• colleges

    Innis: small and mighty

    January 10, 2011

    Dear Aska,

    My name is Carlo Falcon and I am currently a senior at International School of Bangkok, Thailand. I have taken an interest in Innis College mainly because of its modern apartment style living, but am still not sure if its the right residence for me. Some of the things that are important for me in choosing a residence are; a solid tutorial service (especially in math as I am a commerce student), a library near by, and hopefully a gym close by as well. I don’t plan on getting a meal plan so that should not be a problem, but it would be great if there were eating places near by. Do you think that Innis College is still the right place for me? Or would you advise another residence?

    Any help is greatly appreciated!

    From,

    Carlo Falcon

    ———————————————

    Hey there Carlo Falcon (has anyone ever told you that you have a super hero name)

    It’s nice that you actually did some research before asking a question. Most colleges have the requirements that you are looking at.

    I can confirm that Innis:
    – has a free math tutoring service

    – apartment style living

    – is the closest residence to Robarts library (the main one on the St.George campus)

    -is about a 5 minute walk to both gyms on campus

    While all of these things aren’t specific to just Innis, it is one of the two that offer apartment style and do no have a meal plan. Woodsworth is the only other option for those specific qualities.

    You sound like a great fit for Innis and I’m not saying that with any bias <wink> <wink>

    Cheers,
    Aska

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  • colleges,  engineering

    Circle one T or F: Engineers smell

    December 28, 2010

    Dear Aska
    I am a high school senior from BC and I have decided to come to U of T for engineering. However, I do not fit the engineering stereotype. I’m clean, go out, and play competitive sports. I want university to be a fun experience even if I am pursuing a demanding degree. After reading college reviews, I’m intrigued by Trinity. The architechture and the atmosphere seem wonderful. I’m wondering if there is any hopes of me being accepted into the college. Will the fact that I plan on pursuing engineering jeopardize my chances? WIll I be forced into Tartu? I’m very worried about being stuck with unhygenic people for four years of my life.
    Andrea,

    ———————————————

    Heyo Danny Tanner …. I mean Andrea,

    Sure the engineers do occasionally like to paint themselves purple … which I admit doesn’t give them the greatest image. An outsider could let their minds run a little wild, but I wouldn’t say anyone considers them unhygienic.

    Actually … side bar ted
    5 Reasons for your skin to turn purple

    1) paint … dur

    2) eating too much gum when to oompa loompa’s told you not to

    3) falling into a vat of purple die

    4) getting punched just enough for it to be purple but not enough to get all gross with blood spots

    5) letting your cute little niece and nephew have those grape sharpies and not realizing that they can overpower you in numbers

    I hate to break it to you, but all of the colleges have stinky folk, lazy tards and anti-social people. Some of the funnest people are the ones who forget to shower every once and awhile (trust me, I know).

    Saying that, each college sets aside a certain amount of spots for engineers and Trin does seem like a fine choice for someone who describes yourself as “clean, go out, and play competitive sports”. They wear robes and are uptight (so probably clean) as a quite harsh, and possibly inaccurate description.
    Trin is was of the more selective colleges when it comes to their applicants, but it’s worth a shot. If you have to grades to get into engineering they are probably decently high enough

    Cheers and love,
    Aska

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  • colleges

    college question

    December 23, 2010

    Hi!

    I’m still perplexed about the colleges. I spent some time reading over some of the articles on your site.
    In your opinion, which college should a person with an average of 88-89% apply to?
    Is it likely that I will be able to get into the more competitive ones?

    Hope to hear from you soon!

    Cheers,

    Joanne

    ———————————————

    yo yo yo jo jo joanne,

    Here’s the lame thing about U of T, they don’t like to post things like the acceptance averages for each college.

    PERSONALLY, I think it’s their fear of being wrong when the data isn’t correct for the following year. Their claim is that they can’t predict what the incoming competition will be. Actually that totally makes sense.

    All in all, I can’t tell you specifically which one you will be admitted to.

    There’s really no wrong choice when it comes to the colleges, they don’t dictate your academics. Check out this previous post with information on all of the colleges.

    My advice is to not worry about the prestige (cough Trinity) and find something that appeals to your interests.

