Answering BURNING questions you might have as freshly admitted student!

Congratulations on your admission to McGill university! I was in your shoes one year ago, and I understand that though you might be excited to start your new life, you must also be full of worries and questions. Today, I would like to share my answers to questions that I actually got from my freshly admitted international buddy to help you ease some of that.

You are always welcome to comment or DM any new questions you have as well and I will keep updating this page so we can all help everyone with similar questions!

Questions on Canada/Montreal

Q: I am only a beginner in the French language, but will I be able to navigate myself in Montreal? Are there any French learning materials that you recommend to beginners?

A:

Great question. So, I personally learned French before and I actually decided on McGill because of this French-speaking factor. Having said that, the first year I did not improve in my French at all. Why? Because luckily (or maybe sadly?) the Montreal city area is mostly English spoken and especially in what we call the McGill bubble (this is like the campus and the area around the university), people understand that students are more English speakers than French. So for those who have no interest in acquiring French (and there are lots of students like that), if you stay in the city, you will mostly be fine. However, since they have a special law about French, most signs have to be written first in French, then in English. You might notice this in supermarkets and stations. A huge sign in French, a tiny sign in English. Also, they seem to have a law for shop workers to start conversing with French. This leads to the famous phenomenon “Bonjour, Hi”. It’s really a thing. But most of the time, people can see that you are a student and will continue in English.

Recommended French learning material:

You might have already heard this but I think Duolingo is pretty good. Or you can just maybe learn a few of the basic words you might come across on maps like the station, school etc. A good translating website is Deepl, if you maybe come across an email or flyer in French. Not sure how serious you are thinking to learn French, but maybe that’s a good start.

Duolingo: https://en.duolingo.com/course/fr/en/Learn-French

Deepl: https://www.deepl.com/translator

Q: Are there any major cultural differences that I should be aware of before arriving in Montreal? (compared with Japan but could apply to everyone)

A:

This is based on my personal perspective so might not apply to everyone but (also I am not sure if you call these cultural differences;

• The people are nice. Such a cliché, but I think the “Canadians are nice” saying is true. People are aware that new students come in every year, so people are willing to help you. I definitely felt the big difference when I came back to Japan, as in Japan strangers are very distant from each other and rarely speak to another. In Canada, I feel like I can always ask for help without being judged. I still have the conservative Japanese side in me, but the more I opened up to receive help from people I felt more connected, so I recommend you do so as well. ( but then again, no place is perfect; there’s always unfriendly people too)

• Shops close SUPER early. In Japan, there are so many 24 hour shops, but in Montreal, shops close at around 6 pm. (restaurants and supermarkets are open longer) This can be frustrating for consumers, but great for workers. But also, the sun goes down at 4 pm in the winter so maybe it makes sense?

• Speaking of restaurants, eating out is not cheap. Cafeteria food costs around $9, whereas eating out, you might be spending from $12-20. This greatly comes from the tip and tax too, which in total could be like 30% added on…. UGH this really sucks.

• SNOW SNOW SNOW. You probably already heard of this but in the winter, the temperature could go down to -30. Luckily last year, it didn’t get that bad but the lowest I experienced was -19. So getting a good winter coat early is a good idea. I know everybody talks about Canada goose but boy that’s expensive. I bought one from Eddie Bauer for under $300 (Canadian) and my roommate got one from Point Zero also much much cheaper than Canada Goose. Also, a good winter boot is important! And mittens and scarfs! Everything! (I will write another blog on winter tips in the future!)

Questions on McGill/ University Life

Q: Is there anything to prepare for my first day of classes?

A:

I am actually not sure to answer this one, because your first day of classes and mine are very different experiences. But I guess this applies to whether it's online or on-campus:

• I don't know if you know "MyCourses" yet but that's where all your courses are going to be shown and where the prof posts assignments (if you ever used Google classroom its the same thing). Maybe you could get used to the interface?

• I am quite an old school so I like to keep a calendar/schedule diary to keep track of important dates and assignment due dates. I find it hard to keep track especially when things are all online so maybe this could help??

• It's always good to reach out to other people doing the same course so you can support each other. Again, this is why I recommend Facebook. There is always a McGill entering class Facebook page, so asking in the chat for those taking the same course is a good idea. Don’t worry, those chats are very low commitment in my opinion. If you don’t need to hear from them you can always mute or leave, but you know you have somebody to ask questions. Especially since this term, you might not meet new students in real life, having connections online might make you feel more connected and motivated. I understand though not everyone is comfortable at starting conversations online. I was like that when I first came to McGill, but personally, I never had negative encounters. Everyone is as clueless and as desperate at finding new friends as you so take that leap to reach out to new people and you won’t be disappointed!

Q: I am an introvert, so I am slightly concerned about being able to make friends. Are there any socializing methods/strategies (specific to college or McGill) that you can recommend?

A:

I think the biggest thing I learned through this first year is that you are basically in control of everything. Meaning, if you don’t put effort to look for events, or socialize, nothing will really happen and you can just end up in your room alone. This seems so obvious but I really had this realization. So my biggest tip is to participate in any social events. Obviously you can meet people by just going up to them and say hi but that takes a great amount of effort and is very scary!! So participating in events where you are kind of forced to mingle with people is great. I believe and I hope they set up online events this term because I guess for you that would be a good opportunity. When on-campus classes start, you will be shocked at how different university classes are compared to high school. I personally was so ready to find my besties in class on my first day. But to my disappointment, people don’t talk to each other during lectures. It’s really a “lecture” where students are just there to focus on the professor (not teacher, PROFESSOR), and definitely NOT a social opportunity. So the best bet to make friends needs to be outside class. Events, extracurricular clubs, dorm mates… and if you feel like you hit it off with the person, EXCHANGE CONTACTS!! I can’t stress how important this is because if you miss that, you might not EVER see then again in the sea of students.