<p>I'm an international student thinking of applying to both the United States and to Canada. I'm quite familiar with the American 'liberal arts' system where you apply to a university and shop for courses but not so familiar with Canadian schools.</p>
<p>Ideally, I'd like to study both Computer Science and the Social Sciences (Economics, Poli Sci, International Affairs etc.), but is this possible at UToronto? Don't you have to apply to a single faculty? Is this what an 'Arts and Science' degree is for?</p>
<p>Also, what are the International Baccalaureate prerequisites for specific faculties? I've spent hours on their website finding very little! </p>
<p>How is it like to study at UToronto compared to, say, Stanford or Cornell?</p>
<p>And how is Toronto as a city? :P</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your help!</p>
<p>For the first year you apply to a specific department (eg life sciences) but unless you are in engineering or business you will all likely go into the faculty of arts and science (aka. a giant catch all faculty for like 75% or undergraduates including both computer science and the social sciences). While in your first year you can take pretty much any courses in the faculty of arts and science (ranging from classics to physics) you have the high school credits for regardless of what department you are in to. However what department you applied to will make a difference on what priority level you will have for getting into your freshman year courses. Eg. someone in the computer science department will be able to apply to comp science courses before students in other departments, meaning that if there are not enough spots in the classes, it will be the non departmental students who will miss out and if they really want those courses they may have to take them over the summer. Anyone within the department however is guaranteed the courses they need (The Dean’s Promise). </p>
<p>At the end of your first year you declare your POST which is either a major and a minor, two majors or a specialist degree (equivalent of two majors). What majors/minors/specialists you can take is determined by your grades from your first year (some POSTS have higher grade requirements than others) and whether or not you have the required freshman courses.</p>
<p>For you I assume you would be looking at a double major in computer science and one of the social sciences? This is certainly possible. You just have to make sure you get a spot in all the freshman courses required for you to declare each of your majors. Ultimately I suggest you apply to the Computer science department, because their introductory courses fill up fast so having priority is important. Their are tons of social science courses at the 100 level (freshman) and the prereqs for many of the social sciences are pretty loose (ie. required courses can be any one of a list of courses rather than a specific one). Therefore having priority is not generally that important.</p>
<p>Honestly to compare the study experience of UofT to Stanford or Cornell you would have to find someone who has attended both of these universities. UofT is a large public university which has a strong research emphasis. A better US comparison would be would be something like UMich or maybe some of the better UCs. This means large freshaman classes, that by third and fourth year peter out to only between a dozen to about fifty students as everyone specializes more. As a major research University much of the focus in the upper year courses is on looking at new research in the feild and many 4th year lectures are taught by a rotation of UofT based researchers, or researchers from the surrounding private and public scientific institutions (Ie. the MARS array and the different hospitals) and they tend to incorporate many of their new (sometimes even unpublished) research into the lecture material.</p>
<p>Toronto is a very nice city. UofT is located squarely downtown in a very nice area (right beside the Royal Ontario Museum and the Ontario Parliament Building). There are also a bunch of hospitals around the southern edge of the university, including Princess Margaret, Mount Sinai and Toronto General as well as CAMH. The entire southern edge of the university is packed with science institutions such as the enormous MARS array (here is a good article from Nature about the new research facillites surrounding UofT: [Toronto</a> rising : Naturejobs](<a href=“http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7192-252a]Toronto”>Nature Careers | Science jobs | Choose from 1,135 live vacancies) ). To the south west you have Kensington market which is a counter culture area with all sorts of vintage clothing shops and specialty shops as well as high end restaurants and fancy coffee shops. Due south on Spadina street is Chinatown, which is enormous in Toronto and you can find everything from restaurants to all sorts of cool little junk shops here. A couple blocks east and south of UofT you have the heart of the Central business district of Toronto with all the big office buildings, theaters and shopping centers (The Eaton’s Centre being the premier mall in the entire city). A little further south you have Nathan Phillips Square, which is a popular plaza outside of Toronto city hall which often hosts cultural events such as arts fairs during the summer as well as fireworks at during the summer and at New Years. The reflecting pool out front of the square also is converted to a popular skating rink in the winter. The Toronto subway line has multiple stops along the UofT campus so transportation from to and from other areas of the city is easy.</p>
<p>I hope this helped you.</p>
<p>@NamelessStatistic I can’t thank you enough for that thorough and helpful reply! It was a lot more than I could have hoped for! :)</p>
<p>I just have one more question, if I may. I understand that the U of T has a very data-driven admissions process, so does this mean that if you know your grades you know if the school is a safety or not? Does the university publish its grade requirements for sure admission to the faculty of Arts and Science anywhere? </p>
<p>If I gave you my SATs and predicted IB score would you be able to tell me if it’s a reach, match or safety school?</p>
<p>SAT Reasoning: 2300
SAT Math II: 800
SAT Physics: 800</p>
<p>IB HL Computer Science: 7
IB HL Economics: 7
IB HL Physics: 6
IB HL Maths: 5
IB SL English Language & Literature: 7
IB Ab. Initio French: 6 </p>
<p>I’m mainly applying to Canada because the universities there are excellent and the admissions process seems more clear-cut (one can tell more easily if a school is a sure safety or not) and I want to apply to one Canadian university that I’m absolutely sure will accept me no matter what (more information in another post of mine about why etc. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1553733-gap-year-regular-decision-international-student-taking-ib.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1553733-gap-year-regular-decision-international-student-taking-ib.html</a>). Does UToronto seem like a school that I could use as an iron-clad safety? I know for example that if I apply to the university of Melbourne in Australia they will guarantee me a place as long as I have 31+ IB points. Does the U of T have some threshold like that as well?</p>
<p>Thanks again! :)</p>
<p>Most Canadian universities (including UofT) are entirely data driven, ECs and essays are irrelevant except for getting in off the waitlist. Therefore high grades will = admission. UofT is a little hard to get a hold of their exact admission standards though. Uoft gives a general statement is that a minimum score of 28 is required for IB applicants and the more competitive departments want up to a 35 (computer science is competitive and would be near a 35). [IB</a> ?](<a href=“http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/futurestudents/admissions/high-school-students/ib]IB”>http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/futurestudents/admissions/high-school-students/ib)</p>
<p>Seeing as the total of your IB is 38 you should be fine. I am not super familiar with the IB system so I am not sure I am doing this right however.
I am not super familiar with the IB system, but I am I right in saying that an 7= an A+/A (4.0 gpa) a 6= an A- (3.7gpa) and a 5= a B+ (3.3gpa)?
Your SAT score is excellent you should be very proud of it, it will not be an obstacle to get into any department at UofT. </p>
<p>Assuming my calculation of IB courses is right you should be able to get into computer science, no problem: Low match/safety.</p>
<p>One important caveat to the experience at UofT is that there is very little coddling or hand holding. Students are treated as adults and they are expected to be entirely responsible for themselves. This means that the onus is on the student to reach out to their professors or guidance councilors if they have a problem and (for upper year students) to reach out to potential researchers senior research projects (if you chose to do one). There are no scheduled guidance meetings or anything like that and it is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they are enrolled in the courses they need (although the Dean’s Promise ensure that you will always be able to get a spot in courses that are required for your POST). </p>
<p>In short it is on the student to take the initiative. This can be a great environment for an independent student, but for people who need a lot of external support to function, this can be downright miserable. There are plenty of opportunities and support at UofT but the key thing is that it is your responsibility to go to it, not the other way around.</p>