Canadian: Queen's vs. UT

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey guys
i am actually a highschool student in BC
i know that UBC is a pretty darn good school but i'm interested in a change for university
Right now i am looking into Queen's and U of T
If you attend or have attended, or just know about them, please share your thoughts</p>

<p>During the past few days, a couple speakers from these 2 schools came to my highschool. From what i've seen, the speaker from UT emphasized on statistics(mainly numbers), probably because UT is a pretty large school and all. The speaker from Queen's seemed to care alot more about student life. I personally liked the Queen's presentation better. But then again i did like the UVic presentation alot, so i guess presentations do not fairly reflect on the schools themselves. </p>

<p>Now that's not to say UT's student life sucks, I understand they're probably the top ranked school in Canada.</p>

<p>Personally, i've always preferred a smaller community such as Kingston rather than say, Toronto. In my mind, people in smaller communities tend to be more friendly and easier to converse with. But that's just my perception of it. </p>

<p>Right now, i am in grade 11. I am involved in the school's student council, leadership program, jazz/snr bands, sports teams and such. I think right now i got an average around 90%. I have yet to accumulate alot of volunteer hours but i am committing myself to do so right now. That being said, i'd like to think that i have a fair shot at getting into these schools.</p>

<p>I've just checked out this canadian university forum's topic about Queens vs. UT, and it turned from a fairly good discussion to a more or less school bashing one. hahaha. </p>

<p>If you attend or have attended, or just know about these two schools, please share your thoughts. Anything's greatly appreciated</p>

<p>thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>U have a master's degree from U of T. I've attended a slew of universities, and it seemed smaller than some half its size. The campus is very compact, and the different colleges (Trinity, St. Michaels, Victoria, etc.) seemed to break the whole into bite-sized chunks. There was definitely a proud and unspoken feeling of being involved in the top institution a student can find in Canada. </p>

<p>If you mapped out all of the interesting things to do in the Toronto area, probably 90% of them would be a few minutes from campus by foot or subway. In every direction from the campus, there are endless bars, restaurants, theaters, etc. It's the least boring city I've ever been to, because getting from place to place is cheap, easy, fast, and safe. In many other "exciting" cities, getting from where you are to where you want to be is expensive, complicated, slow, and unsafe. U of T has the added advantage of a world-wide reputation. </p>

<p>Queens is also a wonderful place from what I hear, but both on-campus and off-campus, the experience would be much much different. Go visit both...one will surely strike you as preferable.</p>

3

<p>DS is graduating from UT with ms. via Pittsburgh and Pacific NW. He enjoys Toronto very much, lots to do, lots see. Many of his undergrad friends have visited him at Toronto. Very international.</p>

4

<p>TORONTO HAS A AVERAGE CLASS SIZE OF 500...so if you wanna feel like a number in your first 3 years of university, do so. Again, U of T is huge huge on sciences. Queens is a bit of both sciences/liberal arts. Also i think Queens has a fairly large classroom size to, but not as big as Toronto. Queens also emphasizes on the way you feel around the campus because they do not want you to be robots and study everyday. Toronto is a place where you won't have fun as much unless school is easy for you. I heard graduate program in U of T is better then Queens. But for undergraduate, i'd go with Queens depending on your program. If you want a B.A go for Queens, want a B.Sc, go to U of T.. </p>

<p>again please base university decision on your program. You should have narrowed down your choices of what field you want to go into, and find programs related to that subject and which school offers the BEST!.</p>

5

<p>No, the University of Toronto does not have an average class size of 500. UofT has class sizes comparable to both Queen's and McGill. All three suffer from large class sizes.</p>

<p>This is problem with almost all Canadian universities.</p>

<p>As for my opinion on Queen's vs. UofT, well, I'd argue that UofT is stronger in terms of academics, but Queen's is stronger in terms of school spirit. However, don't get me wrong, you can have a lot of fun at UofT. I mean, Toronto is an amazing city, with tons of things to do. Personally, I could never live in a small town like Kingston. At UofT you can live the party life and have a kick ass social life if you want, however your academics might suffer as UofT is a pretty challenging school.</p>

