Orientation

[Guest DimitriTheDr]

Hey all, i interviewed on 14 March and they never gave us a tour of ANYTHING! I was ushered into a room and there i stayed. Michel D. said that they would organize something later....anyone in the same boat? Wouldn't mind seeing some of the facilities..i'm not from McGill.

[Guest AltGab]

Hey Dimitri!

How are you! I'm currently a Medp student, and I'm entering med1 with you in the fall. For the MEDP interviews, we organized some campus tours and anatomy tours. If you want, I could do a little tour and answer the questions I can answer. I can also ask to some med1s if they mind showing you the Strathcona bldg with the anatomy, histology room . If you are interested, tell me,

Gab

[Guest 1984MD]

Hi,

 

There really isn't much to see anyways besides the anatomy and histo labs, which only med students have access too. If you really want to see what the school is like (if they don't organize something for us beforehand), just drop by McMed. The two lecture hall entrances are right next to the room where we waited for the interviews (5th floor) and most of the lectures in med are held here (Martin and Palmer ampitheatre). Small groups are held on the 2nd floor of McMed so you can check that out as well. Cafeteria is on the 5th floor (and during the summer and early fall, there is a terrace that is open so people can eat outside). There is also a computer lab for students that is kind of hidden in the hall way near the caf that leads to the Martin Theatre but you need a med student to let you into the lab.

The library is on the 3rd floor. It's the life sciences library and has all the med and bio related books and journals. McGill has many other libraries and you can check them out at http://www.library.mcgill.ca

 

The other building that classes/labs are held in is Strathcona Anatomy building on the corner of Des Pins and University. You can access it from university. It's a really beautiful old building and the main lecture hall is M1 (I believe). Labs are found here but you need a med student to show you them.

 

I guess that admissions people wrongfully assume that everyone is familiar with the campus...Those places I mentioned are the ones we will be spending the most time in but if you want a general campus tour (showing the gym, student center, student food court, etc...), there is an event called Discover McGill in August (it's mainly aimed at undergrads but professional school students do attend) and it shows you the general campus and gives you a lot of general info about the school that is useful if you didn't attend McGill as an undergrad. You can also call up this office (I can't remember the name) but they give campus tours year round to propective and newly admitted students... You can also pick up a SSMU handbook in late August which tells you about allthe good hangout spots on campus and the best libraries to study at in case you get sick of the LIfe Sciences library...

 

have a nice summer and see you in August

[Guest stressmess]

Hi Dimitri,

 

I'm in the same boat as you...I'm not a McGill student so I know very little about the campus. (I have a feeling that we will be the minority, it seemed like 90% of the ppl I interviewed with were already McGill students) To be honest, the way we were "ushered" into the waiting area for our interviews and never given a tour or information session was really disappointing and almost pushed me to choose another school over McGill. Anyway, thanks for the info on how to get a tour...and I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one that has yet to be acquainted with the campus.

[Guest 1984MD]

I think another reasoning of the admissions people is that for most (or at least A LOT) of the anglophone quebecers interviewing at McGill, McGill is their first (and many times only choice, especially this year with the increase in applicants to ontario schools) med school and therefore, they don't need to put on a big show with tours and stuff like the ontario and US schools where there are many med schools trying to attract the best students. They know that most of the people they send out offers of admission to will accept them no matter what.

I found the name of the tour place. It's called the welcome center and it's in Burnside Hall. The link is here: www.mcgill.ca/prospective.../visiting/

You can get to Burnside HAll by entering the main gates from Sherbrooke and it's the tall (and ugly) building on your right, right near the gates. Convocations are taking place for the next few weeks and they are held outside, so there are lots of tents put up all over campus and people are really busy with convocation so you may have to wait a bit before you can get a tour... You probably won't be able to enter the gym either unless you buy a day pass or something but during the school year, access to the new fitness center is 15 dollars/semester which is rreally great and there are lots of great classes you can take (ballet, pilates, yoga, fencing, horseback ridding, etc...).

Have fun touring the campus. I think med students are somewhat isolated to the "upper campus" (mcmed and strathcona) but there is lots to do on lower campus, especiall during the first few weeks where there are lots of fun activities going on (including Open Air Pub!)

[Guest stressmess]

Thank you so much for all the information 1984MD!

[Guest garp]

Hi,

 

I found the exact same thing when I interviewed last year--quite disappointing. However, this is something that we as first year students are attempting to change. In fact, last year we weren't ushered into a room but rather waited on the sixth floor without food! *gasps*...I know :-) At least the IP students were provided with food this past year. The reasoning behind this is that most Quebec applicants rank McGill as their first choice. This is not really an excuse and something hopefully the class of 2010 will continue to work on next year :-) However, if you did have specific questions about the facilities, don't hesitate to post here!

 

 

-garp