A freshie's enigma!

I chose this university because UofT has always been my dream university since my brother was admitted here. He recently graduated. I always used to hear him boast about how UofT is such a great school and a huge opportunity for international students to grow in and explore further. The competitiveness of UofT is one thing that was scary but attractive as well as it filters out the best students from all over the world and provides opportunities to all of them through resources on campus such as on-campus jobs, clubs, and even co-ops. UofT also has a variety of teachers from all over the world, some of which who are the most experienced and the best in their field in terms of knowledge and experience. In addition, knowing that UofT is ranked 25 in the world was capitative. I feel that UofT provides its students with opportunities not only in academics and careers through Co-ops but also in all kinds of sports, while also giving us a chance to be a part of Varsity Blues. Additionally, UofT also ensures involvement on and off campus by promoting different cultural, academic, and career-oriented clubs alongside Co-ops and on-campus jobs (the opportunity to experience different industries). My experience so far at the University of Toronto has surely been delightful and enigmatic only due to the different experiences I've had. The competitiveness of my university has allowed me to understand and push myself from what I thought I could achieve and try to undertake more challenges in order to try to overcome them and succeed. UofT helped me explore the different industries I could possibly be a part of, helped me become familiar with the culture and people abroad, as well as help me become independent and ensure I do all my work myself and manage multiple tasks with no one's help right from doing my laundry to managing my studies and being productive. I have learned how to adapt to different situations, become a risk-taker, and communicate with different people, organizations, and faculty members. So far, this has truly been an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Our course and syllabus are updated every 2-3 years which means that our textbooks change along with our curriculum and sometimes professors as well. Our academics are very up to date and we do seek relevant and upcoming knowledge in our classes only. Our courses and syllabus are structured in a way that provides the student with the utmost exposure and knowledge from various subjects related to that major or field such as courses related to Economics, Accounting, Mathematics, Programming, and more for a Management related field.

The faculty-to-student ratio is about 15:1 which is not a bad class size and along with such huge classes, we also have tutorials every week following our lectures that consist of lesser students. This is a class made for all students to seek personal help and get their doubts answered by TAs. The faculty and staff are approachable via email or UofT's dashboard known as Canvas or Quercus, usually, professors do respond within 24-48 hours and their time to get back to and solve doubts is quite negligible. The professors are the best and most experienced in their field. In many of our classes, we are provided with textbooks that are written by our professors which makes the learning and content more reliable, trustworthy, and accurate. Professor Kathleen Yu is an amazing professor of Economics. Professor Timothy Yusun has a really unique style for teaching Mathematics.

The campus life at UTM is better than I thought as it allows different people from different backgrounds to form a community in and outside their dorms. Our campus is one of the largest UofT campuses in Toronto and we have about 7 residences to choose from. Each of the on-campus facilities is different and unique in its way, many allow only two individuals to stay in an entire townhouse with a private kitchen and bathroom, whereas, a few of the other dorms allow four individuals to stay with similar amenities, whereas, there are a few where 2 people share one room (the one I hated to be honest). However, I got lucky and got one of the best dorms on campus where I shared my dorm with only one other person and had full-time access to my private kitchen and washroom. I feel like these types of residences help you connect with people from different programs and different parts of the world and allow you to interact with each other and make new friends as well. One of my first friends in university was my roommate. Apart from this, many dorms are a bit far from the main academic buildings which allows the people to stroll around campus and enjoy its beauty, whereas, many dorms are right next to the academic buildings which makes it easier for the students during harsh weather. Our dorms are well-furnished, cleaned, secured, and protected. Apart from this, I feel most of the campus buildings from our dorms to the academic buildings look amazing and consist of different classes and programs and are spread across a vast piece of land. We have both outdoor and indoor events which may include team sports, seminars, workshops, job fairs club activities, and more. Our campus life is quite nice as it has multiple areas and spaces across buildings and seating areas in buildings where students make time to chit-chat with their friends, mentors, professors, and TAs, or even meet new people and see new faces. We can spend time anywhere across the campus whether it's on the huge field, outside classes, outside the buildings, in the cafeteria, in the library, or even in our friends' dorms.

At UofT, we have about more than 40-50+ companies that visit us and set up multiple job fairs over the academic year where students from different programs and intakes could go and navigate their way and also apply for jobs only if they are upper-year students. We have a placement rate of about 85% within 3 months of any of the students graduating and we have offers from different companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Unilever, BMO, Scotiabank, P&G, and more. We have about 1200+ clubs at UofT that consist of cultural, academic, or athletic clubs from which you could be a part. We have multiple research opportunities with professors of different departments such as Economics, Accounts, Mathematics, or Programming to even research opportunities by being enrolled in a club on campus. We apply through our portal called CLNX.

We have about 6-7 accommodations on campus which are designed in a completely different manner. My dorm known as the "Magrath Valley" allowed only two individuals to stay in an entire townhouse with a private kitchen and bathroom, whereas, a few of the other dorms like "Roy Ivor Hall" allow four individuals to share a 4BHK with their rooms and a shared kitchen with two washrooms, whereas, there is "Erindale Hall" where 2 people share one room. However, I got lucky and got one of the best dorms on campus where I shared my dorm with only one other person and had full-time access to my private kitchen and washroom. I feel like these types of residences help you connect with people from different programs and different parts of the world. The rental cost per month of any accommodation on campus ranges from about $800 - CAD 1200 which I equivalent to about 50,000 - 70,000 Indian Rupees per month. Additionally, we have different meal plans offered ranging from CAD 3,500.

- My Scores: SAT - 1360/1600, IELTS - 8.0/9.0, TOEFL - 98/120, IB Final Score - 34/45, IB Subjects - English Lang & Lit, Math AA SL General Requirements: SAT - No Requirement, it's unconditional , TOEFL - 100+/120 (Not required but great to have), IELTS - 7.0+/9 (Not required but great to have), IB Final Score - 32/45 (Minimum), College Essays - 2 at least on their portal or maybe an Interview, IB Subjects - English Lang & Lit, Math AA SL. - Grade 10:MYP - 45/56, Grade 12:IB - 34/45 - Requirements: 2 LORs minimum required - 1 from your School Teacher, 1 from an external individual who knows you on a personal level (could be a mentor or someone in your internships) CV required - Mention your interests, achievements, languages, community service involvements, work experiences, internships, external courses, etc. - Interview Round: I did not have any interviews or tests with my university during the application, however, I had one video interview in which I had to answer a few questions on their website within 3-4 minutes and submit it which would be assessed or considered during my admission to the university. This was not a 1v1 conference, it was more like a recorded Q&A.

The tuition fee for about a year at UofT is CAD 60,000 which is equivalent to about 36 Lakh Indian Rupees, this is not inclusive of meals and residency on campus. This tuition fee is only for international Students. For domestic students or students with a Canadian PR, their tuition fee is much less, up to $8,000 - CAD 10,000 which is equivalent to 5-6 lakh Indian Rupees, this is not inclusive of meals and residency on campus. This fee is for all domestic students. This is usually the different fee structures offered at UofT, however, the tuition is changed based on the student's requirements or if the student is on a scholarship basis.

No, I have not received any scholarship from UTM.