Hello MacInsiders,

I'll be starting McMaster's Social Sciences I program in September after just recently completing a college diploma. As you probably already know, the college experience is definitely different from university - with that in mind, I was hoping you current students would give me a rough idea of how certain aspects of McMaster university are, and how things are done. To be honest: I am a bit nervous!

Here are a few things I am curious about:

1. Are laptops frowned upon during classes? In my college program, laptops were highly discouraged during lectures (unless needed as a service for accessibility). I am a very productive person, so having a laptop to take down notes is helpful to me.

2. What are the classrooms like? Given their sizes, will I be able to meet/communicate with others easily? How about communicating with professors?

3. In regards to the university's services (i.e.; using the gym, social clubs, etc.), would you say there is a very welcoming atmosphere for those who are new? Better yet: what is the overall student body like?

Thanks!

(Yikes - sorry for the novel!)

Congratulations and welcome to McMaster!

1. Laptops are generally allowed, unless the professor says otherwise. In my physics class, the professor forbid it since a student would be watching a video in the front of the class which drew the attention of everyone else behind them.

2. Classrooms, especially in 1st year courses, can be quite large but you will get used to them really soon. I find that it is really up to you to try and communicate with others and generally people are ok with that provided you are polite etc. Professors encourage the use of their office hours which goes to show they aren't afraid to talk to you.

3. There is the typical frosh week for you to enjoy if you'd like to. Everyone has a lot of fun during this time and you can make a few friends while you're at it. I personally really like the atmosphere of the school and that's largely because of the people that are inside it.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hello MacInsiders,

I'll be starting McMaster's Social Sciences I program in September after just recently completing a college diploma. As you probably already know, the college experience is definitely different from university - with that in mind, I was hoping you current students would give me a rough idea of how certain aspects of McMaster university are, and how things are done. To be honest: I am a bit nervous!

Here are a few things I am curious about:

1. Are laptops frowned upon during classes? In my college program, laptops were highly discouraged during lectures (unless needed as a service for accessibility). I am a very productive person, so having a laptop to take down notes is helpful to me.

2. What are the classrooms like? Given their sizes, will I be able to meet/communicate with others easily? How about communicating with professors?

3. In regards to the university's services (i.e.; using the gym, social clubs, etc.), would you say there is a very welcoming atmosphere for those who are new? Better yet: what is the overall student body like?

Thanks!

(Yikes - sorry for the novel!)

1. In most cases no, however, profs may sometimes make it a point to not use laptops during class (personal pet peeve, or does not believe in technology). I've only had one class where I was prohibited from using a laptop.

2. Classrooms in first year are relatively large. You may have up to a thousand people in a lecture hall (if it's a big course such as macro/micro economics). Communicating with your classmates may be hard because simply put, there are alot of them. You'll probably find your own little niche and group of people who you click with. Communication with profs is mostly done during scheduled meetings, or during office hours. I believe in college it is very much a come up and ask me type ordeal? Of course as you go into year 2, 3, etc... classroom sizes become more refined, and interaction with classmates and professors are much, much personal.

3. The campus is definitely very welcoming. Along with welcome week, we also have "clubsfest" which is hosted bi-annually. What clubfest is is essentially a showcase of all the clubs on campus. They will have tables displaying who and what they are. And most of them want more people on their general members list! The gym is like any other gym lol.

To be honest, don't be nervous. You're going to have an amazing time so long as you can be social. If you are social you will make friends, and you will have a great first year experience. That's not to say if you aren't social you won't have fun... but it certainly helps to make the transition alot smoother!

Oh, and welcome to McMaster!

Congrats on accepting Mac's offer! To answer your questions...

1- It really depends on the prof. I'm in science, but I've only had maybe 1 professor that discouraged using laptops. Most profs are okay with using the laptop as long as you're not distracted and such.

2-Classroom size is really variable depending on what courses you took. For e.g. my french class in first year was 25 people, while chem was 350. Overall though, first year classes tend to be pretty big i.e. 200-300 people, with the biggest class being 600 people, which is still not as bad as 2000 people in some first-year classes at U of T!

3-The overall atmosphere at Mac is definitely welcoming. Without exaggeration, everyone on campus is super nice and helpful especially if you ask for directions or help or anything. This was super helpful for me in the first 2 weeks of first year. For the gym, it can get pretty busy at peak times during the day, but the atmosphere is definitely still welcome (Note- you'll have to get a pass to use the gym area with all the machines, but the track and pool are free!). Also, regarding clubs, there will be ClubsFest during Frosh week where all clubs will have a table on campus and you can go speak to the ones that interest you about getting involved. So again, it's definitely a welcoming atmosphere and I'm sure you'll really enjoy doing your degree at Mac!

Let me know if you have any more questions!

Wow - thanks for the quick replies and kind words! I really appreciate it.

particle: Is "Frosh Week" different from Welcome Week? Would bringing my parents be a good idea to give them peace of mind?

Cliu29: you were right about college instructors encouraging students to come up to them during classrooms. Looks like it'll be a whole new ball game for me! You also mentioned the gym being the same as all gyms - does that mean it will be male dominated? (I had that problem at my college. The gym was populated with 98% males at all times. I stopped going after two visits because I just did not feel comfortable.)

~*Sara*~: How much are the gym passes? I initially assumed that the use of student services were included in the overall tuition fees. If that's not the case, would you be able to kindly tell me some of the service fees involved? I was hoping to start a more healthier lifestyle once I head to university!

One more question that may be a little off-topic: what's the neighbourhood like on Main St.? Any go-to places?

Thanks again!

I think the above 3 people answered your questions in great detail, so I'll just say welcome to McMaster! Hope you like it here =].

