Hello, my name is Brandon - 19 years young - Toronto, Canada - Aspiring educator - University of Toronto, 1st year undergraduate studies in English and Psychology - International Baccalaureate alumnus - Pokemon, adventure video games, insightful things, My Chemical Romance - Rock and R&B - cute girls, classy people
Today at my shitty evening class,
this one asshole who I had spoken to before
and went off without being asked about the psychological background of Robinson Crusoe and told me that History as a subject should not be academic
was looking for a seat.
I recognized his droopy-as-fuck face, and like hell did I want to be near him
so I was like in my head
please don’t sit beside me
please don’t sit beside me
please don’t sit beside me
please don’t s
He sat beside me.
So in my tentative time table for next year
I once again continue the trend where I make my first-semester nice and manageable…
and then kill myself in the spring.
But this spring semester is unique because it’s complete with 3 C-level courses in my second-year of studies
and math.
(I’m thinking of adding a 5th potential course to fall semester but I don’t want to take any more B/second-year ENG courses and I can’t take any C’s until I get that B05 credit.)
University of Toronto as a whole is undeniably hard. It has a reputable standard for high-level education for a reason. The birthplace of insulin and stem cell research? The site of the first practical electron microscope? One of the only two non-American universities in the Association of American Universities (includes schools like Harvard and Yale)? University of Toronto DEFINITELY has earned its spot in the world and justifies its high standards. Moreover, I recently read an article from the Toronto Star that suggests University of Toronto has the highest paid professors for a public university in the world. That suggests that the professors here are definitely recognized by the administration for their hard work in research and dedication to their studies. So yes, whatever you have heard about UoftT being “hard” is definitely true.
The debate of UTSG vs. Ryerson is all dependent on your program. If you’re going for Engineering, hands down you should go to UTSG. From an observer’s perspective, UTSG Engineers love to socialize. At the same time they’re receiving University of Toronto education, so they definitely get the best of both worlds relative to UTSG students.
If you’re doing something like arts and sciences though where there are a shit-load of students (I don’t exaggerate shit-load), then going to UTSG is a different story. Since you’re wishing to socialize, I recommend Ryerson especially if you’re a commuter student. If you’re living on residence, you will definitely not have trouble socializing, but even then I find the social opportunities at UTSG for undergrad students incredibly limited and lacking spirit. It’s one of the reasons I’m transferring out of St. George to the Scarborough campus.
This being said, is my opinion an absolute viewpoint of the social life at UTSG? No. Remember that UTSG is a gigantic campus, and so there are many different sorts of experiences according to different people. I recommend also asking my friends - him and her - on their opinions of social life at UTSG, just so you get a more wholesome picture. They both commute from the east end of Toronto (50-90 minutes by public transit), are undergrad sciences students, and have managed to score a healthy social life (healthy in my opinion.) I know they will give you good and honest opinions - and perhaps confirm whether their social lives at St. George are as healthy as I perceive them to be :P.
Oh, and on an additional note, despite the ridicule UofT students like me are known for placing upon RyersonU, I actually think that Ryerson is a pretty quality school. They seem to do a better job enforcing the practicality of their programs than UTSG through things like co-op opportunities, they are starting to gain worldwide recognition, and for people like you and I they (seem to) do a great job immersing their students in a friendly, social environment.
Anyhow, BEST of luck, anon, and feel free to message me if you have any more questions! Congratulations as well on your acceptance to University of Toronto! (:
PS. My opinion of the Engineering programs for both UTSG and RyeU are incredibly biased; sorry about that. Be sure to ask an Engineer at Ryerson on his or her opinion first before you decide, if you are doing engineering (as well as a proper opinion on University of Toronto Engineering.)
I was considering going to my tutorial tomorrow (like, actually)
and then I was like “fuck that there’s so much I can do.”
Is there any use going to lectures anymore? I know what I have to do and I know what I have to study. Just let me do it goddammit.
I haven’t been to any of my history tutorials in a little over a month.
I really don’t give a shit though. I think they’re useless fucking hours where we go over a reading that we probably don’t need to know for our examination and we go around answering questions about it. It’s like grade 2. I would prefer another hour of content lecturing than an hour of redundant questions asking us to formulate opinions about things we barely have had time to digest.
