<p>The U1 thing is so annoying, McGill has NO RIGHT to bump any student up against his or her will, it doesn’t even make sense because it’s just contributing to McGill becoming even more bankrupt than they already are.</p>
<p>Having said that, this is what I did, and what a lot of my friends did (this applies to ARTS, I’m really not sure about other faculties, could be the same, could be different): </p>
<p>Keep your AP credits, declare any major you think you may be interested in (you can change this as much as you want, its literally as easy as one click), take four classes a semester, and do four years anyway. It’s really the best of both worlds-- I still kind of did a “freshman program” anyway and took lots of different classes from different disciplines BUT didn’t have to follow the requirements of McGill’s actual freshman program, I still got out of a lot of prereqs due to my APs, and ultimately I had CHOICE-- if I had decided after my first year that I didn’t want to do four years and would rather do the three years, I could simply make up for it by taking some summer courses and do three years anyway. You have no choice if you don’t send your APs in. </p>
<p>McGill CANNOT kick you out after three years if you haven’t finished your major/minor requirements. That is a fact. If you go over the 120 credit limit, you simply get classes “flagged” which means that they won’t count for your GPA, but if you stick to four classes a semester you shouldn’t go over. </p>
<p>I was really upset when I found out I was U1 in my 1st year for similar reasons as you, but now, going into my fourth year, I couldn’t be happier. Everything works out for the best. Feel free to message me if you have questions.</p>