    I know, I know you want to slap me across the face with a leather glove for not telling you which one you can get into. I would say your average is pretty decent to get into most. Trin and Vic, might be harder, but it really depends on your competition.

    Love with all my heart,
    Aska

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  • colleges

    You are the college of my dreams, baaaby

    November 26, 2010

    Hello!
    So, the time has come to apply to universities in my senior year and as if applying to schools and finding a program suitable for myself, I need to rank colleges to live at if I do get accepted to UofT. I’m incredibly stuck on which one would be right for me and what they all have to offer. I realize they all have websites, but nothing that really made me make up my mind about a certain college. (Lack of pictures of the res..I’m a visual type of decision maker, I suppose) Can you give me brief descriptions of what each college is like? I plan to eventually visit a few, but is there any way you can make my decision a little less harder with some background information and what the res life is like in each of them?
    Thanks!
    Indecisive

    ———————————————

    Why hello there Little Miss Indecisive,

    Quick side bar, kind of, as I haven’t said anything yet. When searching for ‘Little Miss Indecisive’ as in the Little Miss and Mr Men books.
    These are 5 of the results that showed:
    1) Different Coloured Girls – power ranger wanna be in my opinion

    2) Stuffed Peppers – who knows

    3) Sawyer from Lost – Hunka Hunka, well if you’re into that thing

    4) Sprinkle Cookies – I’m sensing a food theme

    5) Miley Cyrus – no list would be complete without Miley Cyrus – i would also like to point out the two young girls stalking in the background.

    Google has officially let me down, for the first time ever … i think we may need to get a divorce .. ok maybe just a separation. Let’s not be too extreme.

    Anywho, lucky lucky you. This question has been asked before and thoroughly answered by yours truly:
    CHECK IT YO

    I know this seems like a life or death question but you really can’t make a bad decision. You probably can make a good one though.

    Sorry for the rant-like response – someone didn’t quite get their coffee this morning

    Tender Love,

    Aska

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  • colleges,  residence,  St. George,  UTSC

    The Time Has Come – Domination of The Colleges

    October 6, 2010

    Hello, I have a question; I was just wondering how many colleges does the St. George campus consist of and what are their names?

    ———————————————

    Dear either Eager Grade 12 Student, or Little Late First Year Student

    The time has come for these colleges to finally be explained, and have you hit the motherload because I’m about to blow your mind (figuratively … and potentially literally) with a vast amount of infomation.

    To answer this question straight up: there are 7 Colleges:

    Innis College, New College, St. Micheal’s, Trinity, University, Victoria, Woodsworth.

    Now if you want to know about each one, take a virtual tour, find the inside so you look cool when you call them by their shortforms … please … read on young vulnerable students.

    Facts:
    – Every Arts and Science student is apart of a College, whether you live in residence or live off campus

    – The colleges DO NOT affect you academically; no matter what college? your associated with you can take any of the Arts and Science classes offered.

    – NO there is not one specific college with really hot guys/gals

    – YES there are duds, stinky folk, and hermits at all colleges

    Let’s rank these bad boys:

    There’s ton of things to consider when applying, your interests, size of college, which one had the best funnels and most promiscuous members. Check out the ranking site (yah U of T has thought of everything) and see all the specifics you should consider.

    Keep in mind: the smallest Colleges will only consider you if they rank them number one (snots); so Innis, Trinity and Victoria College

    Trinity and Victoria Colleges also make their decision based on appliciant profiles.

    Academic cut-offs also change from year to year based on size and range of demand

    If wanting to live in Woodsworth Residence, it must be ranked number one

    The Ominous Colleges:

    Innis (Innis College)

    Perk: One of the smaller colleges; meaning smaller lines for OSAP (trust me … no one wants to wait two hours to pick it up, two hours to get it processed at the post office and another 7-14 days to get in your bank account … starving students need their money stat).

    Innis Website

    Virtual Tour

    New (New College)

    Perk: uuuh it’s relatively new, well in relation to the rest of the school, so theres lots of cement in the resedences … is that a perk, i dunno.

    New Website

    Virtual Tour

    St. Mikes (St. Micheal’s College)

    Perk: If your Catholic, this residence will make your parents happy, while still allowing you to have fun. If your not Catholic and just like stained glass, they welcome people from all religious (or non-religious) backgrounds.

