Ontario Universities

r/OntarioUniversities43.8K subscribers14 active
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a UniversityAdvice

I decided to create this guide of things to consider when choosing your future university after a conversation I had with some friends about things we wish we would have known, so here it is. These are the 7 main categories I would consider when choosing a school. All factors are important and will contribute to your success and happiness over the next 4 years. Please note: this a BASELINE GUIDE and is not intended to replace you doing your own research. There are other factors that will be important to you, however I only included factors that EVERYONE should consider.

Program

  1. Reputation- Once you decide what program you want to go into, it is important to do some research about the best schools for that field. Program reputation matters more for certain fields than it does for others. For example, if you're going to business school, you want to aim for a school with a good program, as this actually matters. However, if you're going to school for general science and plan to do med school after, program reputation matters much less. Overall, you should definitely consider how good the reputation is, but it is not always the most important thing. To find out which schools are best you can look at online rankings, talk to people who currently go to that school, talk with your teachers/guidance team, etc.
  2. Quality- Consider factors such as quality of professors and facilities. Consider if there is a co-op option (this is only important for some fields). Also consider research output if this is important to you. Lastly, look at the program structure and decide if you like the mandatory courses you need to take and if you like the electives that the school offers. (Thanks to the commenter who reminded me to add this section!)

University Campus

  1. Size- the size of the campus (and the number of students) can be important. Consider whether you want to be at a smaller school like Laurier or Brock, or maybe a larger school like Western or UofT. Size can impact whether the schools feels like a tight community or not. Some people will really care about this, others will not.
  2. Vibe- This is a terrible word but I couldn't think of anything better. Please go visit the campuses of schools you are interested in because this can make all the difference. You may find that you just "click" at a certain school, and you'll have a much better idea about if it's right for you! This is one of the main reasons I decided on my Uni.

Location

  1. City- the biggest consideration here is if you want to be in a small town, or a bigger city. This can really change your university experience. Would living in Toronto be right for you? Maybe you prefer Kingston? or London? Maybe Waterloo?
  2. Distance from home- this may not be a factor for you, and that's fine. I encourage you to think about how often you want to visit home. I live over 4 hours away from my school and I only go home at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and reading week. If you would prefer to visit home more often, consider going somewhere a bit closer, there is no shame in that. I think it’s a good idea to apply to 1 school that’s close to home, even if you think you want to be far, as this gives you the option to stay close if you change your mind by the time you have to make your decision.

Culture/ Social Life

Different schools have very different cultures and allow you to have a different school/ social life balance. Schools such as Queen's, Laurier, Western, and Guelph, will have a different culture than schools like UofT, Waterloo, and Mac. I strongly encourage you to talk to students who actually go to these schools to gain this kind of information, because not every stereotype is true.

Residence

Bottom line, most residences are not very nice. I wouldn’t make this a huge priority, but it can still be a small factor. The only thing I would consider is the fact that some schools do not offer apartment style residences (where you have a kitchen that’s only shared by 3-5 people). If you are really adamant on cooking your own food, this may be of importance to you.

Cost

This will be important to certain people, and less important to others. You can decide how much of a factor this is to you. Look at tuition costs of course and also the average cost of rent for housing after first year. I have friends that pay $500 per month and friends that pay $1200 per month depending on what city they live in. Don't forget to apply to any and all bursaries/ scholarships. Also, this ones for the current grade 11's, there are often admission scholarships where you can get anywhere from $1000-$10,000 (at some schools) based on solely your high school average, so aim high!

Something you should know:

Avoid listening to all the stereotypes that surround the various Canadian Universities. These are not always true. For example:

  • UofT has a rep of not having a great social life balance, however I know people who attend UofT and have a much more active party life than I do

  • Waterloo has a rep of causing students to have poor mental health, and this is just not true for the vast majority of students

  • Queen’s has a rep of being so white that people think its over 95% white students, when in reality its closer to 68% (based on a report done in 2018)

  • Brock has the “walk and talk” rep, however it excels in many areas and is a great option for many students

Moral of the story: schools are much more than the stereotypes that are placed on them.

Pinnedby redditgoer67
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The "I've Been Accepted/Did You Get an Offer?/Will I Get an Offer?/Admission Rounds" Megathread!Admissions

Welcome to the 2023-2024 megathread!

If you're looking for the old collections, check the top bar of the main page. We currently have threads for 2020-2021, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. Ctrl + F is your friend when trying to search through these threads.

Rule 11: Is now in full effect. Posts (not comments that are in this thread) that ask if xyz marks will get you into x program will be removed. So will posts that say you were accepted into xyz program. You're more than welcome to (and we appreciate it) report posts that break our rules.

If you have yet to receive an offer, don't stress! It's still very early.

Haven't applied? Apply as soon as you can! It doesn't hurt to apply early.

If you've been accepted to a program, please post the school's name, program name and your average. If you don't post your average, you're going to get lots of replies asking about your average. If you want to say congratulations, don't! Please upvote them instead. Replies will clog this thread up making it less useful for everyone.

If you're asking if anyone has received an offer to a program, ask away, after searching. Duplicate questions of this regard may be removed.

