McGill- All about grades?!

Hey,

I'm in my grade 12 year now (kind of sad for me) and thinking about universities. Canadian universities are not quite as urgent to think about (because I have myself pre-occupied with applying to the states) but I'd like to ask anyway.

I want to enter the arts faculty, planning to get into international relations major. When I looked through their site, they've somehow emphasized the importance of an academic record. Do they not use other methods of evaluation? I know information from the source itself is pretty much confirmed, but I'd like to know from undergrads...thnks!