McGill is awfully stressful. The people are competitive, the Profs are too smart for the students good at times. McGill prepares an independent person for a lot of different things, but that doesn't mean the ride along the way is going to be easy.

Part of the reason my experience was so great was that I moved away from home. I loved the independence and excitement that living in Montreal by myself gave me. Moving out is not always possible or the best thing for every person.

I have cherished memories of days (in the early 1960's spent at a student club and evenings (nights) at a nearby nightclub (Cafe Andre, white wine, folksinger Tony Webb). Attended lectures, worked (employed, not reading) at the libraries. I think it was common for some students to live day and night in the Student Union putting out the student newspaper, organizing dramatic performances, creating the annual musical comedy revue. I learned more outside the classroom and library than inside.

Quality education in heart of a beautiful multicultural city. Incredible campus and facilites. Excellent international reputation.

After the first year on 600 people classes, I'm in classes with 20-50 sometimes 10 people. The staff is amazing learned and wonderfully interested in the material and subject matter. They offer a great background and basis for your program, and still offer a series of interesting courses like Astrobiology, Japanese Animated Cinema, and Theatre Classes. While certain faculties are more oriented towards a profession (Education, Engineering) others provide a much more academic education like in the Arts faculty.

Typically, if you're in Arts, Science, or Management, the first year is all huge classes (100-600 students) with a few exceptions. The awesome thing - classes that big means they're recorded. Profs won't know who you are (don't have to go), and can just lay in bed watching/listening to the lectures. However, as you advance in your major, you'll find yourself in smaller and smaller classes, where participation counts and profs know your name. In management, i find it really easy to meet with profs for help and they usually know my name. A few faculties (especially management), they need to maintain an average (usually 3.0). So all my classes are graded on a bell curve and against all our classmates - making it fairly competitive.

I was in an apartment style residence first year (residence is only available to first years - everyone finds apartments for second year and beyond). Everyone left their door open, we would cook together, study together - I felt very much like it was my home. Rez was the best place to meet people, I would highly highly recommend it for anyone coming from out of province. I met all my closest friends in first year, on my floor in residence. Even though I think it's impossible to meet people in a giant lecture hall, you can still meet people in first year if you're not in rez. Lab groups are usually less than 20 people and you have to work in partners or small groups, language classes are really tiny, there are First Year Seminar classes that are reserved for first years to give them an opportunity to take small classes and they are normally limited to 25 people (they're hard to get into though), and there are clubs and sports. I have never been to an athletic event as a participant. I don't think they're popular - cheer for the Montreal Canadiens!! People do things every week/weekend, but it doesn't always have to be drinking! House parties are lame. Maybe if you live in the middle of nowhere, but this is Montreal! There's so much variety - I could go to a different bar/club every week, enjoy myself, and never repeat where I went out. Sororities and fraternities are practically nonexistent. I think there might be one or two but nobodys ever heard of them.

Montréal is the best part of McGill. It's the perfect atmosphere for the school. I'd change the red-tape associated with advising, and credit-transfers and what not. The school is the perfect size, it's large enough that you can meet someone new every day, though in the end you can run with a small croud that shares your interest. A large percentage of students commute from home, and thus there is a smaller feeling at certain times. School pride doesn't seem to exist, except at the occasional hockey game. Departmental and pride for you program of study is very prevalent.

Mcgill is diverse, but that is not to say completely integrated. There are a lot of Quebécois, and also a lot of Anglophones from canada, on top of this you have around 6000 international students from all over the world. You would be hardpressed to find a person who only spoke one language. In some ways the international students are from a higher socio-economic background, as the tuition is relatively much higher than that of the in-state (Quebec or French) tuition. So you get a mix of students who might be paying off their student loans working, and the International student who's father owns 1/2 a country.

If you're looking to meet more people outside of your rez, there are many options. Firstly, check out www.ssmu.mcgill.ca. There are a ton of clubs out there to join. Also, although sports aren't huge at McGill, I think it is very important for students to try out. As a rower throughout high school, I decided to take my first year off of the sport. However, in 2nd year I got sucked back in and made the varsity team. It was probably the best choice i've made. Some of my best friends are on the team. Check out www.athletics.mcgill.ca for all the info on varsity teams as well as intramurals - which are a ton of fun btw (1st year ball hockey team, 0-12, baby). As for the night life. Monday night is A-Side (st. laurent), Tuesday night is BDP (ave du parc) or Cafe Campus (prince arthur), Wednesday night is benelux (Jeanne Mance and Sherbrooke), Thursday night is Tokyo (St. Laurent), and Friday/Saturday is everywhere. There's ALWAYS some type of party going on and you'll have no problem finding a place to go out for a beer (like i said, drinking age is 18!).

I did my Master's and Law degree at McGill. My Master's program was very intimate and self-directed. The professors were highly qualified, engaging and committed to their students. The Faculty of Law, although renowned, is highly academic as opposed practical in its approach. However, it is highly reputable and the professors are excellent. It is also a bilingual program.

I have cherished memories of days (in the early 1960's spent at a student club and evenings (nights) at a nearby nightclub (Cafe Andre, white wine, folksinger Tony Webb). Attended lectures, worked (employed, not reading) at the libraries. I think it was common for some students to live day and night in the Student Union putting out the student newspaper, organizing dramatic performances, creating the annual musical comedy revue. I learned more outside the classroom and library than inside.