• campus,  clubs,  extracurricular,  international relations,  polisci,  residence,  St. George,  student groups,  Toronto,  UTSU

    long time reader, first time asker

    May 23, 2017

    Hello Aska!

    First – You are utterly brilliant!
    I will be applying to UofT this fall, and scrolling through your blog has
    saved me many a panic attack! Within this wall of flesh, there is a soul
    that counts thee its creditor.

    P.S. I went through the tags before writing this (true fan here) so don’t
    worry – this doesn’t have ‘another college question’…..(or does it…..?).

    1. Oh all seeing eye, how do you know everything that’s happening at UofT’s
    massive campus? What are some of the best ways to keep on top of student
    events, displays, Disney serenades, aska fan-fests, food trucks etc? (Most
    importantly – food trucks!).

    2. Slightly beyond UofT – which are the best natural sites to explore in
    and around Toronto – hikes, trails, hidden Narnias perhaps?

    3. Innis is one of the only apartment style residences on campus, and as
    far as I can see this style of residence (and Innis in general) seems
    perfect. But, as an Innis insider, what are some of the disadvantages of
    apartment style living?

    4. I have been looking through the PolSci and International Relations
    department pages, and although I found a massive list of internships
    offered to PolSci students, I could not find a similar list for
    International Relations. Does PolSci generally have more available
    internship and exchange opportunities in general?

    Finally, I feel like I am compelled by tradition to put this question here,
    if only as a symbol:
    ‘Innis or UC?”

    May the odds and even be ever in your favor.
    Thanks!

    ———————————————

    hello!

    thank you so much! i am always humbled and delighted to meet a fan like yourself.

    since you’ve asked me a five-part question, here’s a five-part answer:

    1. first, you could check out the student life website. they have a lot of stuff on events, displays, clubs, anything you may desire! if that isn’t enough, you can also check on facebook- lots of clubs and societies post when they’re hosting events (and whether or not there’ll be free food). you could also check out hart house (they always have a bunch of stuff going on), the utsu (university of toronto student’s union), your college’s student society, and the clubs fair during orientation week.
    2. there’s lots of nature-y stuff to do in and around toronto. so much so, that i’ll just redirect you to this. in all seriousness though, there are a lot of places to go hiking in toronto, check out this article.
    3. it all has to do with your personal preferences. however, you’ll have to think a lot about things like food (innis doesn’t have a dining hall, but you could still get a meal plan) and cleaning (you’ll have to look after a kitchen and a bathroom and a common area AS WELL AS your own room).
    4. i don’t know if there are MORE internships for polisci students as opposed to international relations students… it just looks like the IR department’s student experience page hasn’t been updated as recently as the polisci department’s. you could get in contact with the IR department and they’d probably have way more information than me, a humble not-IR student.
    5. innis or uc?

     

    xoxo,

    aska

     

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  • applying for U of T,  colleges,  engineering,  friends,  getting involved,  hard,  partying,  residence,  scholarships/bursaries,  St. George,  studying

    6 responses + a rant

    January 18, 2017

    Hey Aska! I’m a Turkish student and I’m in grade 11. I’m filled with
    so many questions because I whole-heartedly want to study at UofT. I
    researched a lot of things and still have tons of questions. So yeah,
    let me begin 😀

    My first question is about admissions. With %86-87 average in grade 11
    and %93-94 in grade 12, would I be able to get into mechanical
    engineering? (Also consider that I have decent SAT scores ad medium-
    to-decent extracurriculars.) I really want to know if I even have a
    chance.

    +What about scholarships?

    +Does Innis collage and UC require anything when applying? (I know
    that Innis should be ranked 1st if you wanna be accepted there.) Which
    has a better community in your opinion? And which should I choose as a
    newcomer?

    +Is it that hard to get good grades at UofT? I personally love
    studying but I don’t know if I’ll be overwhelmed.

    +Are international students treated differently really?

    +What are the parties like?

    +It is a very big school, will I be able to form close relationships?
    If so, how?

    Thank you soooo much in advance, and sorry for mixed questions. I
    sincerely hope that I can be a part of the community. Take care!

