University of Washington, or U of Toronto?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Toronto
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<p>Hey Everyone,</p>

<p>I now have to make a decision between University of Toronto-St. Michael's College (ill be in residence) and UW. Here are a few categories between the Universities I came up with, so just say what you think. I am from California. I visited both schools.</p>

<p>Departments in Near East Studies, Ancient Near East, archaeology-Both schools had excellent departments in these areas, though UT had way more in the ancient near east. (Both had plenty of stuff with the Islamic world, which is my main interest, ancient world is secondary).</p>

<p>School Spirit-UW definitely has more.</p>

<p>Amount of campus life-UW is more focused on the actual college experience than UT, with UT having a 70% commuter population.</p>

<p>commuter vs. not commuter-UW has less commuters than UT, but both have commuter aspects.</p>

<p>Overall reputation, prestige, ranking-Both the same, maybe UT is better known for my areas of interest (I don't think it really matters for undergrad, both are excellent). UT is top for Canada, but not as well known in this country. Not to sure though, UT is 2nd in Canada and I hear is on part with CAL or UCLA (I am</p>

<p>How comfortable my parents are with the school?-My parents are more comfortable with UW.</p>

<p>Distance, how close I will be to the “scenes” in the U.S., east vs. west coast, how often I will go home (more often preferred)-UW</p>

<p>How well known-Not sure</p>

<p>Likelihood of getting a job in the U.S., working for the U.S. Government-UW, my cousin in the CIA said it would be better to go to school in the U.S. but that it doesn't matter that much.</p>

<p>Chances of grad school in Neat East Studies, archaeology, or law school-UT.</p>

<p>Do the UT colleges matter on prestige?</p>

<p>Activities in the area-Both have a lot.</p>

<p>International Experience, international students-UT will have much more of an international feeling, but I can just study abroad to feel "international."</p>

<p>Leave your comments.</p>

<p>Thanks so much! Your guys' advice will be very helpful. If you have anything else to say, just feel free to! (Such as other things about academics, anything you feel is important.)</p>

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<p>undgehen, just a comment on the commuter issue. U of T is not a commuter school in the same way that some U.S. colleges are commuter schools. It isn’t unusual at Canadian colleges for kids to move out of dorms after first or second year. Most kids do this and find apartments or houses together in the general vicinity of the college campus. U of T is no different in this regard. The Annex area of Toronto which is adjacent to U of T’s campus is one area that is filled with U of T students. Technically, they’re ‘commuting’ to campus although their commute is about a 5 minute walk. :slight_smile: When I think of true commuters, I think of those students who are living at home with their families while going to college. Students like this are a small percentage of U of T students. Just wanted to clear that up for you. :)</p>

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<p>If you are looking for a job in government, then Washington might be a natural choice as you would be close to where the political action is for internships and summer jobs, which may get your foot in the door. But perhaps part of your asset to a future employer in U.S government could be that you lived in another country, so in that regards Canada would qualify. Academically, IMO, I would place U of T way higher than Washington in the liberal arts.</p>

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<p>

Geographically speaking, Toronto is a lot closer to DC than Seattle is.</p>

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<p>LOL true. But I assume his profs would be more connected to the DC types than his Toronto profs who are probably more connected in Ottawa.</p>

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<p>Univ. of Washington is in Washington state, not D.C. :)</p>

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<p>UT may be at the level of like UCLA, but when I visited I felt that there wasn’t nearly as good as a campus life as there is at American universities. Like it was a great school, but it just sort of felt the campus life that was there was meant to serve a commuter population (70% of the students, I talked to many and they noted that it was much different than at American schools), and that the residence students were sort of isolated. Both UW and UT are great schools, and I doubt it will make a difference in the long run.</p>

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<p>undgehen, what about the ‘campus life’ was meant to serve a commuter population? I’m not sure I understand what you mean. Also curious what you mean about the students living in res being isolated? Isolated from what?</p>

