hi there! i’m a high school junior and planning ahead for university is really important, and so i’ve decided that i want to go to UofT for my masters for speech pathology. i’m not sure how much you know about the program, but i was just wondering about living on campus. would it be most expensive than buying an apartment? i live 5 hours from toronto so i’d have to move there obviously, and i know the traffic is crazy, so should i opt for on campus living?
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hey hey,
i really don’t know much about speech pathology, but i do know some things about housing at u of t and in toronto, which i’m happy to let you know about.
so if you want to go to u of t for your master’s rather than your undergrad, the residence you’d be eligible for would probably be graduate house. the only thing that i’ve heard about grad house is that it can be really, really difficult to get a spot at, probably because there are a ton of students applying? you can check out the fees for the different types of rooms here.
there are two things i’ll note about grad house: first, the fees will change by the time you’re in grad school. second, i took a look at the fees they’re currently charging, and they do seem to be lower than undergrad res fees, but higher than what most of my friends who live off campus pay.
in your message, you asked about buying an apartment. just in case that’s not a mistake, i guess i’ll address it. living in res will never be more expensive than buying an apartment, but it will almost always be more expensive than renting. basically no one i know owns an apartment in downtown toronto lol.
here are the five reasons (that i can think of) that might make choosing residence a good option for you:
- it may be a little easier for you to find a sense of community. student residences usually come with some kind of programming, plus you’ll be living alongside other students who will probably be friendlier than your average toronto neighbour. i met some of my favourite people at u of t on res, although that was undergrad res. this is what grad house says about its programming.
- living on res will mean that you spend less time commuting, and grad students are really busy, so that time will be valuable.
- you won’t need to worry as much about things like maintenance, because whoever runs your building will have a system for taking care of that
- you don’t have to deal with the rental housing market, which in my experience has led to unstable housing, crappy (and v creepy) landlords, and even a renoviction.
- you will almost certainly have laundry on site, which isn’t always guaranteed if you rent off campus.
obviously, res is a great option. but i, as well as most of my friends, have needed to prioritize saving money and having more autonomy over the perks of residence. here’s what i think is great about off-campus housing:
- rent is often cheaper. i know people currently renting single rooms in shared houses for as low as $570 to $700 (they live in the chinatown area, and were willing to hunt around for a good price). i’d say the average monthly rent among the people i know is around $850, which (for a single room) is definitely cheaper than living on res.
- you have more options in terms of what you want your living space to look like. there are some truly beautiful shared houses in the annex that i’ve seen on facebook. during my second year i rented a room with a bay window, although i shouldn’t say in which neighbourhood. if you want a room with a view, you can look at the bay street condos. apartment hunting can be really exciting!
- you get a say in the area in which you live. the immediate campus area is great, but i find that the grocery stores are a bit overpriced and most of my favourite things in the city are at least half an hour’s walk away. if you’d like to live in an exciting or interesting neighbourhood, for example kensington market, living off campus gives you the freedom to do that.
- you have the option of moving in with your friends/other people you trust, which you often aren’t guaranteed when you live on res. on the flip side, if you don’t have anyone to move in with, you may end up living with random people, which can be either super great or super terrible.
- there are fewer rules regarding what you do with your space. when i was in res, pets weren’t allowed, and parties with alcohol needed to be pre-approved. there’s definitely more freedom off-campus, if that’s something that’s important to you.
anyway, if you do decide to look for off-campus housing, i wrote up a post a while ago that might be helpful. you can check it out here. if you’re primarily concerned about cost and don’t give a crap about all the other opinions i threw at you, off-campus housing would be the way to go.
i hope this helped! best of luck finishing your high school journey.
be Boundless,
aska