Life at McGill

pmyen
Thu, 28 Jun 2007 10:17:43 +0000

Questions about campus life at McGill:

1. Most freshman live on campus but move off-campus the next year. Does it make it hard to make friends? Seems like there would be lack of social cohension and make the college feel a bit like a “commuter” school? Don’t know if that is true? Is there strong “school spirit” in the traditional American sense?

2) My son does not drink alcohol. I know in Montreal the drinking age is 18. Is there a lot of pressure to drink at school functions or parties? Or is it more like in Europe, where most people drink, but drink responsibly? Are there fraternities? In the U.S., much of the social drinking seems to revolve around them. It also seems that because of the drinking age and location, some guides have tabbed McGill as a “party” school. However, from people we know that have attended there (including some relatives), students seem to be very studious and focused on academics while still having a good time. Perhaps the guidebooks and some of the posts here have focused less on the academics.

3)What are academics like there? Given the size of the entering class, many of the intro classes must be large. My son will have completed about 12 AP classes before college. Will McGill give him credit or let him place out so that he can take higher level classes with less students per class?