McGill University (Canada)

Date: Jan 01 2012
Major: Geography and Geosciences (This Major's Salary over time)
I'm an Urban Systems major. The Department of Geography at McGill is fantastic. I think it's the best department in Arts; it's small (like a family!), the faculty and students are friendly, you'll have smaller classes and I feel that the things I'm learning are applicable and useful. If you are looking into this department MAKE SURE to go on GEOG 290 (the intro field excursion), you will make lots of friends!

On the University as a whole:

Pros: Challenging, with useful material taught and feel a sense of accomplishment when completing classes. Some very friendly and intelligent people. Lots of people to choose from when making friends. The student body is extremely internationally diverse, and you will find people of every language and culture here. City offers amazing opportunities for internships, volunteer work, employment, nightlife (drinking age 18) and anything else you can think of. Very good public transportation and safety (though it is a big city like any other). Become bilingual! Good space for open-minded thought. Opportunity to be independent and be treated like an adult, this is not a glorified boarding school, you will get to be in your own apartment after first year. Price is cheap for Americans compared to the price of similar schools (McGill is 17 in the world and is considered Ivy quality, as one of my profs described it

Harvard without the entitlement

), though it's not considered so cheap for Canadians.

Cons: University is underfunded and has led to lots of unrest with the recent labor strike and tuition hikes. Classes are frustratingly large (my roommate in Anatomy has a 900 person class) and feel more like sporting events than classes, though they do get smaller as you move up. Rez—well… avoid Molson Hall at all costs as it's a shitshow every night, tons of drugs and & a large portion of the residence is made up of the Trust Fund Club. Speaking of which, a large portion of this university is made up of the Trust Fund Club, which gets extremely annoying (I have heard things come out of people's mouths here so ignorant I didn't even know people like that existed), and brands are definitely seen around campus. Unfortunately though I think you will find the same thing at any similar university, and there are definitely many down-to-earth people as well. If you are a person of color from the States, and are not a total hipster, you might feel alienated here (but I have not gone to uni in the States and so I cannot say if this is any better or worse than in an American uni). In general if you are not a total hipster you will feel alienated here. The "Greek life" here is incredibly small and our version of "bros" listen to Skrillex and do coke, so if you are looking for a frat-y, sports-y type scene you might want to look elsewhere. Workload is incredibly difficult and you will find yourself working harder than you ever did in your life (although you will learn a lot). Don't expect to get As in the Faculty of Arts because it's practically impossible. I have not personally had problems with the administration, though I agree that McGill health sucks and I have friends with special problems that have difficulty getting accommodation (if you have a disability or a recurring health problem you may be better off at a smaller school).

Also, it's cold as anything in the winter!!!