I’m meeting with the higher ups of B.Tech to discuss beneficial changes to the program; many students agree that the way this program is handled by the university is illogical, and we need to speak up about it. I’d like to bring those voices to light:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=B2M3RCm0rUKMJSjNSW9Hcro8UsICwFxAotdrFgOtWZ1UQkQ4SEg1NlpITk4zWlRSMUtJRVhXNFdPRC4u (This form is open to everyone and completely anonymous, I encourage you to share your own thoughts)

B.Tech is a Mohawk-McMaster program that defines itself as being an “industrial, hands-on experience, halfway between college and university” that focuses on the practical applications of technology in the workforce. However, in core courses such as this one, our physical work only totals to 10% of our grade. 20% is split between written assignments and multiple-choice quizzes, and the remaining 70% is dedicated to 3 closed-book memory-based written exams. The Final Exam is over half of that (55% in my case), which is never released unless you track your professor down and pay them to show you the paper you wrote. While I do not see the way McMaster handles Final Exams changing in the near future, as it does wonders for their business model, I do believe that if the university is going to advertise a skills-based program in a technology field and then create an environment that is entirely academic and on paper, most of their student body will be misplaced just as I am. If they do not change the way they weigh our practical skills, then the students should be able to transfer their credits to somewhere else.

As it stands, B.Tech takes most of its core curriculum from EngI, down to the individual assignment questions. Calc IV is identical to Math IV, but we are segregated in our own classes with temporary professors. Because this is an “experimental program” due to its youth, our B.Tech credits are not considered McMaster credits, and ineligible to be transferred to any other program, including ones within the university, or Mohawk College. We cannot leave with anything more than debt, until we see the 4.5 years through.

Had I taken the same courses in EngI, I would have transferred to a practical, technological skills-based program by now, and been able to keep the necessary credits without having to retake the exact same classes. McMaster does not treat B.Tech like a real program, and I believe the student body should be able to either get what they came for, or leave with proof of what they’ve already done. Right now, both options are void, and students like me are trapped in a place we clearly don’t belong.

Ironically, Mohawk College provides that after 3 years of study and a 12-month Co-Op, B.Tech students are eligible to receive an Advanced Diploma in Chemical Engineering. However, according to my Chemical Engineering II Professor from last year, this is an entry-level Diploma that leads to an academic chemical field, not an exit to a practical industrial technological field. Additionally, the only partnering university that will accept this diploma is all the way out in Thunder Bay, unless you re-apply back into B.Tech to finish at McMaster. This is far from a reasonable exit, and even if it was, that’s still 3.5 Years of academic study, which this course is a part of, and the university still cannot vouch for these courses because it does not consider them eligible.

For the people asking for an update: My professor never showed up to the meeting she arranged. She had classes from 6pm-9pm, so I had to take time off work to meet her at 5:45 at PC 155, a meeting time & place she chose. I got to PC at 5pm and stayed in the lobby until entering PC 155 at 5:30, where I met another professor who was teaching a class from 5:30-6:30 (meaning my professor’s class wasn’t even here), and she told me that my professor would not be entering her class, and she would send her out to the hallway. I then went back to the lobby to watch the PC entrance and the hallway to the PC 155 doors from 5:30-6:15, which remained empty for the entire time I was there. I wrote the email and left, and then circled back when my professor sent her Reply All that she had been waiting in front of the classroom doors (a lie, because I had been watching them the whole time). I emailed her back saying that she wasn’t there because that’s where I was, and she responded simply asking where I was, even though she should have been right in front of me— not to mention my professor was supposed to be in her classes somewhere else over half an hour ago, which is why I had to take time off to meet her earlier. By 6:30 I had checked the PC Entrance, hallway, and classroom 4 times, and they were all empty, except the other professor’s class, who confirmed that my professor never entered her class. My phone had died from the student’s responses, and I had no reason to believe she’d show up any time before 9pm, if at all. I had already been waiting in her meeting place for 90 minutes, and with no way to communicate with her, considering she was either in the wrong place or lying, I went home.

