McGill University
Reviews

Super Diverse

You will meet people from all over the world. 20% of students come from outside of Canada!

Greek Life on the Rise

While previously greek life has been a relatively minuscule part of university life at McGill due to the low drinking age, the greek community is really beginning to grow here. This year all of the sorority houses doubled in size and that's with quite a few girls being turned away from rush altogether due to a cap on the number of girls per sorority allowed. Greeks have also been elected into high- ranking positions all over campus and greek life is guaranteed to continue growing at McGill. Anyone looking to build close relationships, give back to the community and party should definitely go through recruitment this year.

Proffs Are Great!

Professors at the macdonald campus are very helpful and engaging. They are more then willing to give extra help if needed or allow you to help out (maybe even get a paid job) in lab or with research if you are interested and ask. Getting to know your professors is easy and a great way to expand your experiences and knowledge

All Super Chill

All students are super chill and friendly. All are interested in studies and affecting the world positivly but still know how to party and have a good time =)

Adhere to Regulations

Professors at McGill do not offer late submissions or re-writes for the most part. McGill is very much a survival of the fittest campus; students are expected to adhere to policies. It is truly up to the student whether or not to attend classes, labs, etc. In other words, only independent self-motivated students tend to succeed.

Ethnic Food a Must!

When in Montreal, one must take advantage of the very inexpensive ethnic cuisine offered ANYWHERE at ANYTIME of the day. Not only is the food impressive, but the atmosphere and patronage is colorful. If at all possible try speaking a few words of French; you'll be surprised at the increased attentiveness of the staff!

Drinking, Shisha/Cigarettes, Weed

Fairly easy to get anything you want if you really want it. Alcohol use is sponsored by school, limited/no pressure though for smoking. Enforcement is centred on safety. Floor fellows try to know what's going on to be there if something happens.

Love the nightlife

I came to Montreal from Toronto to study and McGill and I have to say that the nightlife in Montreal is amazing. You have great supper clubs like Time (http://www.timesupperclub.com) where you can go early and eat and then stay afterwards for the party. The supper club scene here is always happening and is not packed with 15 year old kids like most the clubs in Toronto.

Friendly, Open Living Space

The open-mindedness and laissez-faire attitude of Montreal (which has transferred to the university) is great for students. They are there to promote and ensure your well-being while allowing you to party, study, experiment and take advantage of this opportunity. It is one of the best times and the openness fosters respect and community in your residence. People being able to do drugs knowing they wouldn'tbe reprimanded (they were just told to be aware of the possible consequences and side-effects), being able to drink with floormates and play drinking games in the common room, to having a study room and having floor/res events definitely created a great atmosphere / place to live in.

Academically Challenging

Academics overall are very challenging and professors do expect a lot from you; given that, a lot of introductory courses are very large and professors will not have the time to get to know you so showing an interest in the area and that you have worked hard is a way to get in. Most students here learn and know how to work hard and party hard which is a nice relief and support for you (you'll be with your friends in the libs all day before going out at night). Expect to learn a lot from your professors, but unless you are in the more popular fields there will either not be too many courses offered (in my case) or the courses will be so specialised (in the higher levels) to certain professors' specialities (that may not interest you). Most majors do, fortunately, allow a lot of freedom when choosing courses

Montreal Is Incredible

I love montreal. DONT GO TO SCHOOL IN AMERICA TRUST ME IT SUCKS BALLS AND YOU CANT DRINK LEGALLY. you're treated like an adult in montreal because you are an adult.

Eat Off Campus

The on-campus dining options are underwhelming and overpriced. This isn't a big deal, however, since plenty of tastier and more affordable options can be found just outside the campus gates. Also, the McGill experience does a good job of hastening your arrival at adulthood, and a big part of adulthood is making your own food! No meal plans after freshman year; you'll be cooking your own dinner and thinking nothing of it.

Libraries

There are tons of libraries with different studying environments; however, it can be offset by the fact that the student body is so huge and come midterm and finals time, it can be hard to find a spot at a desk.

The Honor Code

McGill has strict policies about plagarism, exams and making sure that students do their own work, in general. I find this very refreshing, as some of the Ivy Leagers only do lip service to such high ideals.

VARIETY.

McGill is such a big school, there seems to be a bit of variety in the 'academics' in general. However, in my experience, all the professors have been very knowledgeable/engaging, the curriculum has been fairly flexible, registration somewhat difficult, and workload difficult but not crushing.

Nice, and Cheap

As soon as you will reach your second year at McGill, you'll need to find a place which will be yours for at least a year, and that won't be a problem. Montreal remains full of opportunities regarding housing, and it's way cheaper that other big North-American cities.

Safer Than Safe

I've been living in NYC & London, but Montreal brings the "s" in "safety". It remains a "hipster-city", with very fashionable students on campus, and a trendy neighborhood that will make you feel at ease in no time.

Non-Existant Strictness

There is no strictness. You are an adult here once you turn 18 and do what you want. You can literally smoke weed outside the dorms and nobody says anything.

Very Diverse

Because it's an international school, people come from all over the world. While the stats say over 70% are from within Canada, many of those are Canadian immigrants and the amount of students from other places in the world is astounding. I've heard that the largest student society at McGill is the Pakistani one and it wouldn't surprise me at all, international students definitely don't stand alone. In residences (namely New Rez) it seems like Canadian students are almost in a minority to American and international students. If you're looking for a diverse experience, McGill is definitely a good place to find one.

Legal Drinking Age = 18!

Quebec's drinking age is 18, so everyone goes out to clubs and bars on the weekends. Especially in the first weeks, expect to get dressed up and hit all the big-name clubs (and see some Americans and Canadians from provinces with higher drinking ages discover their alcohol tolerance), but after a while it settles down; you and your friends will find whatever kind of scene you want.

Pot is cheap and good quality.

Mcgill Cannot Afford to Be Strict Its Too Big

McGill isn't a very strict school in general. It has more of a "figure it out own your own policy." I think it's too big to really worry about strictly controlling its students. On the other hand if you do get into trouble with the authorities you know that you must have done something pretty bad.

All but Some Residences Are Great

Many of the buildings are old, some beautiful and some one can clearly tell were built in the 70's with the time period's atrocious architecture.

I would say depending on what you're majoring in class size varies significantly, but for the most part the classrooms have everything needed to learn.

The Gym facilities are pretty good and interesting classes are offered to lose weight/muscle up

The food quality is not that great....it really depends on where you go

Residences for first years vary. I would say the residences known as Upper Rez and Douglass are probably the best. The newest hotel ones are pretty bad. Even though more student can fit into these it's very hard to develop a close community feeling like are often formed in the upper residences. I would say living in one of the hotel residences last year as a first year was one of my only disappointments with McGill.

Not Strict at All

Nobody will bother you- never heard of police of campus involvement with drugs, yet most people experiment with marijuana frequently without problems.

Montreal Awaits You

In Montreal, there is never a shortage of bar/clubs to jam inside, packed with college aged students blasting (sometimes) deafening music. A typical night out with friends is to head down rue St. Laurent and find a club or bar that is hopping and check it out- if it is lame head down the street and find a better party. Everything is within walking distance.

Amazing City

Montreal is an excellent place to have a university, and a world class university like McGill thrives off of the local culture.