choosing,  colleges

innis vs. trinity vs. vic

Hello,

I am a prospective student, currently trying to figure out which college I want to be in. I plan to study English and Political Science, moving in the direction of International Affairs. I have highish marks, and I am mainly considering Innis, Trinity, and Victoria. I’ve done a fair amount of research, and have taken the college tours, but any more insight is definitely appreciated.

Basic opinion of colleges…
Innis seems like a really cool place, and I like that the residence is newer. The smaller community and character is something that attracts me a lot, although I think I might get tired of Innis people after a while – in my experience, they’re all really upbeat and artsy and like overly “we’re so fun in a nerdy way.” I like that kind of atmosphere, but I think it might get annoying after a while.

Trinity is kind of the opposite, as they seem to have a reputation for being more reserved and snobby. This sense of prestige is kind of what I like thought about the college – I think that compared to Innis, there’s a lot more history, elegance, luxury, and whatever. A little bit of elitism doesn’t bother me for such a rich experience – I like that Trinity looks like a prep school. Another note – I’m a little bit of a clean freak, and the Trinity bathroom situation in residence disturbs me. What I saw was pretty gross. Is this something I should expect and just stop being a wimp about throughout all colleges?

Victoria seemed nice to me, as it sort of combines different aspects about Trinity and Innis. But I felt when touring it as if it was too big, and it didn’t really have a lot of personality to it.

So yeah, any insight about those three colleges, and their reputations. Anything helps. I’m talking observations about everything. Dorm sizes… amount of partying… academics focuses… reputation… bathroom cleanliness and privacy.. attractiveness of students…. parties.. resources… everything!

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Hey there!

Alas, we find ourselves at the classic question of the colleges  granted, I’m quite happy that you’ve narrowed yourself down to three colleges. That makes things a lot easier for me.

Since you’re asking about dorm sizes and bathroom cleanliness and privacy, I’m going to assume that you intend to live at U of T for at least your first year, so I recommend strongly considering the kind of residence you’d like to live in. Trinity and Victoria both offer classic dorm-style residences, whereas Innis is favored for its apartment-style residences, but these colleges will only consider you if you rank them as number one.

While you may dread the small sizes of colleges like Innis and Trinity and worse, the possibility of seeing the same people over and over again, you fail to see the utter vastness that is the University of Toronto. U of T is huge and has so many people that if you think some guy at Sid Smith is particularly cute, you better get his number then and there because you may very well never see him again. You might go to the same college as someone, but that doesn’t mean you’ll always see each other. You’re more likely to see the people from your classes over and over again than the ones from your college (unless, of course, they’re in your class). If you’re from Trinity, you are more than welcome to study at E.J. Pratt and then get a deliciously large bagel from Wymilwood Caf at Vic. Your college doesn’t bind you to any particular building or group of friends, so don’t feel like you’re selling your soul here.

But here’s a little rundown:

Innis College: They have the greatest kabobs in the entire universe at the Innis Caf, they’re very community-focused, and there are these super quiet carrels on the third floor. But the residence has no meal-plan, and in the college, the electronically-locked bathroom doors make you fear being walked in on.

Trinity College: The Buttery with its super soft couches and lovely looking fireplace is a cozy place to have lunch and study a bit. Plus, the castle-like building makes you look fancy while the name of the college makes you sound fancy. But then you have the creepy basement bathrooms, the creepy main floor bathrooms, and the creepy upstairs bathrooms so.

Victoria College: Also quite fancy-looking but it has the Wymidwood Caf, another great place to study and with some of my favorite food on campus. However, it has possibly one of the most rickety-sounding elevators on campus (but not THE most).

They’re all alike in that their student societies aim to include everyone, their registrars are super helpful, and the writing centers are just as effective. But if you’re still concerned about the pros and cons of each college, take a look at this lovely post. There are parties all over the place and the hotties are distributed throughout, so don’t feel like you need to hold these factors in such high precedence while deciding.

best,

aska

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