    ———————————————

    hello!

    first of all, you’re adorable and i love your enthusiasm. you’ve asked a lot of good questions and i commend you for taking the initiative to reach out so early! this is probably the longest post i’ve ever written so bear with me.

    on getting accepted into mechanical engineering

    at this point in time, the website says that you need a mid 80’s average to get into the mechanical engineering program, but it would be best to check the updated average when you actually apply in 2 years. engineering programs are competitive and it is very likely that these averages will change by the time you apply, since they tend to fluctuate from year to year.

    with your awesome grades, you definitely have a chance of getting into the mechanical engineering program, but keep in mind that this is just a general cut-off guideline for this year’s applicants. by saying you have a chance of getting in, i’m not saying you will get in.

    on scholarships

    scholarships are described at length in this link where you will also see a complete listing of all the scholarships available at u of t. keep in mind, since you will be an international student, you will only be eligible for a small number of scholarships. if you scroll to the listings at the bottom of the page, under availability, if there is a blank in the column instead of the words “domestic students”, that means international students are eligible. there are also admission scholarships (which you are eligible for, yay!) which you will automatically be considered for when you are admitted to the school.

    on UC and innis

    university college is large and old whereas innis is small and new. to get into innis, you are absolutely right, you do need to rank it first (good job!) but UC does not require you to rank them first. innis requires you to rank them first mostly because they are so small in size and very popular.

    which one to pick? that’s the ultimate question. there are many factors that you should consider, for example: are you going to be living in residence? what kind of residence style are you looking for? do you want to be part of a big college or a small college?

    i’m not exactly allowed to tell you which one i like more (and believe me, there is one) because i’d probably get destroyed, and it’s really up to you to do your own research and decide which one is better for you. i can provide you with the resources, but the rest is entirely up to you.

    on getting good marks

    is it hard to get good marks at U of T? yes. very hard. i have yet to get good grades at U of T. don’t slack off, study hard, and go to class. i made the mistake of not doing any of those three things in my first three and a half years and have paid dearly (emotionally and monetarily). we have a scary reputation for a reason. if you’re thinking of coming here, be ready to work your ass off.

    on the treatment of international students

    *disclaimer* aska rant on international student culture and discrimination

    i thought a lot about how to answer your question about the treatment of international students. on one hand, i wanted to answer: international students aren’t treated differently! it’s love love love all around! but i would be lying. the aska motto is to deliver the cold, hard truth, so here goes: (it might seem a little controversial and blunt, but that’s askastudent for ya!)

    international students are treated in the same way they treat other people. as i’m sure is common at every university, there are groups that i will refer to as ‘cultural cliques’. cultural cliques are groups of students who stick together because they come from the same culture, usually when english is not their first language. i’m not saying this is a bad thing. it’s actually great that these students can find friends who speak a common tongue! how awesome! however, sometimes, students will ignore everyone else outside their clique and as as a result, they get ignored back. this is perfectly fine if neither groups want to mix and mingle, but it does sometimes result in some differential treatment. the most common thing i see is people getting mad about international students speaking their native tongue instead of english.

    as someone who was not born in canada and can speak a second language, i can sympathize with both sides of the story. an international student might have a difficult time with english and find it easier to communicate in another language, yet a domestic student, might find it rude that other students are speaking in foreign language. often, this stems from the domestic student’s insecurity that the international student might be crap-talking them in a different language. of course, this isn’t always the case, but it does happen! heck, it’s happened to me before! someone tried bad-mouthing me when they thought i didn’t understand the language. well, joke was on them!

    many will also argue: “you’re in canada! speak english!” but this argument isn’t exactly valid. i’m sure lots of people who go to countries like japan don’t spend years learning japanese before they decide to go. canada is known as one of the most multicultural countries in the world, and it’s truly unfortunate that not all cultures are as widely accepted as canadian culture.

    bottom line, discrimination can happen, but i guarantee that it won’t happen if you treat people like you want to be treated. my advice to you is to keep an open-mind. be friendly and warm to people if you want them to be friendly and warm to you. if you find people from turkey at U of T that you want to be friends with, that’s awesome. if you want to form a turkish clique, even better! make the most of your university life and spend it with people you care about.

