My Exchange at McGill University – Business
I have recently completed my final semester of my BCom/BE(Hons) degree abroad at McGill University in their 2023 fall semester. This was an amazing experience all around and I am grateful for the opportunity to undertake an exchange abroad in Montreal. I first found out about the 360 International exchange programmes through my friends and other students who also undertook various exchanges at the University of Auckland. From this, I conducted my own research and went further into the experiences of those who went on exchanges to countries I was interested which was in North America and the UK in my case.
When I landed in Montreal after a long 20-hour flight with a stopover, it was a surreal experience taking in the scenery of the city. Montreal itself is a beautiful city that perfectly captures a cohesive mix of the English and French cultures which represent its bilingual nature. I was both nervous and excited to delve into this new culture and experience. This led me to my first day moving into my accommodation at 3653 Rue University. This building has 30 exchange students which played one of the biggest roles in making it one of the best exchange experiences I could have asked for. Although there were lots of people, there were also 4 floors of 6-8 students where everyone had their own rooms. This made it easy to mingle around with everyone else while still having your own space.
Studying at McGill University was a great experience as I was able to explore a different style of teaching compared to the University of Auckland. McGill’s style is similar to those of other North American universities which rewards attendance and participation as a big portion of the grading rubric. Therefore, classes were often smaller and professors expect attendance and active participation in class which makes for more engagement in lectures. Furthermore, North American universities like McGill heavily value societies and sports which sees lots of engagement in people participating and watching sports such as American football. This made me engage a lot more in extracurricular activities that I generally wouldn’t have joined.
In terms of the overall experience, the highlights were all the friends I made along the way from my exchange house, societies, in the classroom and outside the classroom. From these friends, I made lots of memories both academically and socially which I was able to gain a lot from. Furthermore, I was able to be a lot more active on exchange to try new things and take on challenges. The biggest challenge was adjusting to a new city especially one where French was a core language (although most people spoke English), adjusting to the new culture and also the climate. I was able to overcome the challenge by taking a French course over the exchange and actively tried to use the language and could fall back on English if needed. Alongside this, it was difficult to adjust to the cold climate which dropped to -15 degrees but lots of people experienced the same and were able to provide equipment and advice to help me get through the cold. As a whole, it has been one of the biggest highlights of my entire university journey and life.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
Compared to the University of Auckland, there is much more group work and constant engagement due to attendance and participation requirements. This meant the classes were generally more engaging, and you were working with people from various backgrounds, as they can have minors in different faculties. Furthermore, I was allowed to meet founders from Montreal due to my tech entrepreneurship class, which was a great experience.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
I would highly recommend engaging in sporting events such as ice hockey, the American Football League, and lacrosse. Although I’m not an avid sports fan, watching and participating in these sports was a part of the North American university culture, which was really fun.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
- My top tip is to go in with an open mind, actively participate, and try everything. This will ensure a great exchange experience as it is the easiest way to immerse yourself, make new friends, and learn about a different culture. For example, I am not usually a sports fan, but I enjoy joining people to watch these games and being a part of the culture.
- My second tip is to make friends that are locals and not just other exchange students. This is how you can truly learn more about the university and the city. I was able to participate in more activities that are known by locals.
- My final tip is Montreal-specific, which is to try and learn a little bit of French. Although most people can speak English, I encourage people to immerse themselves in the culture and use simple French phrases, such as when ordering food.
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
I budgeted quite a lot for this exchange, including accommodation, food, insurance, trips, bills, etc. I budgeted about 15-20k NZD altogether, which was enough to cover everything. I tend to over-budget and did not expect to use this amount, but I used all of my budget. The reason for this was all the unexpected trips I took every weekend. I definitely do not regret any of these trips and encourage it, so I would overbudget. Furthermore, Canada itself is not a cheap country.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
I learned that I really enjoy learning about other cultures and immersing myself in different experiences. This exchange experience has allowed me to become friends with people worldwide and expose me to more cultures. I’m also interested in tech companies and startups, which gave me good exposure to how startups work in Canada and America compared to the New Zealand ecosystem. Overall, I do not regret anything about this exchange and think it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?
I traveled to lots of different cities in both Canada and America. I recommend doing this as booking flights back to North America from New Zealand is more costly in the grand scheme of things. I enjoyed both aspects of traveling to cities and national parks such as New York, Boston, Vancouver, LA, and San Fransisco alongside Yosemite, Banff, etc.
Final Comments
No other advice besides going in with an open mind and actively engaging in all the activities there are. Remember that you only have a limited amount of time there, so make the most of it through trips, memories, and new friends.