    Mike’s Website

    Virtual Tour

    Trin (Trinity College)

    Perk: You get to live out your dream of being Ron Weasley. The residence looks like a scene from the Great Hall, AND you wear robes to your meals (seriously, I’m not messing with you). Trin is one of the smallest and hardest to get into, so for those who want to look fancy you can try for this one.

    Trin Website

    Virtual Tour

    UC (University College)

    Perk: Looking like a castle, but one of the larger college (so less intense to get into); residences are right on St. George; solid social life.

    UC Website

    Virtual Tour

    Vic (Victoria University)

    Perk: Margaret Atwood, and Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson (who the hell is that?) are both were from Vic. They have my personal fav library E.J Pratt Library (screw the harsh cold nature of Robarts, except the 9th and 12th floors).

    Vic Website

    Virtual Tour

    Woodsworth (yaah, they’re still just Woodsworth … or we can try to start Woody as their nickname)

    Perk: New residence on the corner of Bloor and St.George, modern furniture and plenty of windows (its pretty much a glass building… isn’t there a saying about living in a glass house, maybe its different for apartments)

    Woody Website

    Virtual Tour

    Don’t say I never supply you with links

    Phew.

    Love your dearest companion,
    Aska

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  • choosing,  colleges,  courses,  first year

    interesting ways to fill the breadth requirements

    July 13, 2010

    Hello,
    I was wondering what some interesting breadth 2 courses are? I am picking my
    courses and I wanted to take something fun.

    Thanks.
    Vish

    ———————————————

    Look no further than the list of First Year Seminars offered this year, guaranteed to fit your breadth requirements, with topics ranging from vampires to Chinese gastronomy. (Though truthfully, those classes probably have more in common than you think.)

    These courses go towards your degree, but not a subject PoST, and are labelled in accordance with filling those damned breadth requirements. However, you can only be in your first year of study to take them.

    For first years, revel in the awesomeness of courses like…

    Raiders, Traders, and Invaders: the Vikings and Their Descendents

    Using Computers to Fight Climate Change

    How We Use Time in Everyday Life

    Dude!

    If you are not in first year, you’ll have to slog through other courses like everybody else. Look at the smaller programs in the colleges, New College, Trinity, Innis, Victoria and Innis (for instance), all of interesting and intriguing ways to fulfill your breadth requirements. But remember, only first and second year courses right now go towards your breadth requirements – you’ll have to contact the program office or registrar to see if higher level courses could work.

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • colleges,  innis,  residence

    i’mmmmm moving out!

    July 7, 2010

    As the procrastinator I am, only researched about UofT’s residence buildings this week.
    (I’m already accepted to Innis, but I’m having major doubts now).
    I hear Innis is a really quiet, studious, and self-contained residency, and that is
    definitely not what I’m looking for. I picked it because I assumed that the majority of
    my peers would be taking courses at Innis College, ie Cinema and Rhetoric, thus having
    similar interests.

    Basically, could I have a breakdown of what type of people are at and what the atmosphere
    is of New College, Vic, and Woodsworth, along with Innis, incase what I’ve heard is
    false? I’d like to be in a social atmosphere with other kids who are in the Arts, and
    it’s probably too late to do a switcheroo since the 28th is in a week, but it’s worth a
    shot!

    Also, if I change residency from Innis, does that mean I can no longer take courses at
    Innis College?

    Merci beaucoup!

    ———————————————

    Hi there! I am here to crush your possible dreams.

    I called the Innis Residence coordinator to discuss switching residences. As a student of Innis College, you have to stay at Innis Residence. You can however, take whatever courses you please. The program you’re in and the college (and residence) you’re affiliated with have nothing to do with it. Colleges are for administrative purposes only. More of a way of organizing you, than restricting you from courses of study.

    The only time colleges however matter is when it comes to residences. If you were to pull out of Innis now, you would have to eat the $600 deposit charge. The only other residence that would be available to you is 89 Chestnut.

    Plus I can totally vouch for Innis Residence! As a former Cinema Studies student, I went into Innis Res not knowing what to expect and found a highly social atmosphere. Residences are a crapshoot when it comes to who your roommates are and who you’ll meet, but Innis is a big and artsy residence. I think you’ll find some like-minded souls.

