McGill University (From a Female Point of View)

What you should know when going abroad for studies

Firstly, McGill has 2 campuses – downtown and McDonald Campus (I’m at downtown campus so I don’t really know anything about the other campus)

Accommodation

1. On the norm, first years would normally stay on campus (move in - late august, move out – end of april the following year) You will start searching for off campus housing as early as February for a lease that begins in May. However, sometimes students miss on the on campus residence application and hence will start off your university staying off campus. (This is very troublesome because you’re not there to house hunt and will need to do everything online and through phone calls, etc.)
2. Food: On-campus – If you’re in a residence that comes with meal plans, there’s always vegetarian and seafood option. As for chicken and meat, Halal ones are made available once in a blue moon (they will have the “halal” label). If you’re at residences without meal plans, you’ll be responsible for your own food. [As for non-Muslims, you’ll enjoy the freshly grilled lamb & pork chops, beef & sirloin steaks, etc.]
3. Food: Off campus – Obviously you’ll be doing your own groceries and cook your own meals as per your liking!
4. Other info: Laundry facilities are provided in all residences! For residences with meal plans, only basic kitchens are available and for residences without meal plans, you will find a proper kitchen in your residence!

Facilities

1. Shopping malls – very convenient and accessible whether you’re living on campus or off campus (walk/subway). It is in the McGill’s downtown campus vicinity. You can find restaurants, clothing outlets, dollar store, hyper marts, etc (basically everything). [Malls you should know Eaton Centre/La Baie/Les Ailes/Simons/Place Alexis Nihon/Fairview/Rockland/etc.]
2. Subway – it’s the same thing as metros. You can purchase single tickets ($3) or in packs of 2, 5, 12, etc. With an OPUS card (which you have to apply for), you are eligible to get ‘em tix at a slightly better deal – packs of 10/20/weekly/monthly. If you live in the McGill campus vicinity which we call “the ghetto/McGill’s ghetto”, you wouldn’t need to commute using the subways. You can just walk to school.

Entertainment

1. Movies – Banque Scotia nearby Eaton Centre which is on the same street as La Baie/Les Ailes/Simons. [Tuesday is the “cheap” movie day. Haha. About $6.50 after tax. On other days, it’s $11.50 after tax, if I’m not mistaken (I don’t fancy going to the cinema. haha)]
2. Electronics & Games – Future Shop which you can find along the Eaton Centre street (St.Catherine)
3. Bowling & Karaoke – On St. Catherine’s
4. Restaurants/pubs/clubs – they’re everywhere downtown St. Catherine, Rue Crescent, Boulevard St. Laurent, etc. (Personally, I wouldn’t encourage you to get too involved in parties, clubbing, etc. It’s neither healthy nor beneficial and of course, a waste of your precious savings!) [You can find ‘em Halal stuffs at Guy Concordia and Jean-Talon (lots of it!)]
5. Montreal spots – Old Port, Old Montreal, Biodome, Biosphere, Parc Olympique, Oratoire St. Joseph, Centre de Commerce Mondial de Montreal, Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal, etc.
6. Where out-of-town can you visit? – Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City, etc. (bus/train)
7. Winter – Parc Jean-Drapeau has great winter festivals called La Fete des neiges de Montreal (Ice skating, snowtubing, tobogganing, etc.)
8. Summer – If you’re a fan of extreme rides like moi, please get your season pass to La Ronde ! Another awesome thing to do during the summer is cycling of course! Montreal has great bike paths such as the Lachine Canal bike path that leads you to the shores of Lac Saint-Louis. That’s just one example~! Besides that, if you’re a kayak-person, we have lots of that too~!  Plus many other activities to indulge in~!

Now let’s talk about what McGill U has to offer to their dear students

1. At downtown campus, we have a few libraries including an Islamic Library! Cool huh? =D But anyways, the most used by students and with the longest opening hours are The Redpath Library (Humanities Library) and the Schulich Library (Engineering & Sciences).
2. Music facilities – We have Music Libraries as well with classical and digital pianos that can be used as long as you’re a McGill student with an I.D. of course! Lol. I’m not sure about whether we can make use of the recording studios/rooms, etc.
3. Sports (Gym facilities) – It’s included in the tuition fees! So make full use of it and be a student who also stays fit not just study around the clock~! There are so many sports you can play such as badminton, swimming, tennis, table tennis (ping pong), squash, gym work-out, etc.
4. Restaurants in the school Subway, Tim Hortons, school cafes (currently, there’s no halal meat offered as they just changed the management and the new management hasn’t started getting halal meat supplies – you can go for seafood or vegetarian) Extra info: there’s a Halal restaurant just outside, by the campus. It’s in a building and that’s the SSMU Building there are many cafes and restaurants in there with Chinese and western cuisines being sold.
5. Prayers (Solats) – for the Muslims, fear not! We have a musollah in the SSMU Building! It’s no doubt tiny but very useful indeed~! The Friday Jemaah prayers takes place weekly at the ballroom in the SSMU Building and is for both boys & girls
6. Environment – you can find all walks of life in Montreal – mat sallehs (the whites), arabs, iranians, Koreans, Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis, banggladesh, etc. (You can count the number of Japanese students!) [In Engineering, there aren’t many whites and it’s the opposite if you’re in arts.]
7. Language – French & English
8. Lecturers – Well, all the lecturers are smart and very knowledgeable but you should not expect every one of them to be excellent at teaching. I’m pretty sure it’s the same at all universities. Being in uni indirectly indicates that you got to get used to “self-teaching” in order to avoid facing problems and troubles in your studies~! Please drill this fact properly into your head from now!
9. Course selections – you can find them on McGill’s website! If you’re in Engineering, after completing 2nd year, you can apply to enroll in the honours program (as long as your cgpa’s above 3.50 out of 4.00 ;))
10. Transportation – to go to school walking, cycling, subway-ing

mcgill.ca

I don’t know what else to write. If there’s any questions/doubts, please don’t hesitate to contact/reach me (ask the admin for my contact info!)

Cheers and good luck in making your best choice between all the universities in Canada~!!

Credits to: Student of McGill University