Sam – HEC Montréal
Semester 2, 2024
Bachelor of Business / Bachelor of Design
Hi, I’m Sam, and I’m a Marketing and Industrial Design Double Major here at QUT, and I did my exchange semester in Fall of 2024 at HEC Montréal. I had a very unique experience as I have family in Canada and am a Canadian citizen, so I was able to use some of my pre-existing connections to meet new people, and work while on exchange.
Before Departing
I started my pre-departure a whole year before leaving for my exchange, as I had gone to Canada in the June-July holidays to see family and worked for a week at a summer camp. That experience allowed me to meet some amazing people and cemented my decision to go to Canada for my exchange. While you definitely don’t need to start preparing that early, I would still recommend giving yourself lots of time, and breaking the pre-departure checklist into manageable chunks. The hardest part for me was finding courses that aligned with my current study plan, which was especially difficult (but possible!) due to my double degree. Also, when searching for host institutions, I would recommend only choosing ones that offer on-campus housing/residence that offer a dining hall/meal plan. This will remove a huge chunk of stress involved in searching for housing, and the time and money involved in cooking for yourself. I chose Montréal as I am also French and wanted to live in a bilingual city to challenge myself, and I’m very happy I did.
Before Semester: Summer on The Lake
I landed in Canada on June 18th of 2024, a couple months before my semester started, and went up to my cousin’s cottage to work at a summer camp on a lake called Georgian Bay. This was easily my favourite part of my experience, as it was the reason I even chose Canada to begin with. During the day, I would work at the summer camp, spending my days outside with the kids doing activities such as canoeing, sailing, sports, swimming and arts and crafts. The staff are a super tight knight group of friends, and working alongside them every day for 2 months quickly made them akin to family. Most nights were spent partying, swimming, or seeing the sunset, but most of the time all 3 at once. So if you have the opportunity to come to your exchange country early, to travel or work (check if your visa allows it), you should absolutely do it. The connections I made here would go on to serve me throughout my semester, as we visited each other at our universities. Additionally, the money I earned working at the camp carried me through most of my semester, meaning I didn’t have to dig into my savings much.
Caption: Summer in Georgian Bay, Ontario
During Semester: My Time in Montréal
I want to start this section by saying Montréal is AMAZING! This city is like no other, many of my friends accurately described it as a big village. While it is absolutely a city, the vibrant student population makes you feel like you’re in a town where everyone knows each other, while still being downtown surrounded by high-rises.
When I first arrived in late August, it was still summer, and I distinctly remember seeing a free outdoor hip hop/house concert happening just down the street. My roommate and I explored, and it turns out these kinds of shows were happening all over the city, many for free, throughout all of summer into early September. I also attended a festival called Piknic Electronik, which happens weekly at Parc Jean-Drapeau on the island. I got to see some great artists, while taking in amazing views of the city. That’s when I realised why Montréal is renowned for its amazing art, music and entertainment facilities, and vibrant nightlife. Saint-Laurent, a big street near Downtown, is a thrift/vintage shoppers haven by day, and lights up into a club and bar district by night.
Caption: Piknic Electronik Music Festival
Housing and School
I was fortunate enough to live within walking distance of most things, but Montréal’s public transport system is amazing, with fast Metro’s and regular buses you can get just about anywhere in the city (including the island), even late at night. HEC Montréal is located in Cote-Des-Neiges, which is on the north side of the mountain, while the downtown is located south. I was not aware of this, which meant my commute was roughly an hour each way. I definitely would not recommend this, as waking up at 6:45 for an 8:30 class when the sun doesn’t rise until 9, in the cold of winter, is definitely a character developing experience. HEC Montréal unfortunately does not offer on campus housing or student residence, so you will have to search for your own housing. I would recommend looking at student housing buildings, as trying to find an apartment or sub-let without visiting It first is very risky. I was scammed, leaving me without housing in the first week of my semester. Fortunately I was able to stay with my friend Alex who I met through my cousin, and what was meant to be a temporary solution turned into a permanent one. If you want to be within close reach of the city and nightlife, while also being near school, I would recommend finding an apartment in the neighborhoods east of the mountain, such as; Le Plateau, Mile End, Outremont or Little Italy.