    Also keep in mind that: Most of your best friends in university won’t come from residence (despite what you might think the first few weeks of school), anyway. They’ll come from meeting people in the same classes as you, and from getting involved (U of T has about a bazillion clubs and societies). Innis Residence has its good and great points, too – you won’t have to share a sketchy shower down the hall, survive on a gross meal plan or have to sleep in the same room as your roommate.

    To get more acclimatized, the residence offers tours and meet and greets during the day. Contact them here.

    xoxo, Askastudent

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  • colleges

    hurrah! a college question that isn’t “what college should I choose?”

    April 6, 2010

    Hey i was wondering if you could help me out,

    I am really confused about this college stuff. I mean i have applied to u of t and then of course a college. Now what i don’t understand is what it means to be a member of this college. For example, does it mean that each college teaches its own chemsitry course for example and you can only attend the chemistry course at that campus, or is it that you have access to their campuses computers and other facilities only.

    Thanks for your time.

    ————————————————————————

    Your confusion is understandable. Let’s see if I can help.

    Every student who is part of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at UofT belongs to one of seven colleges. There are a few main reasons for this.

    The first is to build a sense of community. There are more than 20000 students enrolled in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, so separating the students into smaller groups helps foster a better sense of “home on campus”.

    The colleges also exist to provide you with quicker and more effective counseling. Your college registrar will probably be your first stop for any questions that you may have about UofT. If you’re thinking about changing majors, dropping a course, or petitioning an exam, your college registrar will help you. If you’re a first year student who doesn’t understand how to enroll in your courses, your college registrar will help you. If you just want some advice, your college registrar will help you. Each college has their own registrar – which means that staff members get to know their students better and help them make the best out of their University life. Each college also has their own writing centres, libraries, student societies, newspaper groups, and so on.

    Lastly, each college offers their own set of interdisciplinary programs. For instance, Innis College offers Urban Studies, Writing and Rhetoric, and Cinema Studies. University College offers Sexual Diversity Studies, Drama, and Health Studies. Woodsworth College offers Criminology… etc. However, enrollment in these programs is not restricted to students in any particular college. For example, you could be a New College student and you could still be part of the Cinema Studies program through Innis College. Most of the traditional programs (examples: anthropology, English, physics, sociology) are NOT offered through colleges, but through specific departments. For example, the chemistry program is offered by the Department of Chemistry, and the Department of Chemistry teaches their own courses. Students in any college can take chemistry courses, and there is no “specific” chemistry course for students in any college.

    I hope this clears things up. Feel free to ask me more if there’s something about the colleges you still want to know. If you need some advice on choosing colleges, I once again recommend Cynthia’s College Series on UpbeaT.

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  • colleges,  new college,  university-college

    follow your heart, not your nose

    March 11, 2010

    Hey aska,
    I applied to UTSG for life sciences but I’m having a really tough time deciding on whether I want to attend New College or University College. I’ve been looking online (for example at the official websites) but I can’t seem to find a whole lot of information on New or UC (although there seems to be no lack of it for Trin and Vic) from a students perspective or information that hasn’t been polished to attract students. So I was wondering, which college would be closer to most of my classes? What’s the general atmosphere like at each? What’s the social scene like at each? Any other pros or cons you know about these two colleges (for example I read new college is pretty anti social and smells odd…)?

    Thanks.

    —————————————————–

    First things first: stop it with the stereotypes. I’ve said this many times before in the past, and I’m going to say it again. There are anti-social and stinky people in every college (and yes, that includes you, Trinity. Those robes don’t magically prevent you from getting stinky, even if you think they do). And I don’t think it’s fair to the 4000 people going to New College that you automatically stereotype them as being anti-social based on what sounds like a random forum post by someone who likely never even went to New College.

    I really don’t know which college will be closer to your classes, because 1) I don’t know what classes you’re taking, and 2) even if I did, the locations of classes change each year, so it’s really hard to say. Still, UC and New College are both located in the middle of campus, so both are pretty convenient places to be. They’re both close to places like the athletic centre and Sidney Smith (the Arts and Science building you’ll probably have a few classes there). If you’re a commuter, New College is close to the Spadina streetcar, but it’s not like UC is that far away from it, either.