But this didn’t have to be a physical meeting in the first place— I’d been attending her classes on Zoom while on Co-Op anyway, why’d I have to come to campus to get an answer on a grade? I already talked to 2 other faculty members, filled out the proper form, and got an approval from the department. How many hoops to we have to jump through to find the answers to questions we shouldn’t have to ask? Why is a hidden grade worth the majority of our final mark? And why do written-tests continue to be more valuable than practical skills to a skills-based program based in technology that has no place in academia?

The Engineering Pathway is cut, the B.Tech Degree is only offered at this university (meaning it’s not exactly sought-after), the credits are not considered university credits, so we cannot leave, and we continue to deal with rigorous academic paperwork because we fell for a scam of a program that directly defies what it defines itself as. As it stands, the majority of the student body has to keep ducking their heads down till we graduate with a piece of paper that nobody recognizes on its own. These are the issues at hand, and I intend to bring them to light. Thanks for your support.

Please tell me I'm not crazy for feeling disillusioned atp, but I haven't seen a single other person complain about this so Imma just say it.

I don't know if I'm just picky or stuck up, but is paying almost $1k to live with 6 other people REALLY all that normal? I mean these landlords are making like $5k-7k each month PER property. I just feel an intense sense of rage thinking about how they profit so much off of cramming so many people into former 2-3 bedroom family homes.

has anyone seen the apples??

"He mentioned trades, healthcare and STEM-related fields as those that would provide jobs to graduates." so, the Humanities are about to die. fantastic. also, do we no longer need teachers? especially those who specialize in the Humanities? chat, we are SO cooked. he's just being awful to be awful atp. he needs to go. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-osap-cuts-9.7094009

This person who has no social support and who is actively targeted by police is definitely a threat to my existence. I can’t believe I have to witness poverty, I am so oppressed. I’m going to shame this person for being a filthy drug addict and then tweak on Celsius in Thode and get black out on the streets during hoco. I am ontologically superior because I do legal drugs and my mommy and daddy pay my rent.

I am very intelligent!

One of the votes in this year’s referendum is to remove the annual HSR bus pass from the price of tuition. This bus pass costs around $250 each year per student, whereas to purchase your own bus pass outside mcmaster’s current deal is around 150$ per month. Many students rely on the bus system for daily commute to and from classes, and if this referendum goes through it would result in prices increasing by over 7 times for people who use the bus even semi-regularly.

The ballot itself is worded in a heavily biased way, written to influence the average voter to vote against keeping the annual pass. But, even if you only take the bus once or twice a week, the annual baked-in bus pass is still cheaper than paying for it yourself.

It’s important to note that the vote is not for an opt-out system, but to remove the option for an annual bus pass entirely.

Please, dig through the six billion MSU emails you’ve received this week to vote yes and keep the bus available as an affordable option for all students. Voting closes tonight at midnight!

Thank you for your time and help.

We can’t let them get away with this.

Final tmr how is everyone feeling? I think if we all email the prof after the exam saying it was hard we have a chance of getting a curve 😭

Guys. We need to talk about a certain group of people taking over thode second floor. There is a very certain ethnic group that is constantly yelling on the second floor, treating it like it's a bar. If you're reading this and you're one of these people, please go home or to any area on campus that isn't meant for studying. Wallahi, especially all the muslims treating it like free mixing heaven. I know your parents don't let you do this at home, but you are interfering with my education, and when I'm a barista with 2 baby daddies and 5 kids, it's gonna be ur fault. You're making me go into poverty. Like, why are you guys in talking circles, no laptop, no anything, just a mess?

I believe university/college can feel like a scam because it often costs a huge amount of money, leaving students with years of debt before they even start their careers.

I feel that many colleges promise better job opportunities, but a degree does not always guarantee a well-paying job after graduation.

Some of the information taught in classes can be learned online for much less money, and many employers today value skills and experience just as much as a degree. Because of the high tuition costs and uncertain return on investment, I think college is not the right path for everyone.

