Written by Kelly Baker
No one lives on campus after first year. Many students at McGill are actually from the Montréal area, and they use McGill as a commuter school. For the seven percent of students who do live on campus, there are many, many housing options to choose from. Upper Rez is the most popular, and it consists of Molson, Gardner, and McConnell halls. These are your typical dorms, with small cinder-blocked rooms, although most of them are singles. It’s called Upper Rez because it’s on the top of a massive hill, a source of neverending complaint from those who live there. Slightly down the hill is Douglas Hall, a beautiful old building reminiscent of Harry Potter. Douglas has a rep for being the hippy dorm, and they have their own cafeteria. All the dorms on the hill are pretty big party dorms and probably the best bet for anyone looking for the “college experience.” Way down the hill past the campus is Royal Victoria College. This is the antithesis of the party dorm and is all girls. It has pretty tight security, but a very nice building with its own cafeteria and no hills to climb, so living there is a bit of a tradeoff.
New Residence, or New Rez, is a converted hotel, and it still looks, well, hotel-like. It has its own cafeteria, and most of the rooms are doubles. The rooms are huge with a private bathroom. New Rez has probably the biggest party rep on campus, and most people who live there absolutely love it. However, if you ask students who don’t live there their opinion, you get a different story. New Rez has a reputation for being snobby and filled with rich kids. It definitely seems to house the majority of the overworn and overpriced trends that are en vogue. New Rez is the Rez people either love or hate, so it would be wise to check it out before listing it as a first choice. Dio and Prez Rez are newer additions to McGill’s residence network. They are comparable to Upper Rez, but located just across from the Milton Gates and are significantly smaller. Most recently, McGill took over 475 Sherbrooke, formerly the Four Points Hotel, and is converting it into another student residence.