This week we direct our question to students graduating this spring.

If you were able to do your McGill education all over again, knowing what you know now, would you change anything?




Daniel Agees, Undergraduate in Law

I came to McGill intent on sucking the marrow out of law school life and, after three years of facta, friendship, and festivity, I am leaving this place enriched for the experience, blessed with employment and opportunity and bereft of any regret. Certainly, I could have been a little more disciplined and determined in my studies, but I could not have received a better education, nor could I have had a better time. All things considered, I would not change a thing.



Nishi Aubin, Undergraduate in Political Science and History

Although I was very involved in student life on campus, it was only after my first year that I really found this niche. My advice to first year students: Get involved right away. You can do so much in one year, whether it be in athletics, volunteerism, or through student associations. Getting involved is the best way to meet new people, broaden your horizons and grow, which to me is what university is all about.



Patrick Hayden, Undergraduate in Mathematics and Physics

If I could do it all over again, I would...
  • aim for perfect attendance at intramural Ultimate Frisbee
  • enroll in music courses
  • spend more time outside and less in the basement of Burnside Hall
  • study for my "General Relativity" exam instead of going to watch the Spice Girls movie
  • avoid going more than 48 hours without sleep
  • write advanced placement tests for the freshman science courses.

I regard only the last item as representing a full-fledged error in judgment. We had covered most of the material presented in the freshman science courses in my Ontario high school, so if I had thought to seek exemptions I would have had a bit more time over the last four years to pursue Ultimate Frisbee, music and sunshine, among other things.




Matthew Niloff, Master's Student in Biology

If I could do my master's degree at McGill all over again I would promote greater interaction between the graduate students in the Department of Biology. Despite several wine and cheese gatherings in the Stewart Biological Sciences Building, the number of events outside of the departmental setting was very limited. I would therefore organize more social events outside of the school atmosphere where students who are normally isolated from each other could meet and interact on a more social level. I believe this would help to relieve some of the stress and pressures associated with life in research and would contribute to a sense of unity and common purpose within the department.