Lmfao participation marks
There’s nothing funnier than having a person studying for a Bachelor’s of Science attempt to intimidate you because you’re studying for an Arts degree
like how ignorantly stupid are you to realize that you can’t do shit with an arts/sci degree unless you have certification, experience, or further education
What English majors say when they are undergoing a self-esteem crisis.
2 more to go
It does not help that the weather and the increased daylight makes me not want to do anything academically related.
This is a post by my mom on Facebook
and I’m sorry for the sappyness but as a university student this just makes your day.
Haha I’m so sorry about that.
No, UTSG is a good school, it really is. It’s just overrated in the sense that (program dependent, art/sci programs in particular) it’s not any better than the programs it shares in UTSC and UTM. They (St. George) also aren’t technologically adept like UTSC’s campus but that’s a different story.
It’s different for all people. I’m leaving because it (St. George) didn’t meet my expectations, socially. One thing you need to realize if you’re NOT staying on residence is that it’s really difficult to make friends at the downtown campus. The reality is, you’re not going to have time to explore downtown T.O (socializing and exploring is the main reason I originally chose UTSG over UTSC) and if you don’t get the name and number of an acquaintance you bump into, it’s going to be really hard to strike up a conversation with that person again (I can confirm this through quite a few experiences.) On top of that, the environment downtown among art/scis is hostile - people DO tend to be individualistic and pretentious. If you have heard myths of University of Toronto St. George undergraduate students being pretentious, I can confirm this for you. (Mind you, I still have met pretty awesome people downtown).
NOW. History and Classics - that is an awesome program to study at University of Toronto. Yes, UTSC and UTSG have that program and yes, you will get the same degree, but St. George has had a long reputation for having a better selection for courses in the humanities (they have a lot of famous alumni and research in the humanities). I highly respect your decision to apply to St. George for that program.
However, if you applied to different campuses, be weary of your decision, and get as many opinions of the campuses you want as you can. I…didn’t do a good job researching the different campuses. And I paid for it dearly. But now that I have a good opinion of Scarborough and St. George, I’m confident now that transferring is what I need to do. In the end, it’s YOUR schooling and it’s YOUR choice; make sure YOU get the best undergrad education you possibly can. Best of luck, anon!
PS. UTSC only has Classics as a minor program. My apologies!
Today I finished This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer and just now I finished The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. My objectives for this week are definitely a lot lighter now.
After a short XBOX360 break, I shall delve into Where The Wild Things Are, attempt to the second half of my HIS251Y essay, and begin The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston.
Yeah, I’m going to legit study this week. Who needs parties and shit anyway.
No seriously. Watch me. :D
Read (and finish) the following:
American Literature
Children’s Literature
Southeast Asian Crossroads
The Magic of Physics
History of East Central Europe
~~
hyfr I’m gonna feel like a beast by the end of this week.
I’m looking through this right now, and more and more I realize why people say University of Toronto St. George is an overrated undergrad school for arts and sciences.
Not to say that UTSG is a bad school, but it’s overrated because the arts/sci programs across all three campuses are. exactly. the same.
I’m actually really angry that I wasn’t given an informed decision about UTSG vs. UTSC back in grade 12. If someone had sat me down and told me everything about St. George and Scarborough from academics to social life, I would have definitely picked Scarborough. I should actually point out as well that UTSG is technologically behind. St. George has yet to grasp the concept of recording lectures and having them available as podcasts.
Also, I was under the impression that the graduate programs at St. George for Psychology are better because of “better research opportunities.” Well guess what - this is fucking false too. I looked at the website and the University of Toronto Department of Psychology, as they explicit state, spans all three fucking campuses. And I quote:
The three campuses offer independent undergraduate programs but a common, integrated graduate program. -Source
The thought of transferring out once made me feel bittersweet about leaving my “dream school.” It turns out, my dream school was really the one in my backyard all along. It also excites me, because when I do decide to pursue a graduate degree in Psychology, I’ll be able to study for it in my hometown’s campus, which at that time UTSC should have already undergone its massive expansions.
So as I type this, the girl beside me is packing her shit up.
But I mean like, she literally plugged her Netbook in 2-3 hours ago, opened up a few windows, and glued her attention to her iTouch for the entire time.
And now. She’s leaving. 2-3 hours on her iTouch, occupying study space, and now she’s leaving. I feel for her work ethic.
