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FactsSlang
- First-year, Second-year, Third-year, Fourth-year - McGill doesn’t use terms like freshman or sophomore, they identify by year.
- Frosh - McGill’s orientation for first year students; bonding/drinking activities held the first week before school starts
- Kraft Dinner - What Canadians call Kraft Macaroni and Cheese; a student dietary staple
- Marks - Grades
- Pre-drink - The Canadian term for "pregame"
- Reading Week - McGill's spring break that usually occurs at the end of February
- Rez - Short for residence, what McGill students call dorms
- RVC - Royal Victoria College, the all-girls dorm
- SSMU - The acronym for the Students’ Society of McGill University, acts as a sort of student government/union (pronounced “smoo”)
- The Ghetto - The area east of campus inhabited predominantly by students
- Upper Rez - The dorms on the hill
- Write Exams - Take exams
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
- Administration is covered with red tape.
- Advising here is terrible.
- Finding an apartment and finals coincide.
- Frosh is not a good way to meet people (see Traditions in the Inside Scoop section).
- High school French is almost useless.
- It gets ridiculously slushy in the winter.
- It’s hard to find an on-campus job.
- The French department here is really bad.
Tips to Succeed
- Actually drop the courses you think are boring or too difficult during add/drop.
- Be proactive with faculty and administration.
- Don’t get behind with reading or assignments.
- Don’t piss off bouncers.
- Find a couple clubs you really like, and remember to go to the meetings.
- Go to class, even at 8:30 a.m.
- Have a good idea what your major will be.
- Learn to cook and do your own laundry as soon as possible.
- Take some courses satisfactory/unsatisfactory.
Urban Legends
- There is a tunnel that connects the main campus to the residences on the hill.
Traditions
- Carnival - At the beginning of the winter semester, Arts, Science, and Management each put on their own faculty carnival. Students form teams to participate in a week of scheduled drinking events and debauchery. Management Carnival is notoriously insane, and with your deposit you receive a “puke suit” – decorated coveralls.
- Frosh - At the end of August, McGill welcomes its newest class to a week of debauchery in Montréal. There are three different Froshes to engage in: faculty frosh, SSMU frosh, and Radical frosh. First are the faculty froshes, which are put on by each of the individual faculties. SSMU Frosh follows the specific faculty frosh and is open to everyone. Froshies play drinking games on the campus lawn, then go on endless pub crawls led by upperclassmen. This is McGill’s idea of orientation. Rad Frosh is the socially conscious alternative. Instead of getting wasted on lower field, froshies get proactive, attending panel discussions, loft parties, tours, and workshops that address current social issues.
- Open Air Pub - At the beginning of the fall semester, and the end of the winter semester, McGill has OAP with live music, cheap beer, and food on the lawn.
- Reading Week - Don’t be fooled by its name, this week of vacation is not study time. It is McGill’s version of spring break and usually occurs at the end of February. Wealthier Canadians usually leave their American friends behind and escape to Cuba.
- Ski Trip - Every January there is a weekend trip to Mount Tremblant that many students go on. There are also other ski weekends at different mountains, like Mount Ste-Anne, but Tremblant is by far the most popular.
- St-Sulpice - Last day of classes, tons of people head to St-Sulpice, a bar with a great terrace to hang out before starting the summer.
School Spirit
McGill students are proud to go to McGill. There is an intense academic rivalry between McGill and University of Toronto, as the two schools shuffle between number one and number two spots on McLean’s list for the top researching university. McGill students vehemently defend that not only are they academically superior, but that their campus and student body outweigh any advantage U of T may have. This remains to be seen, but there is a sense of accomplishment that most students feel by going to one of Canada’s top universities. Another rivalry is between Concordia and McGill. Concordia is the other English-speaking university in Montréal, and many locals claim that it more truthfully represents the people of Montréal—whatever that means. Concordia tends to have more rivalry with McGill than the other way around, but there is a definite line of loyalty. As mentioned before, sports are not a huge deal here, but generally, any excuse for drinking and screaming at another group is welcome with open arms.
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