    New College is a diverse bunch. They are the host of the Equity studies program, so diversity is something they really push for and some students really appreciate. Though UC isn’t too different. From what I gather, they are pretty open-minded group.

    As for other advantages? if you’re living at residence, you might want to consider how pretty the buildings are. If you’re living in Toronto, take a tour of the colleges, if you can. Of course, the University College building is infamous, and is what a lot of people think of when they think of UofT. (Though one of my high school friends once said it looked like a haunted house. *shrug*)

    Finally, from what I’ve collected from being at UofT for several years, a lot of people seem to like UC I’ve even heard people saying that they wished they’d gone there. I don’t know how much you should let that affect your decision, but there it is. Still, I have a friend who’s an international student going to New College, and she’s still having a great time. She says that New College’s meal plan is probably the best on campus — and I’d be inclined to agree, because I’ve eaten at Victoria, UC, and New and I liked New College’s food the best. Of course, if you’re not living on residence, that’s not really an important issue.

    Another thing to keep in mind is that your decision is not final. If you find that you don’t like your college, you can always apply for a switch at the end of first year. Also, you might want to take a look at these posts by the amazingly-awesome Cynthia of UpbeaT. She’s interviewed the student life director so they’re not exactly the unpolished opinions you requested, but they do nevertheless give you a good overall impression of the two colleges.

    Anyway, I know I probably have not swayed you too much in either direction, but my advice to you is just pick one and go with it. A lot of people find that at the end, their college choice is only a small part of their overall experience at UofT. You will meet people in other ways – such as joining extra-curricular activities, volunteering, or through your classes – especially if you’re in a small program. At the end though, I think one of the most important things you get from your University experience is that you will meet people from extremely different backgrounds. And I think that will happen no matter what college you pick. I know this totally doesn’t help you pick your college, but I think one day you’ll look back at my post and think WOW! Aska was right!

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  • colleges,  trinity college

    are you being serious, or are you a philosophy major making fun of me?

    January 25, 2010

    Okay, so I read through http://www.utoronto.ca/askastudent/aska2_colleges.htm and I still have a question. You said that Trinity is not for everyone, what do you really mean by that??

    ——————————–

    You know, I was really tempted to reply, “I dunno dear, why don’t you tell me what does your question REALLY mean?” But then I considered the possibility that you might actually be — Heaven forbid — serious. So I guess I have to answer your question.

    The post you linked was actually written by one of aska’s great-great-ancestors, but I can take a guess at what he or she meant when they said that Trinity college is not for everyone.

    Trinity is not for everyone, just like Innis, St. Mike’s, or New College are not for everyone. The fact is, there is no college that is a perfect fit for everyone. With any college, there may be some factors (for example, the social atmosphere or the location or the architecture) that cause incoming students to feel uncomfortable and out-of-place in their own college. For Trinity, some issues that could bug incoming students might be the “elitism” (whether imagined or real), the traditions held there, or small even things like the size of the college or the fact that their friends went to other colleges.

    The only way to really know if a college is ‘for you’ or not is to 1) visit the college and talk to the students there and see if you like the atmosphere, and then 2) actually make the decision to go there. I was just as confused as you when I made my decision; I decided to come to Innis – and it’s not always a perfect fit for me, but I’m enjoying my time here nonetheless. Should you discover that the college you initially chose isn’t the one that fits you, dear reader, you can always, always try to transfer colleges in second year. Got it? Good.

    For more info on picking colleges (and more specifically, Trinity), consult one of my more recent posts.

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  • colleges

    wait??why DO men have nipples?

    January 3, 2010

    Hi,

    I really appreciate your site, because I’ve looked at and compared so many
    university websites in the past few months, but a student perspective is
    usually better.
    Anyways, my question is about the “college system” at utoronto. Are the
    students at each residence significantly different? Like, I read somewhere
    that “mostly mature & commerce students go to Woodsworth”. I liked the
    Woodsworth residence the best but if certain people go to certain colleges,
    I should probably think more about my choice because I’d like the most
    varied student body preferrably.

    Also, I was wondering if the “Ethics, Society & Law” program is
    christian-biased because its funded by or housed at Trinity. There seem to
    be a lot of courses within it that are Christian based and less on world
    religions.

    Thanks for all your help!

