Dorms

[tompi90]

Im a student from the U.S. and I want to transfer out of my current uni, bcoz it kinda sucks lol. Ive applied to a lot of places, but I applied to three canadian ones (McGill, UBC, UofT). I know those are the hardest to get into in Canada and my grades are pretty bad right now, so im just trying to focus on improving them, and I know that I probably wont get in with that low of a score lol.

 

Point is that if the 0.1% chance happens and I do get in to them, (my top choice school in Canada being McGill, then UBC, then UofT), I recently found out that most McGill students stay off campus, is this true? I also heard that most UofT students commute instead of staying on campus?

 

The problem is that if I do get in, I would be going in as a third year student and I want to develop a strong network of friends wherever I end up. Would the fact that most students at those uni's stay off campus/commute make it really hard to facilitate that? (I understand that it depends on my social ability and i'm a pretty outgoing person, im asking in general)….if I do get in, should I stay off campus to meet people instead of the on-campus housing? (lets put cost aside for now)

[muffin]

Well, I can't speak for McGill, but I go to UofT St. george, so yes, a lot of the students who go to that campus commute; however, a lot of them also live off campus, so that's an option.

If you're gonna go to McGill and live anywhere near Montreal - make sure you know your basic french. Trying to order at a mcdonald's in montreal suburb in english is REALLY hard

As for making friends... join an intramural team or some clubs/student groups, and that should help you make friends. At UT, lifesci kids have a online message board, so u can talk to people there and they have like quarterly events, so you can go to those and meet the people you've been talking to online.

 

That being said, international student fees are steep. Make sure you look out for that.

[tompi90]

^ So as a transfer, how would you rate the difficulty of building a good friends network when most students commute/stay off campus?

 

Would it be easier to facilitate that if I chose to stay off campus? (not too mention it being cheaper lol)

[keith_015]

McGill mostly gives residence to first years only. Hardly any spots for upper years, even as new students. It might be possible to do frosh week to meet new people, although it might be strange to have a bunch of friends in levels much lower than you as you go on in your studies. I did a 4 month exchange at McGill at the start of my 3rd year, so I had the experience of starting somewhere new. Yeah, it is a little hard to make a big bunch of new friends when you go somewhere new as an upper year. You just have to get involved in organizations and/or intramurals and make more of an effort to meet your classmates and you'll get by just fine.

And if you do live in Montreal, a lot of students do live in the "McGill Ghetto" which is right by the school. French isn't necessary to get by there. The further you head out of the downtown, the more necessary it may become.

[charmer08]

^ So as a transfer, how would you rate the difficulty of building a good friends network when most students commute/stay off campus?

 

Would it be easier to facilitate that if I chose to stay off campus? (not too mention it being cheaper lol)

 

live on campus for the first semester... see how things are and then decide if you wanna move out of campus