<p>I am worried about the social life at McGill. From what I have heard, it seems like McGill students, in general, lack a sense of "school spirit" that I have seen at other schools. Athletics at McGill do not seem to draw in students like athletics at major US schools. And I was wondering, how strong are the bonds at McGill? Do McGill students seem to identify with other McGill students outside of school? And do people, in general, make lasting friendships at McGill?</p>
<p>If you want school spirit in Canada, go to Queen’s, UWO, or the East Coast.</p>
<p>first, school spirit is not a measure of athletic attendance. i am from the midwest and all my friends went to big midwest schools with a big sports atmosphere, and i did miss that a little bit, but its a different atmosphere altogether. the school is in downtown montreal so kids have a lot more things to do than tailgate for a football game all day. that said, the hockey teams are very good (in fact the womens team has won around 75 straight games) and the rink is often standing room only. though it is quite small, the atmosphere is intense and a lot of fun. the football games don’t get a ton of fans. more than the hockey games, but thats because there are more seats. the team in general has been horrid the past couple years. they do, however, have nice ticket/beer deals to some games and a lot of people go to the game to meet with friends and predrink for the night… its a good time whether or not the team is good.</p>
<p>we definitely have school spirit at mcgill. during frosh you will undoubtedly learn some chants defiling the educations recieved at concordia and queens, mcgill’s chief rivals. school spirit at mcgill isnt measured by sporting events but by pride to have a mcgill education and be in the coolest city in north america.</p>
<p>the bonds outside of mcgill are very tight. although there are hundreds of clubs and bars to go to at night, there are definitely hot spots that will be filled with 90% mcgill students. moreover, house parties are common in the mcgill ghetto, an area that is almost exclusively mcgill students. some of my best friends are from mcgill, people i continue to talk to every other day on the other side of the planet. life at mcgill is what you make of it. if you want to party everyday, you wont do well in classes but youll have a ton of friends… if you want to study all day everyday, you wont have much of a social life outside of class, but you will excell… and if you manage your time well and know when to party hard and study hard, you will fit in with the majority of mcgill students and you will make great friendships. the most important thing is to be active, dont be afraid to do things youve never done before, and be smart. hope that helps</p>
<p>Will you still be able to make friends and party with the majority of McGill students without being proficient in French?</p>
<p>Juliushark:</p>
<p>Have you attended any of the places you mentioned?</p>
<p>Are you actually currently attending any university?</p>
<p>nOstalgia:</p>
<p>My two childern who graduated from Mcgill a few years ago as international students didn’t speak a word of French but it never impacted them in any meaningful way as far as day to day living/friendships etc.</p>
<p>most americans that come dont speak french, though you will meet a lot of anglophones that do or are semi-fluent. french is not necessary to do anything in montreal except work. though i would recommend trying to learn a bit, because it makes life a little more interesting.</p>
<p>the entire student body and staff speaks english, so socially speaking you will not have an issue</p>
<p>How tall are the girls in mcgill? I heard they are pretty tall… wts the average height?</p>
<p>hahaha, excellent question, expect 7’10’’ behemoths</p>
<p>rumour has it class of 2014 is going to be full of 3’7" ladies. Lucky him</p>
<p>what kind of a question is that? haha</p>
<p>So im interested in applying to the macdonald campus and was wondering what the party scene was like there, if there is one at all?</p>
<p>I applied to McGill for transfer from the U.S. I don’t know my decision yet but if I get in, I would be entering in as a third year transfer student. I was wondering:</p>
<p>1) Since im entering as a third year student, most people will have known each other for two full years, how much of a challenge would it be to make friends and build a good social network there?</p>
<p>2) In terms of housing, I know that most students past first year stay off campus there, this presents an obvious challenge for me since I wouldn’t know anyone, would it make sense to stay on or off campus in this case?</p>
<p>3) How accessible are faculty there since it is a pretty big uni (im applied as a bio major btw)?</p>
<p>I know a large part of making friends depends on me and I am a pretty outgoing guy. Work is the most important thing for me, but I also want to have a good social life, and coming in as a third year transfer, I just want to know how well transfer students are able to get settled there socially.</p>
