Academic experience
I undertook a fulltime load of five courses (four science and one engineering) at McGill during my fifth year. It was initially a real struggle for me to match McGill courses to my UQ requirements (I thought more than once that I鈥檇 be delaying my graduation), but in the end it was absolutely worth all the stress.聽
The other main struggle I found with courses was that McGill has limited spaces available in each course 鈥� meaning when my time came to enrol many were already full. I found the staff were super accommodating though 鈥� they made allowances for me to enrol without issue once I emailed letting them know I was an exchange student needing to match courses to graduate.
Actually taking the courses ended up being a breeze in comparison 鈥� just my experience, but I found far fewer hours were required for a good result compared to UQ. Classes were definitely a different experience from here as well 鈥� smaller class sizes, no practicals, marks for attendance, and no lecture recordings for my subjects. There鈥檚 also no study week before exams 鈥� but there is a midterm break which is great for travelling!
Personal experience
What I found incredible about the exchange experience was how much being away from my familiar life changed my outlook on everyday things. Being in a new place made mundane tasks (like walking to class) exciting. I found myself more open to meeting new people, and it was surprising how easy it was to form strong friendships with other students who were also away from home. Solo travelling especially was something I鈥檇 never imagined that afforded me a new confidence and has opened up so many new possibilities I鈥檇 not thought of before.
Montreal in particular is a fantastic student city 鈥� it has a really friendly and lively atmosphere, and so much to do it often ends up feeling like you鈥檙e missing out on something. Sometimes it felt like I couldn鈥檛 go anywhere without interacting with someone new. McGill is at pretty much the perfect location, right in Downtown amid heaps of nightlife, culture and food. The European feel of the campus was beautiful, as was its resident squirrels. I loved experiencing a real winter 鈥� at times the city felt like another world, and the icy streets and freezing temperatures made for some great stories! It was also spectacular to see how it comes alive in the spring - I would have loved to have stayed for longer.
Accommodation
I stayed in independent off-campus student housing which I came across through the McGill Off-Campus Housing Facebook group (La Marq). It was basically a complex of five-bedroom apartments with communal games and media rooms, gym and study spaces. It did lack the social aspect I was hoping for, but otherwise was great 鈥� I ended up knowing a lot of other exchange students living there, and it was a great place to meet up/hang out with friends. It was definitely more expensive than some of the other options, but to me it was worth it for the convenience.
I personally loved living in Downtown and would definitely recommend 鈥� it seemed to be where most of the international student population was, and was within walking distance to absolutely everything, which really helped to make me more spontaneous and adaptable. From visiting some of the McGill exchange residences they seemed like a lot of fun, so I鈥檇 recommend checking them out as well, and there are some gorgeous areas further from the city if you鈥檙e willing to commute.
Costs
For the most part I found that the price of living in Montreal was similar to that of Brisbane. The biggest expensive for me ended up being accommodation (about $900 per month), but it鈥檚 very possible to find cheaper alternatives. I also ended up spending more than I鈥檇 planned on eating out, as there was so much to try and many weekday catch-ups with friends, but I have no regrets there.
It鈥檚 helpful if you can book flights and accommodation early, but that鈥檚 not always possible (it wasn鈥檛 for me). It鈥檚 also important to consider the costs of getting good winter gear, as this can add up 鈥� there are some good deals once you get to Canada though (I got a great winter coat secondhand on Kijiji). In terms of budgeting, your local Dollarama is a lifesaver, particularly for stocking up your place with cheap items such as kitchenware, and for late-night snacks. I also loved that McGill hosts a lot for cheap, including outdoor trips and activities, campus functions on Thursdays, $5 university hockey games and weekend visits to the neighbouring cities.
I鈥檇 consider it well worth the money to travel while you鈥檙e over there 鈥� my tour of the Canadian Rockies and NY/Boston trip were among the highlights of my time away.
I also came back to Australia with a new appreciation that tipping isn鈥檛 customary here.
Challenge
Easily the biggest challenge I found was gathering the motivation to actually get the process started. It initially seemed overwhelming to try to get my head around everything there was to organise, as well as how my courses were going to line up (and navigating McGill鈥檚 website was a nightmare). It took most of my degree for me to actually see studying abroad as a real possibility. Once I made the decision to get in and just go for it, and started looking at different universities and the process for getting approved, it actually happened. Other than that, the hardest thing was to leave exchange behind. (Also, the first 24 hours of actually settling in weren鈥檛 great, but once you get out and meet others in the same boat it quickly becomes a blast.)
Professional Development
Before going on exchange, I really didn鈥檛 realise how much of a bubble I鈥檝e been in, and how many parts of my life I鈥檇 just assumed were universal (including Arnott鈥檚 bikkies). The whole experience was really eye-opening, to be able to get away from what鈥檚 familiar and meet so many different people.
Highlight
A few of the things I鈥檒l remember best from Canada include the treacherous icy walk to my 8:30 classes, attending the 鈥渃oldest musical festival in the world鈥�, walking through a snowstorm to get to my French class, watching the Montreal Canadiens play, canoeing along the Bow River in Banff, songs around a campfire with primarily French speakers, accidentally attracting a bear to our wilderness hostel with bacon, snow-shoeing through stunning national parks, taking a 3hr round-trek through the city to try Montreal-style bagels, and drinking maple whisky out of a glass made of ice.聽
The real highlights however have to be the times I spent with the friends I made 鈥� whether talking until 2am in our tiny NY apartment, gathering to all watch movies off one of our laptops, group dinners after a day of bussing through the Rockies, midnight snacks at A&W, or trying to make the most of every moment in the lead-up to saying goodbye.
Top tips
Coming away from exchange, my main advice would be just to not worry about whether you鈥檙e going to enjoy yourself, whether your courses will translate perfectly, if you鈥檙e going to make friends, how you鈥檒l cope with being away from home, and the many other doubts that went through my mind in the lead-up. No matter how everything works out, it really is a once in a lifetime experience, and I can鈥檛 imagine how it鈥檇 be possible to not love your time away.
And a few other random tips:
鈥⒙犅� 聽Even if you think you鈥檙e too busy for something, you鈥檙e probably not.
鈥⒙犅� 聽But it鈥檚 also okay not to feel like you鈥檙e making the absolute most of every single moment 鈥� it鈥檚 fine to take breaks or just spend a night chilling in your room.
鈥⒙犅� 聽Always stay open to meeting new people.
鈥⒙犅� 聽Also don鈥檛 be afraid to take advantage of being on your own.
鈥⒙犅� 聽Try not to lose your beanie when you鈥檙e out in -25 degrees.
