The end of the last academic year was extraordinary: COVID-19 barrelled through our lives and took the world by storm, instruction moved online at many universities, and the entire education system was uprooted. Unfortunately, the pandemic’s effects were particularly harsh on graduating high school seniors—students who will now be burdened[Read More…]
Tag: Academics
Balancing art and academia
Gemma Else, U1 Arts, has painted since before she started kindergarten. In grades 11 and 12, she enrolled in an advanced placement Studio Art class, where she practiced four hours a day, six days a week. At McGill, Else has continued to make art and is a curator for the[Read More…]
The current S/U option is unsatisfactory
As the end of term nears, students start scrambling to calculate the minimum grades they need to achieve on their final exams to pass their courses. Amidst the stress, the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grading option offers some respite. Vice President (VP) University Affairs (UA) Jacob Shapiro wants to incentivize students to[Read More…]
Women in STEM and men in the arts: Gender roles in academia
The regrettable lack of women studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in post-secondary education is well-documented. Efforts to minimize this gender imbalance are widespread, and include initiatives such as Girls Who Code and a UNESCO publication investigating its root causes. However, similarly concerning, yet often overlooked, are rising gender[Read More…]
Recognizing the successes that come from failure
I almost dropped out of high school in my sophomore year. I was failing three classes, and my already unstable mental health was suffering under the weight of academic pressure. However, I knew that these academic shortcomings, as awful as they felt, would not define my whole life. My boss[Read More…]
McGill cancels classes in accordance with the Election Act
On Oct. 1, residents across Quebec will head to the polls to vote in the province’s forty-second general election for the National Assembly of Quebec. In accordance with Section 306 of the Election Act, McGill University will be cancelling all classes, laboratories, and examinations for its students on election day.[Read More…]
My new beginning: How I transferred to McGill
Transferring to a new university is not a decision to make on a whim. If you are coming from outside of Canada, as I was, it can be an even bigger challenge, but I am proof that transferring is feasible, and that it can be the best decision of your[Read More…]
Good grades, good friends, good money: McGill’s work-life balance only lets you pick one
This winter semester, I have been on exchange at the University of Edinburgh. As a student at McGill, I was heading towards either a breakdown or a new level of being. Two part-time jobs, two extracurricular activities, a volunteering position, and a full-time course load had me sprinting from place[Read More…]
Ask Ainsley: “What should I expect coming into first year?”
Dear Ainsley, Dear Ainsley, I am entering my first year at McGill in the Fall, and I'm not quite sure what to expect academically. I've heard grade deflation at McGill can be severe, and that classes are rigorous. What should I expect? Sincerely, Frightened First Year (FFY) Dear FFY, To[Read More…]