<p>1-Engage yourself in class, participate in a few organizations or clubs, once you meet a few kids, you will soon meet tons and be able to find some that you are comfortable around… in order to do this; however, you have to be up for most anything during your first few months. try to go out a bunch within reason and don’t be afraid to try new things if it means making friends.</p>
<p>2-Go on cragislist or the McGill Classifieds and you may find current students looking to fill a roommate void in a current apartment. I’m not sure how living in dorms works as upperclassmen, though I do know that 99% of the students will be freshman. Perhaps look into the MORE houses or Greenbriar apartments, as these are more independent, yet still controlled by McGill. Any apartment you are likely to live in will be in a 10 square block area and thus you are guaranteed to have several students in your building.</p>
<p>3-Each faculty member has mandatory office hours usually once or twice a week and are more than happy to meet with you. Moreover, professors are often easily accessible by email and some even give you their home telephone. If they have time, they will be more than happy to meet with you outside of office hours. I have had very few issues with professors not being able to be reached. In fact, one morning when my alarm clock short fused, I missed a midterm and frantically emailed the prof explaining my situation. Within 30min of the end of class she responded saying I could take the exam in her office that morning. In particular, biology profs and the like tend to be very enthusiastic about their subjects and research and love the opportunity to explain it further to an inquisitive mind.</p>
<p>I don’t know anyone who transfered so I’m not sure how to do this successfully. But like I said, overextend yourself. Volunteer on campus, join a club or two, an intramural team… people are very outgoing at McGill and you should have little trouble.</p>
<p>thanks for the quick response. I read about the whole work hard/play hard thing earlier in the thread and as I mentioned, i applied for the anatomy and cell biology major (might even do honors and take an econ minor if im up for it). point is that how hard is it to do well in this major/minor and still have fun socially? by well I mean A’s lol.</p>
<p>And again I know this will largely depend on how best I organize my time, and the amount of effort I put in etc….Im asking in general about the level of academic difficulty….and is there a way that I can talk to anyone whose transferred there?</p>
<p>I’m not sure how to contact transfers.</p>
<p>As far as anat and cell bio, i was in that. there is a lot of flexibility so it depends on which classes you decide to take, but A’s are definitely manageable. There is a lot of information in most of the classes, my own condensed notes in some semesters reached 50 pages size 9 font typed, and the difficulty with anatomy and cell bio is you have to know very minute details as far as protein interactions and cell mechanisms. this major is halfway between physiology and biochemistry as many of the classes deal with large human systems, and many deal with small intracellular mechanisms. just lots of memorization combined with conceptual knowledge, but if you keep up you should be alright as there is not a lot of ‘work’ per-say. final exams are often 70, 80, 90 or 100% of your grade so keeping up and being able to absorb loads of info in lots of classes is vital. most importantly; however, a lot of the stuff you learn in your classes is interesting and relatable to everyday processes. the honors program may be harder than it sounds ( i think you need a 3.2 to be considered) and i wouldn’t recommend it if you are thinking medicine. it is not worth risking a lower gpa to do an honors program. likewise if you are thinking masters or phd. if you ace your regular classes then you should have a very good chance. Moreover, you will also have the opportunity to take 400 and 500-level graduate courses which will look very good on your record and prepare you well.</p>
<p>I don’t think it would be difficult to meet other students as a transfer. My situation is complicated, but I was taking classes with people who were mostly U1’s, U2’s and U3’s. I didn’t find it difficult to meet people in class. That said, it’s even easier to meet people through student organizations regardless of what year you’re in. As noted by other posters, you could also choose to live in the McGill Ghetto.</p>
<p>Incidentally, I didn’t observe women at McGill to be noticeably taller or shorter than women anywhere else.</p>
<p>Seriously, you have nothing to worry about in terms of the social life at McGill. In fact, your only concern should be that Montr</p>
<p>p.s. I know this shouldn’t be a deciding factor, but you do know that the legal drinking age in Qu</p>
<p>agreeeeeed</p>