the cliques, the rich kids, the crappy lecturers… UofT has it all

Hi, I’m really nervous about university, like anyone else I know. I just wanted to know is it as bad any some of the reviews I have been reading online say? People say it is hard to make friends, its very competitive, there are cliques based on race and money, the teachers are super slack and only care about money for researching. Also that there is no school spirit. So I was wondering if you could tell me based on the social environment and academic life, how do you feel? Do you regret going to U of T, if you had the chance would you go somewhere else? Much thanks

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Your questions are difficult ones to answer, but I know how you feel. I remember being in high school and thinking the exact same things.

Still, I advise you to stop reading reviews about UofT onlin. I’m sure that 90% of the people who are trashing UofT online have never been even been here. I remember going online and reading forum posts about what people thought about UofT too, back in my high school days. Honestly, though? It just made me more insecure about my University choice. Looking back now, I wish I just shut out what other people said, because it doesn’t matter what they say. In the end, it’s about you and what you get out of your own University experience.

I’ll go over your points one by one. 😀

1) It’s hard to make friends. I think it’s generally harder to make friends in University than in high school. I mean, you’re probably not going to have classes with the same bunch of people over and over again you won’t even know all of the names of the people in your class. Perhaps it is true that it is even more difficult to make friends at UofT, though, because the campus is so huge. Maaaaaaaaaaaaybe. But I do know that I enjoy University a lot more than high school: the people here are more open and accepting, and I don’t feel pressured to always hang out with a specific group of people anymore. I have the freedom to hang out with the people who I admire and who share the same values as me, so even though I might have fewer friends than I did in high school, I feel that the friends I’ve made here are more sincere and more relevant to my life than ever.

Besides, I think that there are definitely things you can do to reach out to other people at UofT if you are having trouble meeting friends in class. For example, you could take up a work-study job. Or you could join some extra-curricular activities?maybe you’ll find people that share the same interests and passions as you there.

2) It’s very competitive, there are cliques based on race and money. I’m not sure how true these statements are. I think it depends on your program. In my own program (physics), there haven’t been too many cliques or competitive people in my classes. There are some annoying people here and there, but you just have to ignore them and not let them get to you. That said, there are competitive people and cliques everywhere and you will probably find them in any University you go to.

3) The teachers are super slack and only care about money for researching. I don’t really think this is totally true either. After all, most (if not all) the professors here were undergraduate students once, so at least some of them would be sympathetic about the needs of undergraduate students, right? Even though their funds might be somewhat tight, I’ve had some really good profs that make it a daily goal to enhance student experience and infuse students with enthusiasm and curiosity. Then again, I’ve had some pretty terrible lecturers too, but you can probably avoid them through smart scheduling and good use of the anti-calendar and let me stress that you will find bad profs at any University you go to.

4) There is no school spirit. Well, you may be right about this one. There isn’t a huge sense of unity on campus, because there’s just so many people here. However, there are literally hundreds of active clubs on campus (from college councils to social groups to chess clubs), and I’m sure you can find a spirited group that fits you. Have you taken a tour of the campus, by the way? That might help you decide whether or not UofT has the kind of environment that you wanted. (Duh.)

I definitely do not regret going to UofT. I’ve found a lot of great opportunities here for one, I got to be askastudent. Plus, no other University in Canada has such a diverse range of programs and courses. I do feel disconnected from the other people on campus sometimes, but at the same time I’ve made one or two lifelong friends here too. I can honestly tell you right now that I cannot see myself having gone anywhere else for my undergraduate degree.

Of course, I’m not you. What I feel may not be how you’ll feel. But remember that no program or school is guaranteed to make you successful and nothing external can make you happy. Happiness lies in your perspective, hard work, and ability to deal with life. So while it’s good that you’re asking these questions, you can’t truly know how it feels like to be a UofT student until you’re actually here. But just remember that you’re not locked in to UofT: you can always transfer to another University (I actually transferred to UofT’s Faculty of Arts and Science after a not-so-great year at Engineering).

Jeez. I sound like I’m writing for some crappy-ass self-help book. I should really stop being so nice to incoming students. But I’m just sooooo kind and pure-hearted. 🙂