Details

• Canada
• MAMgmt-14
• Graduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

First of all, I highly recommend a high score in the entrance exam (if you're a Management Student), as many students wish to pursue their semester abroad at a Canadian university. In comparison to the WU system the McGill administrative system is not that intuitive, which is the reason why I recommend to take some time to really scroll through the different sites (e.g. Minvera, MyCourses) and note your McGill ID somewhere, as it later serves as log in Data. Other than that you'll need to "apply" for the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), which is easy once you got accepted at the university, however, as it can take some time, I recommend to do it several weeks in advance. The eTA is linked to your passport and required to enter the country. During the journey/flights I advise to take the acceptance letter of McGill (printed) with you as you'll probably be asked for the purpose of your stay when entering Canada.

2. Accommodation

I personally chose to live in an Airbnb, as I didn't find a suitable shared apartment. A Canadian friend recommended to search on Facebook, but I found it somehow difficult, especially if you're not there and French is not your mother language. Other exchange students rented an apartment together or opted for shared flats (mainly French students). Airbnbs are obviously more expensive (around 800-1000€) than shared flats (around 500€). As far as I know, student residences only rent apartments for 6 months and are relatively expensive. My Airbnb was located in Downtown at St. Catherine Street, which is the main shopping/central road in Montréal. The location was perfect as I could reach the university in 15min walking distance and I often went to run in the harbour (10 min distance). Other students live in Le Plateau, which is considered as a young and cool neighbourhood. I really felt safe in the Downtown area. I think I've been lucky with the location of my Airbnb and I really would recommend to look for an accomodation in Downtown area.

3. Academic life at host university

The McGill campus reminds somehow of Hogwarts due to its ancient magnificent buildings. The campus is beautiful, even though the business buildings not that much ;-). A bar for exclusively McGill students is located on the campus, too. As I took classes from the MBA program the "MBA candidates" were 30 years old on average. The whole year counted about 35 students + 8 exchange students. The cohort was pretty much diverse and international which I personally found very inspiring. Many MBAs work besides their studies and they have diverse backgrounds, like lawyers, engineers etc. The classes cannot be compared to the ones at WU. It's mainly an open dialogue and students learn from each other, rather than just listening to the prof. I didn't write a single exam, the assignments were more about group projects or individual essays/reflection papers.

5. Every day life in the host country

Montréal has a good metro system. However, during my whole stay I only used Bixi, which is a shared bike system in the city. It costs about 25€ monthly and the city offers a very good infrastructure with docking stations. My MBA program offered several events, like a boat tour, halloween party or a all you can drink bar party. In addition to that, of course, I made plans with the other students and we went for many trips (I highly recommend to go to Banff, Toronto and Mont Tremblant). The campus has a big gym which costs 50€ for one semester. If you think about applying for McGill, keep in mind the severe winter conditions. From mid December to March temperature falls to -20 degrees, which can be quite an experience.

6. Testimonial

Thanks to my semester abroad at McGill, I had the chance to discover the magnificent country of Canada. Taking courses from the MBA program not only allowed me to improve my English and French skills, but also gave me the opportunity to learn alongside 35 inspiring MBA candidates from diverse backgrounds. The program helped me further develop my abilities by designing a market entry strategy for a Montréal-based company in a growth phase, founding a social venture, and creating a plan to improve Montréal’s shared bike system. And of course, I made many new friends from all around the world. Beyond university life, I had enough spare time to travel to Banff National Park and attend the Ski World Cup, which took place in Quebec in 2025. It is difficult to put into words how thankful I am for this time, which I will truly never forget.