    *aska rant over*

    on partying

    i’m not much of a partier, so i can’t reveal too many juicy details about that. just based on the parties i’ve been to, they can definitely get pretty rowdy at times, but also be super lame. a gathering of people involving beverages and loud music usually constitutes a party at U of T, and i imagine, everywhere else! sometimes there’s dancing and sometimes there are games. sometimes ambulances are called, and sometimes the paramedics get a night off. sometimes people fall asleep and sometimes people stay up all night. hope that answers your question!

    on forming close relationships

    i have hit the 1300 word count so i think it’s safe to say that we, in some way, shape or form, have formed somewhat of a close relationship. U of T is ginormous. you are again, absolutely right.

    you can definitely form close relationships at U of T. in addition to studying your ass off, you should be making time for late night mcdonald’s runs, jam sessions and spontaneous city explorations along with friends. again, treating people like you want to be treated applies here. treat someone like a friend and chance are, they’ll treat you like a friend and then BOOM! you’ll have a friend. that’s how you make friends. how nice. you’ll meet people in your classes, in residences, and at various events on/ off campus! everyone else will be looking to make friends as well, so don’t sweat it. some of my closest friends have been people i met at school, so you’ll be fine. trust me.

    did i answer all your questions? if not, comment below and i’ll do my best to get back to you.

    good luck, chill out, and may the odds be ever in your favour.

    peace and love,

    aska

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  • residence,  St. George,  UTM,  UTSC

    myspace

    October 17, 2016

    Can I live on campus in a single room? Or are all the rooms shared? Thanks

    ———————————————

    hi,

    yes, you can live on campus in a single room! not all rooms are shared. since you didn’t specify which campus you were interested in, here’s info on all of them!

    this is an excellent page which explains facilities and room styles for every residence at the St. George campus. you can even download a PDF which compares all the residences! for a similar resource at UTM, click here.

    UTSC’s residences are unique in that they consist of townhouses and apartments, but you will definitely be able to find single rooms within them for sure.

    hope this helped! if you have any more questions regarding each residence, i highly recommend that you give them a call or send them an email! most residences hold tours for prospective students and their parents.

    on another note, i feel your desire to live in a single room. i don’t know what i would’ve done if i had to live with another human being in my room. *shudders*

    cheers,

    aska

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  • money,  residence

    school pride costs

    July 19, 2016

    Do you get a free UofT t-shirt or hoodie once you arrive at UofT? Do you need to live in rez to get a free UofT tee?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    nah. nothing at uoft is for free, and even the things that seem to be free (access to gyms, libraries, orientation week) are things that you’ve already paid for. in some ways, it’s a good thing, because it prepares you for “real” (note the heavy scare quotes) life.

    unfortunately however, t-shirts and hoodies aren’t included in your incidental fees. i don’t know where you heard that you get a free uoft tee (haha, tee-tee) in res. that’s not a thing that happens, and i know people in pretty much every res on the downtown campus.

    the only free piece of clothing you’ll get will be an orientation t-shirt, assuming you choose to participate in orientation, and that’s going to be more about college/faculty pride than uoft pride. if you want uoft merch specifically, you’ll need to spend $40 on a hoodie from the bookstore like the rest of us plebs. i will say that they are really soft, though.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • housing,  residence,  university-college

    HODOR

    June 3, 2016

    Note from aska: *WARNING* if you aren’t caught up to game of thrones, you might not want to read this because it contains spoilers as well as several, and i mean several references to the show

    Hi, so I missed the deadline and thus now I don’t have a residence guarantee ( university college ).  I’m on the wait list. I wanted to ask what are the chances of me now getting a residence ? High or low ? Because I’m an international student so its really important for me to stay on campus. The residence people said they start sending out offers of residence to people on the waitlist by late June or early July. So should I start looking for off campus residences ? Or there are chances of me getting a residence ??!

    My situation right now is literally like HODOR holding the door while the white walkers tried attacking him. I’m freaking out. I didn’t know about the deadline. I thought June 1st was the deadline to submit the application.

    Looking forward to a prompt response

    Thank youuu

    ———————————————

    i really wanted to answer this question with: hodor.

    but it makes me want to cry and being employed is great.

    once you miss out on that sweet sweet first year residence guarantee it’s kind of hard to say whether or not you’ll have a place to live. i wish i was jojen reed so i could have a vision and tell you “yes, you will get into res”,

    jojen

    (btw if you haven’t seen this video, you should)

    but alas, like our lord commander jon snow himself, we know nothing.

    heknowsnothing

    waitlists are super fickle and tricky to predict. if you’re on the waitlist, UC residence services might try to set you up with an alternative option or redirect you to the appropriate resources. give them a call, they might be able to give you more info about your situation!

