Helloooo so I was just wondering what the differences between all of the colleges are, and if some are easier to get into than others?
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hey there,
well, i’m not gonna give you the differences between all of the colleges. see, i totally appreciate that this may be the FIRST TIME EVER you have heard of the college system. however, i have been living and breathing uoft’s colleges for so long that i simply refuse to add one more ‘overview of uoft’s colleges’ to the slew of them that already exist online.
what slew, you ask? well, here are just a few: bam, bloop, blarp. also, there is aska’s extensive colleges tag, and a tag for every college at uoft (innis, new, st. mike’s, trin, UC, vic and woodsworth).
also check out aska’s ‘prospective students’ tab, available on aska’s tumblr.
there are lots more ‘overviews’ out there that are not affiliated with uoft, but i would read those with extreme caution, since some of them have the unfortunate habit of tacking on random words as descriptors for each college?(this is the “asian college,” the “evil college,” the “science college” or the “ugly college” – what’s next? the spaghetti college?? the small potted plants college???). they can also be biased, because they tend to be written by students who are very invested in their own college.
here at aska, we prefer to be snobby about other things, like our stellar and up-to-date web design, so our stance about the colleges is pretty even.
i’d say that reading up on practical things related to colleges, like their size, residence types (if you’ll be staying in residence) or proximity to subway stations (if you’ll be commuting), the affiliated extra-curriculars, the scholarships, and any other unique programs that they may offer will help you make the sanest and most informed decision.
another tip: read your college of interest’s newspaper. every college has one, and that can give you an idea of some of the more nebulous parts of a college, like general political slant, how the community sees/defines itself, etc.
onto the next part of your question: are some easier to get into than others?
sort of. some colleges require a supplemental application, and that’s obviously more work. students applying to victoria college must complete a student profile form. trinity college also requires a student admission profile.
additionally, innis, victoria and trinity college all require that you rank them first on your OUAC application to be considered for admission there, and woodsworth requires you to rank them first to be considered if you’re a rotman commerce student.
for that reason, it’s probably not a good idea to rank innis, vic and trin as numbers 1, 2 and 3, for example, because if you don’t get into choice #1, you’ll be down to whatever you ranked as #4.
however, try not to worry about this. you will be placed in SOME COLLEGE. you will not be left a wayward, college-less vagabond.
A poor, college-less student begs for free frosh handouts and students newspapers.
so don’t stress too much about it. just figure out which ones appeal to you most (oh, yes: visiting the colleges is a good idea), and you’ll find your party palace.
best,
aska