6

<p>GO TO QUEEN'S</p>

<p>don't listen to anyone who tells you that you should go to U of T because of the "prestige and reputation". What kind of world-class institution bases its undergrad admissions solely on junior and senior high school marks? Sure there may be more well-known professors but they'll never get to know you because there will be 500+ people in your class so it won't make a difference. U of T deflates course marks so that the average is never over 75%, which translates to a GPA of 2.0 in the eyes of American graduate schools. Most people commute so you'll be alienated as another one of the 50,000 students on the St. George campus -- you're just a number.</p>

7

<p>Queen's is stronger in terms of school spirit?
Oh yeah Laurentian has school "spirit" too why not go to Laurentian.
UofT is better than Queen's is almost anything.
See where Queen's is placed: Top</a> 500 World Universities (203-300)</p>

8

<p>This arguement is useless. UofT is better.</p>

9

<p>People who say GO TO QUEEN'S are usually brainless.</p>

<p>"Personally, i've always preferred a smaller community such as Kingston rather than say, Toronto. "
-Yes if you prefer a community college then Queen's University at Kingston is the right place.</p>

<p>"Most people commute so you'll be alienated as another one of the 50,000 students on the St. George campus -- you're just a number."
-If you went to Queen's then you are just a homosexual. (Queen's is especially renowned for this.) I m really sorry to say this but Queen's is no better than King's (University</a> of King's College) or Bishop's (Bishop's</a> University) or Pawn's.</p>

<p>"I personally liked the Queen's presentation better. But then again i did like the UVic presentation alot, so i guess presentations do not fairly reflect on the schools themselves. "
- My friend liked Queen's presentation too but went to UofAlberta.</p>

10

<p>Hi friend.I have vsited both toronto and queens.I would go to queens because its a smaller school.U of t Is huge and spread out(just like NYU).Both are top notch academically.There are much more research going on at U of T.
At queens you will have more personall attention and a more family like enviroment.U of T there is a lot of red tape, no holding hands.no school spirit.
I know this aint much but i hope it helps a little.
good luck</p>

11

<p>Both are top notch academically?
-Not really for Queen's (Top</a> 500 World Universities (203-300))</p>

12

<p>Queen's and U of T are both strong instuitions. Some clarifications though.</p>

<p>U of T does not have class sizes that average 500.</p>

<p>I never had one that was over 100. and those had labs with a T.A with class sizes of 15. Most Canadian universities have similar sizes including Queen's and Mcgill in First year popular courses like Psych 101 or Soc 101. </p>

<p>U of T has school spirit, but those who attend in part to take in the city of toronto. Queens is in a college town so school spirit is lot more evident as it would be in US schools in small college towns. </p>

<p>that being said Queen's is a great choice if you want a college town feel, with school spirit and enough bars and clubs off campus to keep you busy. it has a bit more of an Ivy League feel, i find than U of T. </p>

<p>at Toronto, you will be in a world class city. very cosmopolitan and more night clubs per capita than NYC. broadway shows, underground night life, restaurants galore, museums. most within walking distance or a quick subway ride from campus. The academics at U of T are strong. but's sink or swim. that being said, if you spend time with your instructor, there is no reason you should sink. it's up to you to seek them out during their office hours. don't think you will get red flagged because you failed the first exam and the instructor or TA will call you to see how to help you. they will help, but it's up to you to spend time in their office. U of T also because it's in toronto, attracts top level faculty. Also, if you are planning on going back to the states. U of T has more brand recognition. There 's also support from academic adviors and student associations with peer tutors in almost every discipline. There are tons of student clubs and activities to help you socialize. I would recommend highly attending frosh week, if you choose U of T. that is the great experience and will meet all the friends you could possibly want for your 4 years, in that week. </p>

<p>tough choices, but good luck :)</p>