UofT or York? (Part II)

[magicmazzie]

Hey people,

 

Thanks so much for helping me out last time.....

 

The thing is, well, yes, I have said yes to York, but it's not too late to change my mind...

 

I looked up the fees for both universities. They are approximately the same. I might get a scholarship to York, but I'm not sure anymore.

 

What scares me is that, well, I got into UofT Life Sciences, and I do know people who applied there, but haven't heard from it yet, and if they got in, they'd probably go there. I'm scared I'll miss out on a good thing. Maybe I should take advantage of the offer. I'm scared I'll be regretting my decision about York for the next four years. I also feel sad saying no to UofT... I feel sad that'll I'll be missing out on the beautiful, old campus and I do feel sad when I think of my acceptance package. When I got into UofT, I felt euphoria! I was so happy!

 

That's the hard thing about making a decision....you can only go with one choice.

 

I feel like crying. I truly SUCK at making decisions.

[Jochi1543]

Yup, it's rarely easy.

 

I have to choose among FIVE schools.....none of which I had ever seen! Things such as being on the coast of Florida and $16,000/year scholarships were all factors.

[Dante]

let me be honest with you. UofT will have you thinking "it was the best of times, and it was the worst of times" after you're done. I went into engineering @ UofT for my first year, really disliked it, spent the summer doing life sci courses to transfer into life sci, and have fallen progressively in love with UofT. The only downside I can see is the difficulty in meeting people that will remain your friends after the lab/tutorial has ended. If you live on res. it's not so bad... but if you commute (like most of the ppl at UofT) then you will have some trouble making friends (but you definately WILL make many). The learning experience is hit and miss. You will have excellent professors, and you will come across some very annoying/terrible ones, but i dont' think that's unique to UofT. And in all honesty, i think there were many more great professors than there were terrible ones... it's just human nature that you'll remember the bad experiences and think they were more numerous than they actually were. In hindsight, the only quasi-regret i have is not going into life-sci at the onset of university... and only because of the amount of extra work i had to do to 'catch-up' both my gpa and the people that you meet (a lot easier to meet people during frosh week than a year into undergrad).

 

The regret you are talking about right now reminds me of the feeling i had when i was considering switching out of engineering to life sci: i had decided that i wanted to switch, but i was still uneasy about making such a drastic change: what if i didn't like life sci either? etc... well when i went to see the registrar, they told me that i COULDN'T switch anymore! the deadline was on friday, i had gone to see them on the monday after. They said that there is a possibility that the deadline had been extended, but i'd have to go to admissions and awards to find out: a good 10-15 minute walk. As i was walking there, i had some time to think... and i was going to EXPLODE if i had to stay for another year in engineering. In essence during that walk, i had put it in my mind that i had no choice but to stay in engineering, and it felt so wrong and made me so unhappy. And it was at that moment that i realized that IF the option was there for me to switch that would be the right thing to do. For you, it looks like you've put yourself in the "i'm going to York" mindset, and it looks like you're not so happy with that choice. Maybe U of T would be better?

 

Don't be afraid of all the rumors you hear about difficulty etc... it's really not THAT bad... as long as you realize: a) the bar has been set higher. and they ARE trying to screw you over for the first year or so... not YOU in particular, but the class as a whole. You begin undergrad with class numbers in the several thousands... by 4th year, there are 40 people in your class at most (and let me tell you there aren't 100's of 4th year courses to choose from) so it's not that there's just more options and everyone's taking different classes. People have dropped out. Why? because there is a class average that is maintained (by giving really ambiguously phrased questions, etc... to lower marks), there are people who go out and party the night before exams, and there are many other situations that lead to less than stellar performance. Many of the people around you in first year may end up slipping through the cracks. Just make sure you're not one of them. In the end though, it's JUST undergrad and as long as you are in the right mindset, regardless of where you go, you'll do well. If you can't see much of a difference between the two schools, then to you, there probably won't be much of a difference. (it's not like there's some course/program that one university offers that you're interested in that the other university doesn't offer). I will say however that i have a friend that goes to York, and tells me about some really interesting cross-subject courses, whereas UofT has many of your usual courses (i know it sounds ambiguous, but i've said to her on several occasions, wow, that's an interesting combination of topics for a course).

 

ok i've written waaay too much and i don't think anyone's gonna read this... ah well... your loss

 

EDIT: and with regards to scholarships, even if you don't get an admission award, you may qualify for a bursary that will show up sometime through the year. AND depending on the college you choose, you will be given scholarships (ALMOST guaranteed) for acheiving certain GPA's. For example i've heard that a 3.7-4.0 gpa (80-90+%) will get you anywhere from $1500-$2500 in scholarships per year from victoria college. I know St. Michael's college also gives anyone who gets a 3.7+ gpa with full course load (5 credits) will get $1500 as well. So UofT isn't completely stingey wrt scholarship/bursary money. Again, search around the colleges before you pick one, because many of the awards are college specific.

[magicmazzie]

Thank you, I read all.

[Blackkeys]

It sounds to me like you should go to U of T. Not because of its reputation, but because it seems like you'd be happy there.. and if you haven't heard anything about scholarships from York, then it shouldn't be factored in yet.

Finally, don't forget - at U of T, your grades are actually worth something on the OMSAS scale. An A from York won't get you as far.

 

Good luck to you, I know how hard making these kinds of decisions can be!

[lostintime]

It sounds to me like you should go to U of T. Not because of its reputation, but because it seems like you'd be happy there.. and if you haven't heard anything about scholarships from York, then it shouldn't be factored in yet.

Finally, don't forget - at U of T, your grades are actually worth something on the OMSAS scale. An A from York won't get you as far.

 

Good luck to you, I know how hard making these kinds of decisions can be!