Originally Posted by Cliu91

2. Classrooms in first year are relatively large. You may have up to a thousand people in a lecture hall (if it's a big course such as macro/micro economics).

The largest lecture hall is MDCL 1305/1307 and it holds about 600-650 people. So you'll never have a thousand people in the room.

As others have said, first year classes tend to be larger, but once you specialize, it can get smaller. For me, a typical class size after first year was on average about 30 people--some had more, and some had less.

I think the main difference is that university is less hands-on/interactive learning...although they are moving towards a more interactive model.

The basic membership, included in your tuition gives you access to the pool, the gyms (e.g. for intramurals) and the track (which has specific hours). But if you want the weight machines, treadmills or elliptical machines you have to get the Pulse membership. The gym membership to the Pulse (which is what the area with all the machines is called) is $63 for 4-months (Sept-Dec or Jan-April), $119 for 8 months (Sept-April) or $158 for 12 months if you plan to stay in Hamilton in the summer! The membership also includes the climbing wall membership which you can use after you pass a belay test or course. There's also other fees if you want to have your own locker for the year and towel service etc. More info about it here:http://www.marauders.ca/sports/2011/...at h=services

Also, there's a ton of classes that you could check out, some for free and some with a fee. The classes include Yoga, Pilates, Zumba, Ballroom dancing, Fencing, etc.

Yeah Frosh Week = Welcome Week. Bringing your parents to help you move in might be good, but probably not a good idea to have them tag along with you to frosh week. It's your personal chance to ease in and get comfortable and as things will get pretty crazy (cheering, games, tons of other activities). I think at the end of it all you might want to contact your parents to tell them how you felt about your experience so far (hopefully positive) and that I think would be enough for their peace of mind.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Cliu29: you were right about college instructors encouraging students to come up to them during classrooms. Looks like it'll be a whole new ball game for me! You also mentioned the gym being the same as all gyms - does that mean it will be male dominated? (I had that problem at my college. The gym was populated with 98% males at all times. I stopped going after two visits because I just did not feel comfortable.)

One more question that may be a little off-topic: what's the neighbourhood like on Main St.? Any go-to places?

I wouldn't necessarily say that the gym is male dominated. However, if you're specifically looking to do weights, then yes, it is very male dominated. Though, on the second floor of the Pulse (McMaster's gym) where there are treadmills, elliptical, etc. there are probably more girls than guys.

I'd also like to mention that there are yoga, pilates, zumba, etc. all these fitness classes which are also held in the pulse that are 98% female dominated. These classes are free to a pulse membership which is $119 for 8 months (2 semesters) which entitles you to the weights and cardio floor.

The free parts of the gym include the basketball nets, badminton/volleyball, squash, swimming, track, etc.

Welcome to Mac & congrats on getting into soc sci
Just to add to what everyone had said:
1. I've found that in all my social sciences classes, a lottt of people use laptops. I would say it's because there are just a lot of notes to write; compared to say a math class where you would write down equations or examples, in soc sci its just a lot of writing down information (at least thats my experience so far- just lots of information slide after slide!). Many people also choose to print out slides (if your prof provides them) and just writing notes on them/"filling in the blanks"
2. Class sizes will likely be large, but you may also have opportunities to meet people in tutorials/labs. I met my good friends through tutorials/labs, especially when you have to do group assignments or work with partners.
3. Clubsfest is awesome, you can see most of the clubs mac has to offer/sign up to email lists and stuff. I find that Mac is just generally a friendly campus, I feel like if I was lost somewhere I would be able to approach anyone and ask for help !

Thanks again for your input and time everyone! You guys are great.

herBs: thanks for your kind words!

nerual: I forgot about that significant difference between college and university learning. Sitting in a classroom without much interactive activities is going to be different for me. Thanks for clearing that up.

~*Sara*~ & Cliu91: The Pulse seems like a great alternative to any corporate gym membership out there. I will definitely be checking out the Pulse. The way you two describe it gives me the impression it is not as intimidating as most gyms.

particle: Hah, I'll keep that in mind! My parents were bugging me about attending some sort of welcome orientation, so we'll see how that flies. Maybe one day of loud cheering will suffice.

kirsten..!: Great hearing from a Social Science student. Being able to print the notes off of WebCT (?) will be extremely helpful, especially in a heavy theoretical-based program. In addition to that, looks like I'll be hauling a laptop to my classes after all!

Last question from me:

This is probably going to sound very outlandish but... what are the differences between lectures, tutorials and labs? What goes on in each, and what can I expect or do to prepare for each?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks again for your input and time everyone! You guys are great.

herBs: thanks for your kind words!

nerual: I forgot about that significant difference between college and university learning. Sitting in a classroom without much interactive activities is going to be different for me. Thanks for clearing that up.

~*Sara*~ & Cliu91: The Pulse seems like a great alternative to any corporate gym membership out there. I will definitely be checking out the Pulse. The way you two describe it gives me the impression it is not as intimidating as most gyms.

particle: Hah, I'll keep that in mind! My parents were bugging me about attending some sort of welcome orientation, so we'll see how that flies. Maybe one day of loud cheering will suffice.

kirsten..!: Great hearing from a Social Science student. Being able to print the notes off of WebCT (?) will be extremely helpful, especially in a heavy theoretical-based program. In addition to that, looks like I'll be hauling a laptop to my classes after all!

Last question from me:

This is probably going to sound very outlandish but... what are the differences between lectures, tutorials and labs? What goes on in each, and what can I expect or do to prepare for each?

Lecture: Professor gives... a lecture... It's where you learn all the theoretical information.
Tutorial: Supplements the lecture. Depending on the course it could involve discussions, presentations, quizzes, assignments.
Labs: Where you learn technical things.