    ——————————————————————-

    Thanks for your comment. It?s nice to be appreciated for a change. Usually people just send me their high school marks and ask me ?CAN I GET IN 2 UOFT W/ MY MARKZ PLZ K THX?.

    Okay. There?ve been way too many questions about the college system lately. What?s this about Woodsworth having only mature/commerce students? Where are you reading these comments? You know, people can go on and on about how Trinity students are snobs, St. Mike?s students are partiers, and Vic students are super-liberal-people-who-only-care-about-the-arts??but they are simply just stereotypes (you know, kinda like ?teenagers are rebellious?). I advise you to stop googling, because all you?ll get are more and more rumours and useless information about why men have nipples or why your poop is green. People love to make blanket statements. You?ll have to realize that most of them aren?t true. For instance, I have a few friends from Woodsworth. One is in Ethics. Another one?s in commerce and physics. I have a friend from Vic (which is commonly known as the artsy college) who?s in Life Sciences. And I?ve known people in Innis (not Woodsworth) who are in commerce.

    It?s true that Woodsworth is home to the Academic Bridging program (which is aimed at mature students) and that the Rotman facilities are based in the Woodsworth buildings?which is why many commerce students pick Woodsworth?but it?s not like the only people you?ll meet in your college are going to be commerce kids. UofT has a pretty diverse student body in general, and I?ve met some people with crazy major combinations. Also, keep in mind that many of the friends you?ll make might not even be affiliated with your college at all. You?ll probably make more friends with people in your program or who participate in the same extra-curricular activities.

    My advice to you is to go out and visit the other colleges and perhaps meet some of the upper-year students.

    As for the Ethics program, it isn?t affiliated with any religion. Trinity itself is historically an Anglican college. However, there is no rule that you have to be Anglican or even religious to get into Trinity or one of its programs. I?m looking at the course sequence for the Ethics program, but I don?t see any Christian-based courses! In fact, I see only one religion-related course, RLG309Y1 (Religion, Morality, and Law). The course doesn?t seem to be biased towards any particular religion. If you?re interested in word religions, take a look at the courseslisted under the religion department. There?s courses on Hinduism, Judaism, Islam? the list goes on!

    Hope this helps. Feel free to ask me more if I?ve been unclear (*grumble*).

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  • choosing,  colleges,  innis,  trinity college

    sorry, the grand scheme doesn’t include college preferences

    March 20, 2009



    My preference for colleges at U of T was as follows.
    1. Innis
    2. Trinity
    3. Victoria
    4. University/New
    5. etc.

    But I knew that if Trinity wasn’t listed as my number 1 they wouldn’t accept me. So I, thinking myself a clever young lad, decided to apply to Trinity as my number 1, with Innis as my number 2. I figured if I got into Trinity, but didn’t want to go there, I could still go into Innis.

    Now I’m hearing that Innis also requires being number 1. If I’m accepted into Trinity, do you think it’ll be possible to transfer from it to Innis?

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  • admissions,  colleges,  international relations,  trinity college

    this is getting a little awkward…

    December 19, 2008

    So I’m a grade 12 student from Atlantic Canada who will be applying to U of T St George in the next week or so.? I’ve ranked Trinity College as my #1 choice on the OUAC application form, but I’m feeling a little bit nervous about my chances of being accepted here, seeing as its standards are higher than other colleges on the campus.? I’ve chosen Trinity because of its affiliation with the IR program, which is what I plan to study.
    On my latest report I’ve had the following marks:
    English- 92
    French- 88
    Theater Arts- 91
    World Issues- 93
    Trig (12 math)- 65

    I’m obviously not a math or science person.? My grade 11 marks reflect that, with an 11 physics mark of 61, part B of 11 math 68, and an 11 chem mark of 70.? The rest of my marks are in the 80’s and 90’s.
    At the other universities I am applying to, there is almost always a place on the application where you can include past achievements and participation in any activities, and I’ve noticed that there is nothing like this on the OUAC apps, which was something I was really counting on.? So I’m just kind of nervous about applying whenever so much is dependent on my marks.
    Do I have a reason to be so nervous?? It took me a really long time to convince my parents to let me apply to UofT and one thing we could really agree on was Trinity, so I’m really really hoping to be accepted here.? How do you think my chances are, considering?
    Thanks in advance, and sorry for the novel.? 🙂

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