If you're asking if you will get an offer to a program, ask away, after searching.

If you're asking if anyone knows when the next admissions round for X program is, ask away, after searching. If you keep an eye on these threads, you should be able to get a good idea of when a round is taking place.

Pinnedby carter1516ModeratorToronto Metropolitan University
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Laurenrian BBA or Uottawa BcomAdvice

Wanted to compare them just on the basis of toughness and workload? Anyone that has experience of both?

Course Enrollment Challenges, OSAP Concerns, Seeking AdviceAdvice

Hi everyone,

So I’ve been having a tough time with the timetable builder. After reading through all the course module steps on July 2nd, I finally managed to understand how to create my timetable. However, when I tried to enroll in my 1st-year science major courses (Chemistry) yesterday evening (July 3rd- day when enrolment opened ), I found that all the spots were already taken, and only waitlists were available. Today, I checked again and saw that even the waitlists are full, with some courses completely blocked from enrollment. Some of the asynchronous online courses are also fully booked.

Now, the only courses I can still enroll in are a couple from my minor program, like Statistics 1 for my Psychology minor.

Also when I applied for OSAP last month, I indicated that all my classes would be in-person and none online. Now, with courses being online or asynchronous, I’m concerned this might affect my OSAP eligibility. Has anyone faced a similar situation with OSAP, and how did you resolve it?

I’m unsure about what to do next. Should I go ahead with what’s available in my minor program or consider taking a gap year and trying again next year? I’m feeling kind of hopeless.

Thanks in advance.

Western Governors UniversityDiscussion

Is a degree from there laughted at?

Social science gateway Mcmaster/YorkDiscussion

Please someone explain. How do I enter through the Social Science gateway. I've heard people say you can enter a 3 year bachelor program in second year.

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Appeal for utm cs worked, don't know whether to give up my AFM admission for itAdvice

So basically I appealed for utm cs back in May, since after calling admissions about why my 97% adm avg was rejected, they admitted that they probably didn't even look at my full G12 marks and looked at a retake i took in G11.

The problem is, I already enrolled into AFM (Accounting and Finance) at Waterloo, which has an almost guaranteed co-op with an incredibly easy workload compared to first-year maths, comp sci, and stats at UTM. It also has a very straightforward and quick path to 100k, and the field isn't exactly rife with geniuses the same way comp sci is, which is very competitive. I don't really know which one to pick now.

Pros of AFM: Easy, Great coop opportunities, Very defined path, I'm not the best at math (barely a 92 in AF and Calc), no POST system

Pros of UTM: Much closer to my house so no roommates, Computer Science is wayyyyyyy more interesting, my brother is enrolled in the program so I have someone I can study together with

Any suggestions? I used to be quite competitive in math contests but kinda stopped sweating so much in highschool, and I'm not sure whether I'll be able to keep up in UTM. CS jobs also do have a hell of a lot more of salary potential as well compared to accounting related jobs.

HELP ME🙏Advice

Ok so I am currently enrolled for engineering at yorku, I applied for comp sci, didn’t get in, so they gave me an alternative offer for eng which I took. I applied for western Eng and comp sci, got rejected from Eng and waitlisted from comp sci until this morning I got accepted. I prefer doing Eng as of now but wouldn’t mind doing comp sci at western since it’s higher rated. I have until July 11 to decide what do you guys think?

Is going into Psychology or Social Work worth it?Advice

hi! I’m currently a high school student and I’m coming here for advice because nobody is genuinely helping me. I want to know if going into Social Work or Psychology is worth the time of effort due to the long amount of schooling compared to the pay rates in Ontario? Or if there are any similar alternatives that pay as well, if so please give any advice you have.

Confused IB studentAdvice

I will be starting 10th grade after the summer, I wasn't sure where to post this, so sorry if it's the wrong place. I will start the IB program in 12th grade, and I am confused about full and partial IB. The thing is, I want to go into engineering, but my school does not offer IB physics. I'm taking grade 11 physics in grade 10; will that be enough? Or do I have to drop to partial to take SPH4U down the road? Or would it be okay if I just had grade 11 physics and took the full IB diploma?

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Summer School Options?Advice

Hello y'all, I'm a student who just finished my grade 12 year. I just got my report card, and I found out I got a 76 for my Calculus and Vectors mark.. But my conditional offer requires it to be an 80. Luckily, I emailed my university, and they said I'd be fine if I brought my mark up in summer school. Anyone know of any online summer schools that I could complete and get my final mark by August 15?

I'd prefer if the program was cheaper, but at this point, I'm willing to accept anything.

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Need some advice regarding TMU and transcript uploadsAdmissions

Hey all,

I got a conditional offer for BM and the only condition is (as shown on my letter of admission); "You successfully complete your current studies at York University with clear academic standing and submit and official transcript including all final grades." My question is how do I submit my final official transcript? Do I do it through OUAC 105 (as in buy the transcript again and have OUAC send it for me), or can I send it using MyCreds to the email listed on the “Official Transcript Submission” website? If anyone has been in a similar situation I'd greatly appreciate some advice.