Caption: Cote-Saint-Catherine Campus
School
HEC Montréal is spread across 2 campuses which are connected to the biggest university In Canada, University De Montréal. HEC is a bilingual school, so you will hear French in the hallways, but don’t fear, they are all capable and usually want to speak English as many students come from Francophone countries or French speaking parts of Quebec to learn English to further their versatility in business. HEC is also a business-only school, and while the buildings aren’t massive, they have state of the art facilities and study spaces. One of the things I wasn’t prepared for was that most of my classes had multiple in-class quizzes, midterms and final exams, which I had never done at QUT. It all worked out, and remembering you only have to pass takes away a lot of study stress. The workload is fairly similar to QUT’s business courses too, so you have nothing to worry about.
The school doesn’t have it’s own sport facilities due to it’s size, however it shares with 2 other school. This means you have free access to Montréal’s biggest indoor sport facility, CEPSUM, which is located a couple streets from campus (and I admittedly got lost inside as it is enormous and a bit of a maze). The exchange team at HEC Montréal is awesome, throwing weekly “International Wednesday” parties, as well as trips and deals on activities. I personally attended the trip to La Ronde, the theme park on the island, got discounted tickets to see the Canadians, Montréal’s NHL team, and attended the end of semester Gala. It was through this that I met most of my fellow exchange students and friends at HEC, most of whom were from Europe.
Caption: Trip to La Ronde and Gala
Social Life, Activities and Travel
While living downtown wasn’t ideal due to the distance from school, I was able to make lots of friends at Concordia and McGill, the two big schools downtown. McGill especially has an incredible campus, and the student life is very well connected, with the residence and student-ghetto buildings right near Saint-Laurent and the campus. I ended up mostly staying on this side of the mountain and went out to McGill bars, watched my mates gigs and even joined an intermural (social) volleyball team. During the summer, the park hosts free outdoor beach volleyball which was heaps of fun, even as a complete beginner.
Caption: Free Volleyball, Student Bars and Gigs
Just like summer, these friends were the ones I would do everything with, from concerts, to bouldering at Café Bloc, and even travelling! As previously mentioned, I visited some friends at Western university and got to experience a HoCO (the big football game and party weekend of the semester). I also travelled to the beautiful city of Boston to see family friends with Alex. At the end of the semester, I even went skiing at Mont Tremblant which is a couple hours outside of Montréal. Montréal has heaps of free stuff to do year-round, like markets, music festivals, and the stunning Mount Royal Park which as a massive walking and skiing track, free ice-skating, and a beautiful view of the city.
Caption: Western, Boston, Tremblant and Mount Royal
While the start was rough, my time in Montréal was incredible, and I matured a lot as a person, especially since this was my first time living away from home. However, none of this would’ve been possible if I didn’t get out of my comfort zone and leave the apartment. So, make sure you get out, even when it’s -20 with windchill and you can’t move your fingers, because there is always something to do in Montréal.
Returning Home
Brisbane won’t have changed one bit, but you have, and at first it will feel strange knowing you have a whole life on the other side of the world. Unfortunately, I don’t have much advice as I’m currently in this weird transition stage but just remember that you’ve grown as a person and are capable of much more than you were before, so believe in yourself and dream bigger!
Advice Recap
Do
- Start your exchange application early and break it into manageable chunks
- Travel or Work in your host country before the semester (if possible)
- Leverage all connections you have
- Be social! Talk to classmates, other exchange students and anyone you can
- Bring a camera with you everywhere you go
- Take advantage of Montréal’s free social facilities and awesome nightlife
- Try to find housing near campus (Cote Des Neiges, Le Plateau, Mile End, Outremont or Little Italy)
Don’t
- Apply to schools without on-campus housing (unless you’re willing to house-search)
- Trust online landlords who don’t ask to sign contracts
- Stay in your room – GO EXPLORE! (Even in winter)
Find out how you can apply for exchange via the QUT Student Exchange website.
