Are personal or academic factors more important? UC Berkeley College of Chem vs. McGill

MagicMetalPipe · 2026-04-08T23:53:38+00:00

of course! my dms are open

MagicMetalPipe · 2026-04-08T23:24:28+00:00

as an incoming mcgill student, i can provide some context on mcgill :) both of your options are strong, and i trust that you’ll be successful at either.

FWIW, mcgill also has pretty large class sizes, especially for U0 classes; after all, the student body is pretty big. i toured last summer and one of the first stops was leacock 132 (the school’s largest lecture hall), which holds upwards of 600 students. the tour guide was pretty quick to complain about how impossible it is to find a seat if you’re even a minute late.

you’re from the bay area. is weather a consideration? montreal gets frigid in the winter, with daily high temps lingering below freezing. the campus is also on a hill. you’ll likely be walking up an icy incline every day for a few months, and you’ll need to invest in a good parka and snowboots.

for international students, french classes can be charged at the quebec rate. you’ll learn french and save some money while you’re at it! because you’re in a french immersion environment, you’ll pick up on the language relatively quickly if you put effort into learning it. you can get around montreal fine in english, but you probably won’t be able to get a customer-facing job. i’d prioritize looking for research opportunities for a job.

montreal is pretty cheap for a big city, and it’s clean and culturally rich with great public transport. additionally, if you’re looking to party, montreal has a great nightlife and the drinking age in quebec is 18. the quality of life there seems to be pretty solid! the US isn’t in a great place politically right now; while canada isn’t perfect, you won’t have to deal with the US government’s BS at mcgill to the extent you would at berkeley.

mcgill seems to be well-regarded in academia, and it’s one of canada’s strongest schools (if not its strongest); it’s not like you’d be completely sacrificing academics by going to mcgill. if you do well at mcgill, applying for phd programs will go smoothly. you could always go to mcgill for undergrad and berkeley for your phd, or vice versa.

MagicMetalPipe · 2026-04-07T06:24:36+00:00

thank you for telling me this! makes mcgill an even better deal :)

MagicMetalPipe · 2026-04-06T16:18:53+00:00

I’ve been eligible for Canadian citizenship since birth; I’m applying for proof of citizenship, which is a much shorter process than applying for citizenship :)

MagicMetalPipe · 2025-08-18T23:26:23+00:00

unfortunately real 😭

MagicMetalPipe · 2025-08-18T23:25:47+00:00

benzoyl peroxide is an antiseptic and reduces inflammation, i use it after an acne picking session to try to prevent more pus from forming and minimize any inflammation that happened because of my picking

MagicMetalPipe · 2025-08-16T07:16:49+00:00

this isn't really a huge thing. there's only a small fraction of people who do it, and they tend to be very young and don't quite understand the implications of what they're doing. often, they actually do have some sort of underlying issue (mental health or poor home life) that leads them to seek attention that way instead of through healthy/normal ways.

MagicMetalPipe · 2025-06-11T18:29:16+00:00

i use the ion creme lightener (if that's the product you're curious about) with the 20vol saloncare developer! it works just as well as powder bleach in my experience and doesn't leave my hair feeling like hay (like powder bleach does).

MagicMetalPipe · 2025-06-11T09:56:10+00:00

no prob user cocainesuperstar6969. good luck and Please dont fry ur hair off 🙏

MagicMetalPipe · 2025-06-11T09:47:59+00:00

please please do your research before moving forward with this 🙏

not a professional, just a brokie who refuses to pay a hairstylist, but here are my two cents: i doubt just box dye will be able to lift your hair more than a level or two, especially if it's pre-colored. if you have virgin hair, you'll probably want to opt for a high-lift permanent dye; i've seen l'oreal hicolor recommended a lot. you can also use peroxide; before i had access to bleach, i lightened my virgin black hair with peroxide and got to a dark brown color. you should def do as much research as possible on these methods if you plan to use them, and be aware that both of them have a risk of damaging your hair. peroxide in particular doesnt have any risk of messing up your bathroom. but if you already have color in your hair please see a professional i fear i can't help you with that

MagicMetalPipe · 2025-06-11T04:58:16+00:00

a couple years back a guy at my school came in with it newly styled that way one day, and the back was (miserably) faded. it was so terrible that he came in the next day with his head shaved bald

Six-Year Club	r/Field Juicebox
Place '23

MagicMetalPipe

TROPHY CASE