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My fellow old people, how do you all deal with the zoomers on campus?Discussion

I'm at UTSG for my masters degree right now. I'm a 28 year old man, and having to deal with the zoomers is outright jarring. Back when I was younger, I used to be all about the anti-generational-hate stuff. But nowadays, I totally see where the boomers are coming from LOL. Everything about this younger generation, from the slang to the hairstyles to their complete lack of critical thinking skills, just throws me off.

How to become a nurse with a foreign BSc already?Advice

Hi all, my boyfriend is American and is soon to be finishing up his BSc from an American college. He's looking at moving to Ontario and becoming a nurse, but we're unclear on what further education he should pursue out of the different types of nursing programs available. A nurse I know told me about 2-year "second entry" nursing programs, but I think I can only find that offered at York? Do any other schools offer this? And are accelerated nursing programs different? Any insight is appreciated. Thanks

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I think it’s funny how people on this sub criticize and praise schools they never went to or have spent any time at.Opinion

People on here try to find the “best school”, warn people “x school is bad” or like to tell “how it really is over here” but until you actually go there and experience it physically what good is anecdotal evidence? Like you should not let the opinions of others on a public anonymous Internet forum sway you when it comes to your education. You should pick one based off facts and experience and intuitive feeling one can only get from a physical reaction. Researching a school should not only be done on Reddit, it should be done by actually visiting these places, talking in person to faculty, current students and alumni face to face. I say this because the questions being asked and the info given is not really worth anyones time. Like imagine saying to someone “I decided to come here because a bunch of people on Reddit said…” you would sound like a complete moron.

Accelerated nursing program Advice

I was enrolled in a biochemistry and molecular biology program but failed some courses due to personal challenges and a lack of interest in the degree. I’m now considering changing my degree and looking into the Pre-Health Sciences pathway. Would this pathway enable me to get into an accelerated nursing program? I was accepted into an LPN program, but I’ve heard mixed reviews about the career prospects and pay after graduation. I’m seeking advice on whether the Pre-Health Sciences pathway is a good option for pursuing an accelerated nursing program.

When can I apply for TMU WINTER SEMESTERAdvice

and does anyone know if I can apply for biology for winter semester? And when I can or if they do have that program open in winter

Are BBA Dual Degrees worth it?Advice

Hey I’m going into university next year for business, and I’m unsure if I should take a dual degree. Currently I’m just aiming for a BBA, but Im also considering changing it to possibly economics, accounting, or finance dual-degree. I know these three are already business oriented, but would they help me land jobs easier? And is it worth it?

Was your gap year useful?Advice

For those that have taken a gap year, was it useful in helping you decide what you want to do?

I’m a relatively good student who took all the stem classes in high school (calculus, chemistry, biology, physics, computer science) but all they really did was show me I don’t have a passion for them, thus no interest in engineering/health sciences. I think I’d enjoy continuing on in social sciences but I’m not really passionate about them either.

I’m seriously considering taking a gap year but if it’s not going to be useful I wonder if I might as well start university in the fall as planned.

Would appreciate other’s insights who have gone through this.

Thanks!

What are good concurrent teaching programs in Ontario? Advice

I am in high-school and want to pursue teaching. I was talking to my guidance counselor and a teacher and they mentioned concurrent teaching programs. I want to major in English and have English and drama as my 2 teachables and teach in secondary schools. What are good concurrent teaching programs in Ontario, preferably the GTA

Applied to Ted Roger's May 31stAdmissions

Hey guys, I am a 105 OUAC applicant I applied to Ted Roger's school of buisness switching from Uoft commerce. When do I expect to hear back from TMU. Thanks

Are there any ontario universities that offer online intro chemistry 1 and 2? Advice

Looking to take one at athabasca or another online university... please let me know if anyone has any information

Western Vs QueensAdvice

Hey guys! I got admitted to both Western and Queens and I can't pick between the two, and I dont have much time left. I'm from Alberta and was unable to tour the campuses and my parents told me to the pick the one with the most prestige which I agree with. Which one would you guys say is more prestigious/has a better ranking or reputation out of the two universities if they're about the same for cs?

Osap having wrong dates Advice

When I was uploading documents for OSAP, I saw that my father state of birth is wrong month and date. Has anyone know how can I change that or what should I do about it?

Can I put these grade 9 ECs on my uni application?Discussion

Hey guys, i used to do a lot of good extra ciriculars in grade 9. I used to do Taekwondo and Taekwondo tutoring for many years. I also had over 100 hours over the years of volunteering as an assistant activités manager at a place. I had to stop them all at the start of the grade 10 tho cuz I moved locations. I was wondering if I should still include these on my uni applications to ones like uoft or Waterloo. I’m applying for either cs, mech eng or software eng btw. I know that most unis want only the ECs from the past two years, which is why I’m asking. Anything helps thx! Also thx for the recent help on this subreddit, it rocks :D

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Set up OUAC now?Advice

First off, I make my OUAC account myself right? I'm not expecting info from school before I make it right? Also, would applications for schools be open rn? (Applying for fall 2025)