 

 

What do you mean? Our U of T GPAs are lower on the OMSAS score.

[007]

Something I try when having trouble making decisions is I make the decision one way or the other and then live with it for a few days to see how I feel. If I'm regretting it, I know to pick the other one. It's how I picked my University for undergrad and how I decided not to apply to medicine after 3 years of undergrad. And I'm extremely happy with the way things turned out.

[kitty]

What do you mean? Our U of T GPAs are lower on the OMSAS score.

That is not true. Grades from all Canadian Universities are WORTH SOMETHING when you apply to medical schools in Canada. Med schools don't care where you studied in your undergrad years. I think what is meant by the previous posting is that at York, we don't have A- and when convert the York scale into the OMSAS scale, we will be in slight disadvantage. An A from York corresponds to a 3.8 Omsas. Just pick a university based on what you want to get back from your undergrad years. If your focus is to study medicine, I would suggest that you send an e-mail to the medical schools themselves and ask them any questions that you'd like to ask. They are usually very helpful and most reliable.

Good luck in your decision making,

kitty

[uofthopeful07]

in case the original poster is confused about blackkey's comment, an A from YORK will be converted to a 3.8 on the OMSAS scale as kitty has mentioned. but an A from UofT will be converted to a 3.9 on the OMSAS scale. i honestly wouldn't let this be the determining factor in your decision!

[Dante]

Thank you, I read all.

 

i hope it helped. good luck!

[ploughboy]

 

That's the hard thing about making a decision....you can only go with one choice.

 

 

Short and sweet: Follow your heart.

 

 

...and if it doesn't work out - transfer to the other institution!

[peachy]

in case the original poster is confused about blackkey's comment, an A from YORK will be converted to a 3.8 on the OMSAS scale as kitty has mentioned. but an A from UofT will be converted to a 3.9 on the OMSAS scale. i honestly wouldn't let this be the determining factor in your decision!

To explain that a bit more thoroughly, at U of T you can get an A (85-89) or an A- (80-84). At York you can only get an A (80-89). On the OMSAS scale, an A at U of T translates to a 3.9. An A- at U of T is converted to a 3.7. An A at York is translated to a 3.8.

 

So if you're getting lots of grades of 80 ... York's conversion scheme is better. If you're getting lots of grades of 89 ... U of T's conversion scheme is better. If your grades are evenly distributed between A's and A-'s, the conversion schemes are exactly the same.

[unknown user 7]

York is pretty nice. I am taking summer courses there. The only minor peeve I have abou the school so far, aside from some administration which I am sure kinda sucks at every school, is I hate not being better dressed than at least half the people around me. There everyone looks good (dress wish). So if you graduate from York, I am sure you will also graduate, dressing yourself very well. Lol.

[Kyleh]

To explain that a bit more thoroughly, at U of T you can get an A (85-89) or an A- (80-84). At York you can only get an A (80-89). On the OMSAS scale, an A at U of T translates to a 3.9. An A- at U of T is converted to a 3.7. An A at York is translated to a 3.8.

 

So if you're getting lots of grades of 80 ... York's conversion scheme is better. If you're getting lots of grades of 89 ... U of T's conversion scheme is better. If your grades are evenly distributed between A's and A-'s, the conversion schemes are exactly the same.

 

I know this is a pain but can somebody post the conversion chart?

[hydes79]

Here is the table

[Kyleh]

Thanks!:)

[Blackkeys]

To explain that a bit more thoroughly, at U of T you can get an A (85-89) or an A- (80-84). At York you can only get an A (80-89). On the OMSAS scale, an A at U of T translates to a 3.9. An A- at U of T is converted to a 3.7. An A at York is translated to a 3.8.

 

So if you're getting lots of grades of 80 ... York's conversion scheme is better. If you're getting lots of grades of 89 ... U of T's conversion scheme is better. If your grades are evenly distributed between A's and A-'s, the conversion schemes are exactly the same.

 

Oh wow! I didn't realize that an A at York starts at 80%. Weird, I've never heard of that. Well, I learned a new factoid for today. Thank you.

[nowai]

Factoid isn't want you think it means.

[Blackkeys]

Factoid isn't want you think it means.

 

As far as I "want," it's just a colloquial way of referring to a tidbit of information.

[kaymcee]

Factoid isn't want you think it means.

...thanks for contributing.

[The Law]

Factoid isn't want you think it means.

 

Wow, you actually felt the need to post that?

[Smurfette]

No matter where you go, it's going to be up to you to make the most of it. This is hardly the end-all and be-all decision. Either way, you're going to a good university, you're going to get a good education, you're going to have learning experiences that will shape you as a person, and you're going to have a chance at med school.

 

You've clearly thought through all the pros and cons. It's as if you're waiting for someone to tell you some magically pro that will determine what is right for you. That's not going to happen. There's probably a gut feeling somewhere down there - a feeling of, "that's what I want to do." You need to find that feeling. It's not about logic anymore - you've clearly gone through the logic over and over and over. The final decision should be about intuition.

 

Try visiting both schools if you haven't done so already. Where do you get a feeling that you belong? I think that's how I chose which school to go to for med school (a couple weeks ago). It was just the feeling of "I feel comfortable here. I feel like I could be happy here. Everything is falling in place."

 

And once you've made your decision, don't think about "what if's". Just think about how you can make it the best experience ever.

[Smurfette]

"it was the best of times, and it was the worst of times"

 

I think that could describe the university experience in most places.

 

It was certainly the university experience for me out here are UBC. There were the wonderful feelings of accomplishment, great times with friends, trying new experiences, epiphanies in learning... And then there were the horrible moments of self-doubt, the failures, the betrayal of friendships, the loneliness...