    i would recommend you look through some other housing resources just to be safe. https://offcampushousing.utoronto.ca/ is great for housing for students. you can make your search very specific.

    these two websites are also popular when looking for apartments in toronto:

    https://www.walkscore.com/

    http://www.viewit.ca/

    for future reference: make sure to always always always always write all deadlines on your calendar and read everything very carefully. the university isn’t exactly lenient on missed deadlines for most things.

    i’m sorry you’re in this situation and i wish i could do more than entertain you with GoT references but i really hope everything works out!

    also, i love that subtle “looking forward to a prompt response”… ya well if by prompt response you meant several days, don’t worry, i got you

    (we’ve been going through some changes here at aska, bear with us, we’re trying our best here)

    the lannisters send their regards, (last one, i swear)

    aska

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  • architecture,  first year,  residence

    when you’re at uoft and you’re blossoming like a flower

    April 19, 2016

    Heya Aska!

    So I’ve navigated successfully through the Daniels site and gotten myself an offer for Architectural Studies! Yay! Since I’m most likely going to accept, I got a few questions for you!

    1) How big is the Daniels faculty? Around how many undergraduates get accepted each year? I’ve tried looking but I can’t really find a solid number and I really want to know approximately how big my class sizes might be!

    2) Which residence is most popular for Arch students to live in? I don’t live in Canada so I can’t come to residence tours to see what it’s like and feel the vibe…

    3) (A more general question but) How can a super shy introvert like me get involved in dorm life, making friends, life around the campus etc. etc? I really want to work on improving myself as a person but at the same time it takes a lot of effort to shove me out of my shell :/

    Thank you so much! I always love reading your responses!

    – A smoll high schooler from across the globe

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    1.   the reason you won’t find any numbers on this is because it’s not reallypractical information in the way that you probably think it is. it’s true that Daniels is a faculty separate from the faculty of arts & science, but since the undergraduate division only offers one specialist (visual studies), most Daniels students are also taking a program (or two) in the faculty of arts & science. that means you’ll be taking courses with artsci kids, which means that the class size kind of just depends on the class.

    most first-year classes are pretty massive; i’m talking several hundred students, sometimes close to a thousand. if you take a more obscure class or a second-year course, it may whittle down to under a hundred. i don’t mean to imply that there isn’t a separate culture and hub of community and resources at Daniels – because there is. it’s just that there’ll be a lot more crossover than you think.

    2.   again, because architecture is so small, i don’t know that there’s a specific residence for architecture students. there is certainly a vibe, as you put it, to each college residence (plus Chestnut), which is very hard to articulate. since that vibe is so ephemeral, i think it makes the most sense to make a decision based on concrete things, especially if you can’t come to campus for a tour.

    bad vibes american horror story

    sometimes, a residence tour can help you get a feel of where you’d prefer to live

    some questions you may want to ask yourself include: do you prefer dorm- or suite-style? what’s your price range? where is the residence located in relation to your classes, libraries, and other amenities? would you rather live in a tall, modern building like Woodsworth, or an old, castle-esque building, like those at Victoria and St. Mike’s? do any of the residences or colleges run an activity or program that particularly interests you? these things can all help you make a decision.

    3.   i’ve used a handy little schematic (pictured below) to demonstrate this question. what it’s illustrating is that there is a good way to push yourself, and a bad way. if you can push yourself just a smidge past your comfort zone, you enter into your challenge zone. in the challenge zone, you gain skills and confidence by trying new things that are challenging but still doable. if you regularly enter your challenge zone, it starts to expand. those things that were previously found challenging become part of your comfort zone. and voila – growth!

    however, if you push yourself too hard and end up in situations where you’re very uncomfortable, you may find yourself in the panic zone. in the panic zone, you feel completely unequipped to handle the situation at hand, and you begin to panic. after getting yourself out of the situation, you feel nothing except a greater aversion to that type of situation.

    the key to getting out of your shell, i think, is engaging your challenge zone as much as possible, but not pushing yourself into your panic zone. maybe the thought of living with a roommate causes you to panic, but you can challenge yourself to meet everyone on your floor before the end of the first semester. baby steps, and you’ll get there.

