HEEY. 2nd Year Transfer student from Ryerson Univesrity here. Going into my second year of Civil Engineering, I have a couple of questions for you all.

1.
What operating system, (OSX/LINUX/WINDOWS) is the Engineering department most friendly with? I have a 2011 MacBook Pro 13". I'd be a shame if there are Windows only software needed during labs, tutorials, etc. I know I can hybrid my Mac to run windows via third party software but previous experiences convince me otherwise.

2.
Is there a variety of available required courses needed during the whole school year? Is there freedom to take a lighter course load and have usually Fall term courses available in Winter/Summer? At Ryerson, there were instances where I felt it would be easier to take a courses later during my time at school, only to realize that if you dropped/failed a certain course (even if its not a pre-req) your timetable would be royally f**ked for the semester to come.

To elaborate on my situation, I obtained transfer credit to mosts first year courses expect ENGINEER 1P03, basically a professional engineering course where your professional and team based skills can develop. I know that for a fact I've done a similar (if not identical) course at Ryerson, but even after appeal at the Registar they wouldn't give me the credit. I've requested a written permission from the director of the course at Ryerson and am still waiting reply. Now, if I registered into ENGINEER 1p03 for the Sept 2012 term, my course load becomes overwhelming and MUGSI doesn't allow it (more than 40 units). To remedy that, I dropped a math course, willing to take it up during the summer. It bunged up my whole schedule, saying that I must be registered in that math course as a pre req to other second year civil courses. Starting to get a bit frustrated, the registrar keeps telling me to come back when I receive a reply from my director (she's on vacation.) Any suggestions? Would I be able to take Engineering 1P03 later on during my time at Mac? It's not offered in the Summer.

3.
Where can I find more information about the gym and fitness programs? Are there separate fee's for a membership? Also, how would you rate the gym at Mac, it is busy most days, and is the place maintained well?

'Bout it, thanks for the help in advance.

what courses are you taking now? if anything take 1p03 net summer . not needded for anything else really

Originally Posted by khanus2

Where can I find more information about the gym and fitness programs? Are there separate fee's for a membership? Also, how would you rate the gym at Mac, it is busy most days, and is the place maintained well?

'Bout it, thanks for the help in advance.

The gym is awesome. If you google "McMaster athletics", it will be the first hit, with the Pulse being the weight lifting portion of the gym. The free options are a free track, pool, gymnasiums and squash courts. The weightlifting portion along with cardio equipment and climbing wall is part of the pulse membership, which is about 120 for 8 months. After having been to a few gyms, I think McMaster's is the best. My only gripe is that it gets jam packed September and January, and then calms down after a month. If you go early, or late, you will always find space.