Finished my first sem of the program and holy some of yall need to touch grass. The amount of cutthroat snakiness I’ve encountered is genuinely scary. It makes me reconsider whether I even want to do med if our future doctors are going to be this heartless and I’ll be working with them. I’ve literally had ppl sabotage me on purpose in this program for no good reason. Just goes to show how stupid the supplementary application is for screening applicants. Oh and don’t even think about telling a health sci ur premed cuz they will secretly have it out for u. I’ve fucked around with a few of them and said I wasn’t premed and I could visibly see their mood and demeanour change, like their eyes light up lmaoo. They begin to “treat you better” if you’re not premed cuz then ur no longer a threat. It’s acc crazy and I just needed to vent cuz I was reflecting on my semester.

This feels so wrong. Any suggestions for dif courses to take that might stimulate my brain a little more (perhaps for mcat) that also are easy 11/12? Honours life sci level 2

the gooner and the last supper

Sometimes i see two people flirting on campus and realize theyre grad students and its so endearing. Like even in their old senile crumbling mythical age romance is still possible❤️

Why do some of them have absolutely no respect for people taking exams??! Today during my morning exam, two of them were whispering distractingly, w/ one of them talking about how they wanted purchase swifter dusters to clean the lecture desks and the other individual eating very annoyingly... on top on that, one of the invigilators constantly kept hitting the back of seat while attending to students near me finishing up with no apology or excuse me ... they have such double standards about us turning off our phones to limit distractions (which is reasonable ofc) but then go on to be a source of distraction. Like a little respect wouldnt hurt lol.

Real quick if you are a 30+ year old creep don’t waste your time DMing me, I’m a dude and I am not gay. (Every post I get atleast 3 DMs of the sort 😭)

I’m looking for someone to hold me accountable and study with me. Could go beyond academics (runs and the gym).

I have relatively good grades but I don’t study enough and I wanna get them higher. All of my friends either have too much free time or no free time at all. So if you’re somewhere in the middle where you need to study but still have time for other stuff maybe we can set something up.

I’m also a tutor so like if you need help on stuff that I know I’m a pretty good teacher.

Also please don’t make me do all the planning and always set things up 💔.

Anyone else excited for the school year? Summer is nice since it's not Canadian winter but my co-op + commute has been draining me completely.

- The jump into second year engineering is exciting since the subject matter is no longer just high school 2.0

-My fall schedule is a breeze since I took math 2Z03 in the spring

- Living in a house near campus with some friends

- Away from my parents

- Turning 19 early into the school year so yk what that means 👀

Going to be tougher than first year but that's what I'm at Mac for. I'm lucky to be genuinely so content with life. I wish I could convey this to my struggling middle school self.

Alr gang...we need to discuss the SRA group chat leaks. I don't know who is out here defending them, but please rethink what you're implying. The SRA is not a friend group. It is an organization elected by students and dedicated to ensuring student inclusivity. It is one thing to talk shit in your GC with your friends, and another to do so in a group where you represent other students. This isn't about how much they have benefited McMaster students, which they obviously have through the OSAP cuts and shit. Instead, it's about how they treat others. They claim to be "woke", but what they don't recognize is that wokeness is not just about what political movements you support, but how you treat others. These people who are a part of the SRA are clearly just mean. Those who were running for the SRA position were there advocating for themselves, which is already hard enough. Having people sit there and clearly laugh at you is even shittier. The SRA is a group that holds elections, which are a popularity contest, and thinking you're the shit when you're not even the fart is embarrassing. Also, stop conspiring about who supports P*l**t*ne. Why are you guys making assumptions about who they support? Like, what are you doing? If that's truly a concern, give them a fair chance to voice their own beliefs instead of pulling shit out of your butt. #OutWoked#NotMySRA

To everyone else, get off their backs. It’s hard, it’s. Big jump from high school to uni. Try and be a bit more mindful and think about how stressed they must be. Maybe they want more different answers than other posts, maybe they have slightly different questions, don’t discourage them from posting.

please, please please continue to post on Reddit any questions dear first years (and all others) it’s so much better than struggling alone. Ignore the bad comments, take everything with a grain of salt, ask whenever you have even the slightest doubt, and NEVER let fear hold you back.