    other general tips: get involved with extra-curriculars. not only can they lead to opportunities (even potential jobs!) but your network of friends will expand so, so quickly. on a similar note: get a job! you may get lucky and actually become friends with your colleagues. introduce yourself to the people sitting next to you in class. if your residence has a dining hall, sit with people. maybe you can start by sitting with your don, and then gradually add people to your group. finally, hang out in your common room. that’s just a general tip about residence. all you have to do is literally sit there and new potential friends will come TO YOU. it’s the LAY-Z-BOY of friend-making.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • residence

    you’ve got mail

    September 11, 2015

    Do I need to open a po box at Canada Post to receive packages while living?in residence? (Sir Dans, UC)

    ???????????????

    hey there,

    you will almost certainly have a mailbox in residence that you can use. ask your don about it.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • admissions,  residence,  subject POST

    application for what

    August 5, 2015

    hi aska! I want to know when is the exact date when application starts?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    application for what, my friend? there’s about a billion things you can apply for at this university. there’s so much stuff you can apply for that the institution is grinding out these obsessive, application-writing machines, people who are never satisfied and are always looking for new things to add to their resume. it’s like school creates within you this pathological dissatisfaction with your current situation, so you always want more, NEED more –

    but i digress. here are a few common application timelines:

    application for admission to the Faculty of Arts & Science: unfortunately, i can’t find a specific opening date for this one. it opens in the Fall (that’s as specific as the uoft admissions website gets, but OUAC’s 105 applications open in mid-September and you can take a look at the timeline for 101 applications on page 3 of this document), and closes January 30th (in 2015).

    application for residence: opens when you receive your JOINid (shortly after you apply) and you can log into MyRes, and closes March 31st (in 2015).

    deadline to apply for a type 2/3 subject POSt: opens April 1st, closes August 30th.

    deadline to enrol in a type 1 subject POSt: opens April 1st, closes September 27th.

    deadline to bring aska snacks: never. always feel free to bring snacks. aska accepts donations year-round.

    cheers,

    aska

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  • residence,  university-college

    participation points

    August 4, 2015

    Hey, I’m dorming at UC in Sir Daniels Residence. What’s all this about house points? I have to be a social butterfly to be able to dorm next year?

    Seems a little disproportionately skewed towards high energy extroverts, which I certainly am not, but I’m from out of province and need Res.

    I was put in ‘Hutton House’, what does that mean? Am I a Slytherin or a Hufflepuff in this scenario? What’s the point and significance of this division?

    Thanks for answering.

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    i’ve never lived at res in UC, so I can’t speak personally to the experience of living there. i can’t guarantee that you’re going to enjoy it, or that the ‘House Points’ system they have works.

    however, i have been heavily involved in res life at UofT (i’m gonna withhold the specific college because you’re all NOSY BUGGERS), and what i can say is that it’s not just for extroverts.

    as an introvert myself, i hate “participation” events. i picked a job that allows me to write anonymously on the internet and never interact with people directly, which says something about me.

    every True Colours, MBTI, astrology or augury test i’ve ever taken has told me i’m the most introverted introvert to ever exist.

    thing is, res life folks are aware that introverts exist. a lot of us are introverts. we want to create events that everyone will enjoy.

    from what I can see, UC’s house points system provides you with a wide range of opportunities to get involved. not all of them require you to talk to lots of people and be very high-energy. for example, attending house meetings?pretty much just requires you to show up and listen quietly.

    working or volunteering on campus, writing for the Gargoyle, being a crewmember with the UC Follies, participating in dragonboat – these are all things that don’t fit the traditional image of residence life participation. also, not all your floor events will be very high energy. sometimes it’s just a board games night on a weekday evening, or your don will bake cookies and invite people over. not hard to say yes to.

    also, getting involved with school generally makes you feel more invested in school, which in turn makes you more invested in schoolwork, which will get you the grades that will make the $15 000 you forked out for tuition and residence fees at least partially worth it.

    as for the significance of being in Hutton House versus other houses – i don’t really know the culture of that floor, and neither will you, until you join it. however, it’s not going to be drastically different from other floors on Sir Dan, or even from the rest of the UC residences at large. you probably weren’t placed there for any monumentally significant reason.

    i doubt any house will be so different from another as to warrant a Slytherin/Hufflepuff distinction. it’s just a way of dividing people up into small communities; more like different rooms within a Gryffindor dormitory than different corners of the castle.

    small floors make it easier to run events and make friends. also, every floor/house will have one or two dons assigned to it. these are upper-year students who are responsible for taking care of their specific floor/house. it’s a pretty good system.

    so that’s my pitch for being involved in res. at the end of the day, if you absolutely HATE everything the college has to offer in terms of residence and student life, then you won’t get involved, you probably won’t be readmitted to res, and you would be free to look for off-campus housing, which wouldn’t require you to participate in anything but rent payments.

    best of luck, and i really hope you enjoy UC!

    cheers,

    aska

    P.S. best drop the habit of saying ‘dorm’ now. say ‘residence’ instead. you’ll thank me, trust.

