Student review [#10293] for Political Science
at McGill University

McGill University consistently ranks amongst the top 3 universities in Canada and among the top 50 in the world. It is a large research institution which has been praised for the quality of research it produces. Yet, the life of an undergraduate at McGill is hard, cold, and lonesome. While I’ll spare you the details, my main quarrels with McGill are with its size and research oriented approach.

Firstly, it is incredibly hard to make academic connections. Unless you have found an academic passion you ready to geek-out about, and are willing to talk to professors about your said new-found passion, it is hard to form genuine connections with the professors. This is not because they don’t care (some don’t and are too busy citing their sources), but rather because, to them, you are student 6029. Furthermore, for such a large university, there seem to be a substantially under-staffed, under-funded, and under-thought, student services sector. The health clinic is abysmally slow, the mental health resources probably make issues worse, and academic help is hard to come by.

That being said, there are many resources that are good and useful, you just need to find them. No one is going to show you. Also, a word of warning, the grading here is HARD. McGill isn’t an easy place to thrive. You can thrive here, but be ready to cram. All of this being said, I can’t love Montreal enough. From the cheap rent, to the cheap beer, to the international vibe. McGill, mostly due to Montreal and the people, is still a great place to study. Especially, if you’re from Canada, or can afford the tuition here. Tuition is cheaper than most mid-tier U.S liberal arts colleges and probably better. Plus, I doubt the U.S will remain a bastion for excellence in higher education much longer. Education can’t and shouldn’t be commercialized the way it is today. Bottom line: McGill is a good place to study, you’ll get prestige, recognition, a nice, cheap, and clean city, with many cool people. You will however feel isolated, frustrated, and probably incredibly happy to be done. Oh and one final word of advice, try to be passionate about you’re going to study! If you, like me, chose something you can only muster marginal energy for, you’ll, like me, end up grumpy and frowny. Lots of love though!