<p>Hey, I’m a junior from South Carolina in, of course, the IB program and I’m definitely seriously considering McGill for matriculation next year. (the cost = AMAZING)</p>
<p>But I had a couple questions.
- I don’t speak French. The extent of it is little phrases I’ve picked up from my friends “J’ai beaucoup de faim” and I really have zero interest in learning French. (I’d like to learn Persian or Chinese in college instead, and I’m going to be leaving high school with 5 years of Spanish classes) but is that going to have an affect on my ability to communicate with people in Montreal? Not only with other students, but the general population? Or is learning French kind of a-you-have-to-do-this sort of thing?</p>
<li><p>If you are American and you go to McGill, do you ever feel really out of place or anything? From everything I’ve seen, it looks like all the different backgrounds and races, etc. assimilate very well, but I just wanted to see from any student’s perspectives, any of your friends perspectives as Americans, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>If we get the AP and IB credit necessary to go into U1, do we actually have to? I would much prefer not to do that, considering I think that any college-level classes taken in high school are really not on a college level. But I’ve seen some things on these forums that indicate McGill forces you to, and if there was anything that actually made me not apply there, that’d be it. (So I hope not!) But please let me know.</p></li>
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<p>Thanks so much, guys!
(Also, feel free to add any additional comments supporting McGill and extra points for creative persuasion and little-known but awesome facts about McGill.)</p>
<p>You definately do not need to learn French to survive or have fun at McGill or in Montreal. McGill is an english university, so everything is taught in English and I'm pretty sure any sort of communication done at the school is in English too. You also don't need any French to get by in Montreal because it's a very bilingual city. Don't worry, I guarantee that you won't have any problems without knowing French.
McGill is located in Montreal, which is one of its biggest pluses. Montreal is the oldest city in Canada and very rich in culture. It's also a really big party city and the legal drinking age is 18. I hear the student population and city are very diverse, but I still think Toronto's more diverse. The french people are very nice and easy going, and it's really a lot of fun there. The Vieux Port in Montreal is very European-looking and I hear that a lot of festivities happen there during the summer. McGill has a really great reputation in the states and around the world. But of course that's quite obvious from all the Americans and international students on this site that have applied to McGill and want to attend McGill potentially over schools like NYU or Georgetown. I've been told repeatedly by friends and teachers that you can't go wrong with McGill. You'll have the time of your life.</p>
<p>I def have to disagree with bittersweet--being francophone will prove essential when it comes to getting a job in Montreal (I've heard this many times from current McGill students), and will certainly open up more social opportunities for you in the city. Don't worry about learning French, though! It's not so bad...If you already have Spanish under your belt, you will have very little trouble understanding French (once you know one Romance language...). You could probably do very well just by self-studying it for a few months.
Fun Fact--the first game of intercollegiate football was played between McGill and Harvard in 1874. Unfortunately, college-level football did not get the introduction it deserved. Neither the Martlets, nor the Crimsons were able to score any points and the game ended with a draw.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>french is not essential...everyone around will speak english </p></li>
<li><p>there are over 2000 americans at mcgill...tats almost the student body of some universities and colleges</p></li>
<li><p>your are forced to accept credit..if u get over a 5 or more on the IB and 4 or more on the AP. you can choose to repeat courses u got credit for..but u would get credit again
I would say...go to U1 if u have the choice...dont think they will force you..but apprently U0 is extremely easy if u have already been in an honours program (its just review)</p></li>
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<p>if ur in management however...u only get elective credits...u have to take all the required courses</p>
<p>thanks guys</p>
<p>I had another question. McGill gives out scholarships, do they give some to American students and how competitive are they?</p>
<p>I never said anything about being fine getting a job without any knowing any french. That's actually one of the biggest downfalls of not knowing any french. But if you're an american student you can't get a job outside of campus anyway. And on campus all the jobs are english, and if it involves french they usually say that being bilingual is only an asset, not a requirement.
You apply for scholarships on the application form for admissions. There is a basic and a major scholarship. For the basic scholarship you just indicate that you would like to be considered, and for the major scholarship you have to write extra essays or something of the like. They usually tell you with your admission decision whether you've recieved the scholarship or not. I suppose it's the same procedure for Americans, although I'm not sure. To my knowledge, there are no other scholarships besides those that are merit based. need based financial aid is dealt with once the school year begins, I believe.</p>
<p>they're super competitive. Not to brag, but I've really put 110% into my high school career, and I applied for a major scholarship, didn't even get a basic one :( .....need more money!!!</p>
<p>same here..i applied for major and was pretty sure i would get at least a basic scholarship, and then nothing! and they're not too nice about it either. usually, u know how letters that come from like US institutions always say somethin like "u are exceptional and ur accomplishments are amazing and blah blah blah...but..." so they really try to tell u nicely. with mcgill, the letter they gave explaining y i didn't get a scholarship started off with something like "u r only a good student..." lol slap in the face!</p>
<p>really, chai? I don't really recall my letter being specific, I thought it was just some form letter, if thats what youre saying, I should probably find that stuff. Are there any deadlines coming up?? for anything? I dont know anything :)</p>
<p>You'll get by without knowing French- most students here are bilingual, but not necessarily in French... I speak German and English, but my French skills are pretty sad. Doesn't affect you too much- McGill teaches in English, and all students speak it!</p>
<p>Americans make up a huge population here- we're growing more and more too- so you won't feel alone...</p>
<p>Prospect151--ya it was a form letter that didn't sound very nice. it basically just said many expectional applicants this year and we don't have enough funding for everyone and i suck :) lol</p>
<p>yeh i got that letter too</p>
<p>basically what the letter said was..."you are good, but we have better"</p>
<p>2 of my friends who had predicted 45s (not very rare at my school) on the IB didnt get any schlorships not even a basic one. Getting 45 on the IB is like 110% in canada
even worse is that one of them is actually from canada (which is really suprising..u can understand if they didnt give international but to a canadain?...</p>
<p>i think mcgill is being really stupid this year or they are just damn poor...i mean a 45 gives u divine status anywhere..they got full rides in universites which are far far more prestigious than mcgill...so it didnt really matter in the end</p>
<p>well I guess it's understandable why they have so little funding for things like scholarships. Half of their students pay a little more than $1000 CDN per year for tuition and some don't even live in rez. Plus, the Quebec government isn't exactly the richest either. I just really hope that financial aid is the only department that's taking a hit.</p>
<p>I also was not given a scholarship but the letter I received concerning this was not rude, actually, it was rather polite.<br>
I am scrambling now to apply for more outside private merit aid.</p>