Colleges at U of T

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Toronto
1

I’m an American student applying to U of T and I’m having trouble ranking the colleges since the information on the websites is pretty vague. What are the vibes of the colleges? From what I’ve read, I think I might want Victoria, St. Michael’s, or Trinity. I might want to study international relations, but I’m not sure and I’m worried about the prestigious environment of Trinity.

2

I don’t know much about the environments at Victoria or St. Mike’s. I would characterize the environment at Trinity as students who are serious about their studies. Trinity students are not partiers, but they do occasionally party. I have one recent anecdote as S14 attended Trin: Students on his floor smelled MJ coming from one of the rooms. Rather than reporting it to the dean/asking for some themselves/leaving it alone, the students on the floor complained directly to the student concerned and told them to knock it off. That probably wouldn’t happen at New College, for example.

Victoria gives out more scholarships than Trinity. The two of them are the most difficult colleges to get into. There’s about 10 applications per spot. Unless you rank Trinity or Victoria (or Innis) first, you won’t be considered for admission. Both have supplementary applications. If you apply, take the supplementary application seriously.

Each college guarantees you a residence space for first year only. Each college has very different qualifications for getting a residence space in 2nd year and beyond. If you think you might want to stay in residence beyond 1st year, check those qualifications carefully. For Trinity, students who obtain a 3.7 are guaranteed a spot for the following year. Students whose parents live outside the GTA get put into a lottery. Other colleges might have a first come/first serve system.

3

I was a grad student at UofT a while back, & took several classes at St. Mike’s. It is Catholic, & has a vibe somewhat akin to a small urban Catholic college. You don’t have to be Catholic to attend, but you might feel more at home elsewhere if you are a strident atheist.