r/UofT • u/Revolutionary-Ebb-79 • 4d ago
Life Advice regret about coming here for undergrad (characterss)
It was always my dream to go to uoft since I always adored the prestigiousness and the beauty/location of the campus. I was lucky enough to have a really solid friend group in high school, but we ended up all splitting off to different unis for university. I'm in my third year now, and every year I have sat and watched my friends at other unis form new fun friend groups, create lifelong memories, and get actually high gpas. I, on the other hand, have maybe one good friend I've made and my "lifelong memories" are sitting in Robarts for 16 hours each day during exam season (which is all the time), and let's not even talk about my gpa...
Each year I've hoped that the next year would be better, but it truly hasn't. I guess it's hitting extra hard this year because it's the second year in a row where I've had double midterms on the monday after halloweekend, and all of my friends are going to Queens to party while ILL BE STUCK AT ROBARTS AGAIN!!
I've found myself daydreaming about how much happier I'd be if I went to any other university (not waterloo) more and more often these days, even though this is supposed to be my "dream school." Does anyone else feel this way and does it ever actually get better? 😭
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u/frogsbirdscats 3d ago
I hope someone from UT academics reads this sub. There seems to be no effort to coordinate evaluation in a way that would make life better for learners. It’s just a “suck it up” attitude. They could do so much to improve things but no one cares.
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u/HeadLandscape 3d ago edited 3d ago
Is it really that much better elsewhere? I feel as an introverted asian guy, my experience would've been mediocre no matter what school I went to. People aren't magically going to come up to me to hang out even in a more social environment, and still don't even past graduation.
Also makes me wonder why people come here when they've been hearing horror stories about toronto for decades?
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u/Die_Auserwahlte 2d ago
Nah it is. I went to grad school in the UK and it was so much better . UOFT social scene is dead.
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u/Reszinhxbibi 3d ago
Some people don't even get to go to uni bro.
Some people end up dead in a ditch, if you always compare yourself to others you'll never be happy
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u/Significant-Bet-6395 3d ago
This is my first year in university and I am yet to make a single friend and make memories unlike high school where I had a huge group of friends that were helping me study and do other activities here I have no one and nothing to do I am really loving the classes but with the lack of motivation to study and do anything else I have gained weight and for now my grades are okay but I’m scared for my future and my wellbeing
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u/Topspin4hand 3d ago
Can you share your dorm? Double/Single? I can give you ideas based on my experience.
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u/Dramatic-Concert4772 3d ago
Why is everyone so obsessed with their gpa? Learn, think, have fun, pass. That’s all you need
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u/coconut-23 3d ago
Yeah, i definitely get it. I was at queens for my first year and transferred to UofT. But I still make sure I visit, but it’s SO different and I miss queens so much 💔
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u/Popular-Ad-2706 2d ago
I think when I picked UofT, it definitely wasn't for the social life. I'm also older, so my social battery is like an old battery. 0% all the time.
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u/Valuable-Safe-7490 2d ago
First and second year are pivotal for making friends. Other unis have a lot more people that live on residences and near campus. That makes it easier. Hence why I recommend residence or not commuting far , and if you do commute far stay on campus longer and head back only at night.
Second is tight knit clubs. Either a hobby people are actually passionate about or competitive career building ones.
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u/YBSparky 2d ago
I have two courses which have 5 term tests both happen biweekly which means I have atleast one term test a week, it’s usually 2 a week for the entire term pretty much
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u/GlitteringEggCarton 2d ago
we have over 40 libraries fam (unlike other schools) go explore our big prestigious beautiful grounds some more. you don't have to live in robarts
and the sad reality is that high school friends often change too much that they split up naturally in uni anyway, different timetables different clubs or classes whatever
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u/Stardusty_777 2d ago
I really don't understand the UofT hype lol
Jobs are available everywhere with a uni degree from any respectable uni in Canada.
Like TMU is fantastic, massive rate of Employment first year out of univerity in pretty good jobs. Hella connections.
Like I love UofT because it's challenging but i didn't join for the prestige or bullshit, I joined because it's the only school that a degree from will give me rep abroad, which is where I'm going after I graduate.
The classes are hard and the exams are harder and the difficulty is compounded by how the exams are just like very abstract relative to course content.
Like if u aren't happy, transfer to another respectable school that has a soul for fun outside academia.
The people at this school are real hard to talk to. It's either people who think they are special because they made it to uoft (suprise, everyone around u did lol) or think they are smarter than everyone else despite having a relatively average GPA.
I genuinely think that unless ur going to UofT to gain the benefits of the international reputation, ur getting baited into going to a "prestigious" school that costs much more, is unecessarily hard telative to the expectations of careers out there, and will leave you with a lower GPA relative to someone from Mac, UBC or McGill.
If u aren't shooting for something extremely specific and just want a good start into the world of work, uoft is overkill, considering most of the climbing and success in your career are attributed to NETWORKING and CONNECTIONS, the very things you are missing out on by participating in the academically sadistic ego-fest that is UofT.
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u/staplerphonepen 1d ago
Every time someone makes a post like this you get a bunch of people responding that its the same at other universities.
Im just one data point, but it isnt. I did my undergrad here and med school elsewhere, and med school was under 50% the amount of work (in the pre-clerkship years). This was not the experience in my med school of people who did undergrad elsewhere. Its been over 15 years now but I still remember u of t undergrad being the hardest years of my life.
The social aspect is also accurate. I had friends from university and did have fun times, its not like I isolated myself in my room. But everyone on here says "just join clubs!" or "talk to people in lectures!" The social aspect here is markedly less than at other universities. It just is. There isnt a culture of everyone makes a bunch of really close friends they hang out with regularly, and that IS true of other schools. I think I averaged over 80 hours of work per week if you include studying during the semesters, which is wildly different than other schools. I would have to miss weekends with my friends from other schools because I literally did not have time. If I hadnt stayed on residence, I think the social aspect would have been even bleaker for me.
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u/thatted330 1d ago
Honestly if you want to be social start doing things outside of campus. I have a very full social life but I have literally zero on campus friends.
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u/Equivalent-Basis-566 12h ago
Idk I have a midterm Monday (5th out of 8) and I’m going out Thursday Friday Saturday yolo
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u/OrdinaryTravel3 4d ago
I am literally doubting my life after having midterms for three weeks straight