A lot of my friends have applied to both universities and I’ve been accepted to both along with Queen’s. I’m wondering if anyone here can give me a brief rundown of coursework difficulty. I heard that UoT profs employs a system that makes grades go lower while UBC doesn’t? I’ve also heard about bad winter weather and bad commuting in UoT.
I’m applying for Arts at UBC and Queen’s, and Cognitive Science at UoT.
Which school would be more manageable in terms of coursework and which school is more friendly in general? Also, is there any differences for these programs in terms of freedom to chose classes other than the compulsory ones?
@CynthiaChen Winter weather would be worse in Kingston than Toronto. Kingston is in the snow belt. I spent time at both universities though and never had difficulties getting to class. I’m not sure what you mean by “bad commuting” at U of T? First year students are guaranteed a place in residence and there is plenty of off-campus housing that is walking distance to campus.
The difficulty of the program and the grades you get and the friends you make will have more to do with you than anything else. Have you visited the campuses or cities to see which you prefer?
@bouders Thanks for the reply! by bad commuting, I mean, public transportation in the winter. I’ve visited both cities and campuses when I was younger. I remember UBC looking more modern than UoT, which has some nice, traditional-looking buildings… not sure which one I prefer though. I’ve just heard some worrying things about how UoT grade stuff so I’m hesitating on confirming the offer.
Queens is of course a lot smaller than the other two, and is in a smaller city. I have heard that Queens has more of a school spirit (which might be related to the smaller size).
I have heard from multiple students about Toronto’s tough grading. Some of these were students who did very well in high school but had to drop out of Toronto. Two very smart and very hard working people that I know went to Toronto and did very well. I expect that they would have done well anywhere but they did like Toronto and learned a lot there.
Many of my relatives have gone to UBC and all have liked it quite a bit. Some people don’t like the nearly continuous rain in Vancouver in the winter, although it didn’t bother me when I lived there.
If it were me (and if I were many years younger) then I would have a tough time deciding between Queens and UBC, and would need to look at the courses and majors available in considerable detail for each. It will depend upon what you are looking for. Other than the potential of “grading too hard” at Toronto, it will be hard to go wrong between these three great universities.