageous. Is it really that bad? Obviously I want a school that pushes me academically but I also want a school that it is possible to do well in. Everyone says that McGill is really hard to do well in with the heavy workload, no grade inflation and little to no individual attention. So I just wanted to know is it really that hard? Is the workload really that outrageously heavy? Is it possible to have both a good social life and do well academically?
How is the Political Science major? How big do the class sizes tend to be? How are the professors?
I know that you can only live in dorms the first year, is it hard to meet people after that when you are on your own?
(A much less important question, but I am still curious) I would be going in at 17 and therefore I would be 17 during Frosh. Is it worth it to do it even if I would be underage? Are there often other underaged students there?
Princeton Review put McGill at #8 on the Universities with the “Least Happy Students” list and that really worried me. I was wondering what current McGill students think of that?
Since no one else has chimed in I will give it a try. Not a current student nut rather an alumnus.
Yes, it is possible to do well academically and have a good social life, although that latter term varies by student. The workload is very demanding but not outrageous. Some American students see McGill’s 45% acceptance rate and take it to mean that it is easy to get in and therefore not particularly demanding. The high acceptance rate is partially due to the published minimum requirements. There are no hooks or soft factors involved in the decision. If you are below the minima, there is no need to apply.
2)Lecture class size in intro poly sci is around 400. That’s all I know.
3)During first year you will make many acquaintances in rez and a few good friends. Better to live in the traditional residences rather than the newer ones, more social if not as modern. Everyone is in the same boat looking for an apartment afterwards and many rent apartments together. The Ghetto east of campus is about 75% McGill students and is really an extension of the campus.
You can do Frosh but you will have an underage wristband (I believe) that will prevent you from being served.
I can’t speak for others but I was happy at McGill. Although by late March the winter gets sort of old, not that someone from Boston can complain about that after the snowmageddon we had this past year!
I’m a mcgill alum and political science was one of my majors, so I’ll try to give you some (hopefully) useful info.
At McGill the workload really varies between departments, but also between profs. In political science, there was a lot of work, but each year it got easier because you learn how to study more effectively. It’s true that there is zero grade inflation, and in poli sci the average tends to be a B. It is possible to have a good social life and do well academically, but that also varies person to person (personality-wise. Are you a perfectionist? Are you naturally brilliant and understand things very easily? etc etc). It’s also true that there is very little individual attention. There are services at McGill, but no one will be holding your hand and guiding you to them. If you want something (career services, academic advising) no one will reach out to you,but rather you have to actively look for it. By the way, academic advisors are notoriously unhelpful at McGill.
I had a generally positive experience with my poli sci major. Class sizes are pretty big, especially in first year (as the last poster said, around 400). Since McGill is such a big school, even the upper year classes are about 80 students, which is still quite large for 4th year classes. The profs in the poli sci department are a mixed bag- some amazing, some mediocre, some plain horrible.
It’s not that hard to meet people outside of the dorms in first year. You can meet them through other friends, at bars/ parties, through on-campus clubs, in classes, etc. You obviously have to put effort in, but it is totally doable.
This really depends who is giving out the bracelets and how strict they are about checking IDs/ if they care. When I had my frosh, some underage people got black bracelets, signalling that they weren’t allowed to be given alcohol. However, some 17 year olds had drinking bracelets. So this will really come down to luck. There are several other froshes at McGill that don’t involve alcohol, so if that’s not your thing you can do one of the others.
This is very subjective. Of course some people will be happy and others unhappy. During university, some semesters may be miserable due to personal problems or school and others may be awesome. That’s true for life in general, and university is no exception. This, at least, was my experience, and I’m sure many others would feel this way as well. However, the insanely long and cold winters in Montreal definitely don’t help if you’re not feeling well emotionally. But Montreal is also an amazing city with lots of culture and it is beautiful, so it balances out.
Hi guys! Can anyone help me im very nervous, getting into mcgill is my wish and dream… Yestrday got message from department that they recommended me for admission and now my file os in final evaluation stage at admission committee… I applied for food science masters, can anyone tellme what r my chances for admission?? They will give me or reject???