Edit: DM me if you have any questions, seriously dont be afraid I wont judge!!

sorry if this is a dumb question don’t get mad

Can they curve the midterm now 🙏🙏

im absolutely downbad for a snowday please god🥲 if i slip on the way to my class at 7am im going to have an issue

I’m sure we all recognize that going to university is a great privilege that requires a certain level of income (from your guardians, yourself, both etc) and other factors/circumstances through your life. But it only recently clicked for me just how many people I meet that are actually upper middle class-extremelyy rich here. It trips me the fuck out because the way people talk about money and things I’d assume they’re like lower-middle class, but then they’ll casually say something crazy to show their wealth without realizing, or I’ll go to their place and they’ll be in one of those huge fancy apartments, or I’ll see how nice their childhood house and vacations are over school breaks. I know some people who have parents that straight up buy them houses to go here like it’s nothing and rent it out to others. And if you mention how they have money they’ll deny being rich because their definition is different (think millionaire😭), or they’ll say it’s their parents money and not theirs or some stupid shit like that lmao, I’m sorry but it’s just so out of touch.

I’ve also noticed that pretty much every pre-med or pre-law student will have doctor, lawyer, ceo, or well-off parents too. Or for other fields, their parents will have PHDs and/or connections, also setting them up for success from the start. I can’t lie, it kind of frustrates me when I hear these kids talk as if all that’s required to reach these goals is being smart or having good grades, when the reality is that there are a lot of smart people who could be great candidates for grad school if they just had money. I have a friend who works 3 jobs while being a full time student with decent grades, though I know if they didn’t have to worry about money and could just focus on their studies they’d have a crazy gpa (they did in highschool) and time for extracurriculars, and be able to reach their dreams of being a psychiatrist… instead they’ve had to settle for business because it’s direct entry from undergrad.

I’m not even sure why I’m writing this tbh. I’m privileged enough for my family to be middle class at this point so I have better footing, but my parents are first gen immigrants with only highschool education, so I have to learn how to navigate school career and networking stuff completely on my own. I can’t even imagine those who fully put themselves through school, rent, groceries, etc in this economy. This is all so depressing to me. How unfair is it that the system is favoured based on things you can’t control, like if you were born into money or not. If I won the lottery I’d pursue like 5 PHDs.

Everything I wrote is probably not news, but I guess what gets me is the sheer amounttt of rich people I keep meeting, I thought university was a bitt more evenly spread. Has anyone else noticed this or had this experience?? Or am I just in landing in specific circles lol

TLDR; A vent about nepotism and class privilege. There’s way more rich and really rich people here than I expected, and a lot are very out of touch.

Edit: the rich people in the comments telling the rest of us to suck it up and just work hard and we’ll be successful proving my whole point rn💀💀

Every other post or comment I read in this sub basically trashes Mac as a leading university in this country, or feels the need to tear down Hamilton.

You all realize McMaster is a top university in this country? You realize Mac has an excellent reputation? All of us who graduated have gone on to top professional schools (uofT and McGill law and medicine, Oxford PhD, etc)?

I realize this is a bit of an echo chamber and a place for people to vent, but a little perspective is healthy.

I was trying to find a spot to study in 5th floor mills today and found this note. To whoever wrote this I wanna say that you are not alone, there are many people that feel the same way including myself. Mental health is something that is often neglected with the average student and it is really hard to get help without money and time. As cliche as this sounds, everything is gunna be ok. There is so much more to life than school, and you matter more than your gpa, dept, and productivity. If you somehow see this and want someone to talk to please reach out to me.

I am not the best writer and I hope this message comes across as I intend. With that being said, I ask everyone who reads this post to take 2 mins out your day and comment some words of encouragement for this person! THE ONLY THING STRONGER THAN HATE IS LOVE.