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<p>I could be wrong, but when I visited I felt that the residence students at St. Mikes didn’t have much contact with the commuter students, so I guess “isolated” wouldn’t be the right word, it was just harder to really get to know the other students who didn’t live in residence. For me, it seemed that the clubs and such on campus didn’t have as many resources as they would at a University such as lets say, UC Davis, because most students lived at home rather than around the university. However, I could be wrong but this was my perspective.</p>

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<p>undgehen, I think that it’s true that some commuter students may feel isolated if they don’t make the effort to establish friendships and participate fully in all that U of T has to offer. The school does make an effort at that during orientation, with a special commuter orientation which allows commuter students to stay in the dorms with res students for a few nights. I know that one of my Ds met a couple of people this way, who were staying on her floor during orientation, and is still friends with them. Commuting from home is not the ideal situation for any college student, there’s no question about that. But most U of T students do not commute from home, not the ones at St George campus anyway. There are thousands of students living in the dorms, and thousands more living in close proximity to campus in housing in the Annex area.</p>

<p>I don’t know anything about UC Davis but U of T has approximately 300 different types of clubs and groups which students can join. I can’t imagine a better selection of those types of activities anywhere else. There really is pretty much something for everyone!</p>

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<p>^^ also he can join a fraternity. Every U.S. one is at U of T and so the network would help any U.S. student returning to the U.S for jobs etc… and in the short term is a great way to get acclimated and make friends. Just don’t party too much… I remember the Fiji parties and Sigma Chi…ah the hangover memories.</p>

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<p>For campus life at U of T, I’d definately recommend you first check out Hart House, U of T’s very impressive student centre (student union). It has everything you can think of inside a beautiful historic building. Even Cornell’s own student union was modeled after it.</p>

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<p>Go to Toronto, it’s farther from CA than WA. Toronto is a major hub and DS had no problems getting back to WestCoast. Lots to do. Big city. DS liked UToronto (St George) very much and would have stayed there if he wasn’t offered a job at Udub. You will gather more international friends and ethnic friends at Toronto.</p>

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<p>Oh man, I’m facing the exact same issue - to choose between UT and UW. My parents also seem to be more comfortable with UW.</p>

<p>I have been speaking to relatives of my own recently, they have children studying at U of Toronto at the moment. Their reactions regarding the UT are pretty much the same. First up, UT lacks the “university” feel, it is well-integrated with the city and so the campus really just feels like an ordinary city for most parts.</p>

<p>Second point, weather issues. Depending on yourself, but they all agreed UW presents better temperatures. Not too big an issue I guess, just wanted to include everything they told me.</p>

<p>Third point is worrying though. They felt while UT stresses professionalism and maturity, they seem to overdo it. When you enroll, say for medical at UT, they require you to keep at least a 3.5 GPA, sometimes higher I believe. If you fail to meet the mark in one semester, you get a letter warning. If you fail to meet the mark again by another semester, I was told that UT will make you change your major to a completely different area, like psychology and so on. And that might be devastating to you and your original plans for jobs etc.</p>

<p>I really love UT myself, it’s one of my top options, but I am just worried whether I could meet the requirements every semester, at least, according to my relatives’ word anyways. In any case, both are really awesome schools - good luck with your options!</p>

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<p>^^^ I’m from the engineering school at Toronto, and I’ve never heard of that 3.5 GPA thing you mentioned, nor anything about forcing you to change major. I’m sure that there are a handful of specialized programs that do require a minimum GPA, which is the standard practice at many universities. I can’t imagine Toronto’s academic regulations being much different from those of most North American universities when it comes to GPA and majors. Perhaps the things you heard were just rumours?</p>

<p>As for the campus being integrated with the city, that is true in the sense that the campus is located in an urban center. However, the campus boundaries are well defined and the campus is still large enough that you’ll feel removed from the city when you are in the university. And the old-world architecture is very different from the rest of the city. In fact I think UToronto likely has older and more elegant gothic buildings than Washington.</p>

<p>The point about temperature is true though. No doubt Seattle would be warmer.</p>

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<p>I already chose UW, I just felt more comfortable there than UT. But both were great schools.</p>

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<p>I believe Seattle is colder in the summer but warmer and wetter in the fall, winter, spring. Weather in Seattle is Mediterranean vs Toronto is Continental.</p>