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  • engineering,  new college,  residence,  trinity college

    i’m an alien, i’m a legal alien. i’m an engineer in trinity

    June 15, 2015

    Hi, so I’m going to be starting at U of T as an engsci in September. As such, I have to rank my residence options. I had also received an offer from Trinity for artsci, but I declined this in favour of engsci. However, I’d still quite like to live at Trinity. My concern is that if I do manage to still get residence at Trin, would I be kind of isolated from the rest of the engineering faculty? Would it be a better idea to put somewhere like New College as my first choice, and be in residence with more engineering students? Thank yooouuu

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    living in engineering’s living learning community at new college is a great idea. engineering is pretty gruelling, and living with a whole bunch of people – including your don – who understand what you’re going through is probably a very comforting and supportive residence experience.

    you’ll always have people to study with and people to vent with. people will be by and large on the same schedule as you are – so when you’re buckling down, everyone else will be too. when you have some time to wind down, you’ll have people to enjoy it with.

    so yeah, living with engineers could be great. but it could also be not so great.

    think about it this way: you love your mom, right? of course you do. you and your ma are the tightest. you would do anything for her. but do you want to live with her? see her day in, day out?

    of course you don’t – that’s why you’re moving out.

    a living learning society has the potential to be kind of like that. engineering is pretty intense, and you might find yourself?wanting a break from it when you come home from class.

    living at trinity could provide you with that break. no matter where you live, you’re not going to be isolated from your engineering peers – so don’t worry about that. firstly, you’ll be spending too much time in class together for that to ever be possible, and secondly, most people commute anyway, so living on res won’t exclude you.

    but what trinity can give you that engineering can’t is a community outside your studies – friends from other programs, with other perspectives.

    there are only 425 people living at trinity, and trinity, more perhaps than some other, newer colleges at uoft, has a very strong sense of self (dressing up in black robes every wednesday evening can do that to a group of people).

    being a part of the trinity community as well as the engineering community might give you a nice balance between engineering and, well, something else.

    ultimately, there’s no right answer. residence is very largely a non-academic experience, and different people will prefer different kinds of communities. just try to go with whichever option you feel more excited about. if you can, book a residence tour at each college. then just feel it out.

    best of luck, and see you in september!

    aska

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  • first year,  residence,  UTM

    look out…it’s FROSH ON RES!

    April 7, 2015

    Hey Aska! Alright so I was accepted into the CCIT program and I’m seriously considering accepting it, but I just want to get some stuff cleared up before I do.

    First of all, does the CCIT program offer an internship/ Co-op? Also do I have to maintain a certain GPA by the end of my first year to continue on to my second year?

    Ok, now about residence. When I went to the open house someone had told me that the school expects you to find your own place by the second year. Does that mean I cannot live in res after i complete my first year? Also when in res do i have to buy my own internet or does the school provide that for me? Does the school have a list of stuff I should and shouldn’t bring?

    What is campus life like? I hear a lot of people say that it’s pretty dead because UTM is a commuter school. I also hear a lot of complaints about the food options on campus. Is it really that bad?

    Thanks in advance!

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    CCIT does in fact offer internships, though it’s not mandatory to complete an internship to complete the program. you can learn all about CCIT internships here and here.

    you can see the first-year requirements for entering one of CCIT’s three programs here (the GPA is competitive for admission, but there’s no minimum cut-off).

    as a matter of fact you can live in res in second year. according to this page, the first 300 upper-year students who reapply to residence are guaranteed a spot. upper year students are definitely a minority in residence – 300 is not a lot – but it is still possible to stay, if you really want to.

    i’d disagree that campus life is dead. UTSG is a commuter school too, and in my experience there are still oodles of ways to get involved. besides that, residence life is a whole separate thing from student life, so if you plan on living on residence, you’ll have two communities you can get involved with. here are just a couple of ways to get involved on res at UTM.

    as for food, this list looks pretty good to me!

    xoxo,

    aska

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  • residence,  university-college

    the party is E V E R Y W H E R E

    April 2, 2015

    What’s UC like? Is it a social college? Party much?

    ———————————————

    UC, Party college? Is it very social? Whitney vs. Sir Dans if I plan on rooming with my friend?

    ———————————————

    hey there,

    you know what, this is probably a sign that i am getting OLD AND GRUMPY, but i honestly have no more patience for this ‘party college’ nonsense. one year it’s st. mike’s, the next it’s UC. d’you want to hear a story? i was at the hospital the other night (don’t worry, aska’s fine – i just have an alternate life which requires me to go to the hospital a lot) and a guy came in who was a UofT engineering student. he was drunk as a fish and had just been badly bruised in a bar fight.*

    now, i’ve never heard of engineering as being a ‘party faculty.’ in fact, it kinda has a reputation as one of the most brutal programs at this school – and rightly so. yet that guy still somehow found the time to go to a bar, and unfortunately spent his night at a hospital.

    my point is: if you like to party, you will find a way to party. if you don’t, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to avoid it. it’s as simple as that.

    even if there ARE colleges that are more party-oriented than others (colleges where, say, the student union hosts club nights), you can avoid that scene if you want to. and if you go to a studious college but you’re a partier at heart, you’ll find a way to do it.

    which is good news! it means that there’s no need to worry about whether a college is or is not a ‘party college.’ the fact of the matter is, most 20-year-olds like to have a good time. you’re not going to get enrolled in a monastery by accident.benedictine monk

    Example of where you won’t end up

    now that that’s out of the way and i have been officially outed as an OLD GRUMP, let’s get on with residence talk.

    as for whitney vs. sir dan’s, the latter is primarily single rooms, so whitney hall might be the better bet if you want to room with your friend. however, both buildings are right next to each other and pretty similar in terms of layout and services.

    i’d also recommend you go on a tour of the residence if you can, since people usually find that super helpful.

    best of luck with it all, and hope to see you around in the fall!

    aska

    * he was ok in the end, don’t worry.

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  • residence

    idek what a floor crawl is

    March 12, 2015

    hi! I got accepted to UC for this coming fall.. and I think I’m strongly considering going to U of T. I know this is super typical of an incoming college freshman to ask but I was just wondering how normal “floor crawls” are and like smoking within a dorm is. I’m really attracted to U of T’s reputable academics but I also just want to make sure that I’ll also get that fun & free college experience. Thanks in advance! xx

    ???????????????

    hey ?there,

    so, you wanna party, huh? you wanna get a little crazy after moving out of your parents’ house? live the high life? figuratively and literally? well, why don’t we have a little chat about residence. residence is great, but it’s even better when you know what you’re getting yourself into, so i’m gonna be straight with you about this.

    there are very, very few people who don’t enjoy residence (this is based on the Very Reliable Document called: “Things Aska has Observed in Life and Never took Accurate Recordings of”). but seriously: i really do think most people like?it.

    i lived in res in my first year, and despite being one of the shyest, most introverted people you’ll ever meet, i had a blast. there are endless people to meet and events?to attend in res, and you’ll likely make some lifelong friends while you’re there.

    however, living in res?is NOT like living in a frat house. residence is run by residence life staff, who are adults hired by the university to make sure everyone on res is safe and not doing anything too dumb at any given time.

    the residence life staff member who will be most immediate to your day to day life will be your don. a?don is an upper-year undergraduate or graduate student. they are in charge of building community on your floor, they’re there as a shoulder to cry on, and they’ll be there for you through all the new experiences of first year.

    but they will also – make no mistake – bust you for smoking/drinking/breaking residence rules before you can?scream “SHOTS!”?i don’t know how much that will help you in deciding between uoft and another university, since most canadian universities have dons, but still: it’s best to go into these things with your eyes wide open.

    yes, drinking and smoking and drugs still happen on residence. no rules are 100% effective, anywhere. but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t rules, and it doesn’t mean the rules aren’t enforced.

    so if you want to do some partying once in a while, try to do it safely, and try to do it off res -?trust me, you’ll be doing yourself a favour.

    other than that, congrats on getting into uoft and UC, and maybe i’ll see you on move-in day!*

    best,

    aska

    * jokes i’ll probably be sleeping in.

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