A Day in Pictures

9 a.m. - Wake up.

10 a.m. - Snooze.

10:30 a.m. - Snooze.

10:47 a.m. - WHY DID I HIT SNOOZE, I HAVE A CLASS AT ELEVEN!!

10:56 a.m. - Luckily, at the University of Toronto Mississauga we have a small campus setting so even though I woke up late I still have time to practice my sweet parkour skills before arriving to class on time.

11:10 a.m. - Class begins.

12:00 noon - Mmm! Time to sample some of our fine campus eats for lunch.

12:30 p.m. - More parkour on the way to work!

1 p.m. - Flexible hours, nice coworkers, AND brownies?  Man, everything's coming up Jason.

4 p.m. - After work, I take a little time to wind down and woo fellow students with my sweet guitar skills. I don't even know how to play, I just sit down and hold it.

4:20 p.m. Tandem water gun fight with Principal Deep Saini. This may seem like a joke but seriously - our Principal is actually that easy to talk to. This is made even easier through residence programs such as "Faculty in Rez" where faculty members are brought directly to students living on campus.

4:50 p.m. - Parkour accident on the way to class.

5:00 p.m. - Luckily, we have awesome services such as the Health and Counselling Centre.

6:10 p.m. - Class again!

8:00 p.m. - "Studying."

9:12 p.m. - Actually studying! The problem with going to such a good institution with high-quality professors is that you actually have to work hard for your grades.

12:00 a.m. - Time to prepare for bed.

2:34 a.m. - Time for sleep.

Jason Summers is a third year student working toward an Honours Bachelor of Science with a Double Major in Biology and Psychology. He lives and works on residence as a Don and happens to be pretty good with a guitar.

Get involved!

Hi, my name is Madison. I am a fourth year student completing a Double Major in Psychology and Criminology and a Minor in Sociology. I was born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, and my family still lives there. I attended Notre Dame Secondary School.

I chose to attend the University of Toronto for a variety of reasons including its world renowned reputation, its large size and many resources, its excellent professors and courses, and its vast opportunities for students to get involved in both academic and social/cultural activities, among other things. I chose the Mississauga campus specifically because I wanted to get my UofT education without confronting the size of the St. George campus right out of high school.

Besides my academics, I have also gotten involved in a lot of different things here at UTM. I have been dancing every year since I was 4 years old, so when I got to UofT Mississauga I was pleased to find out that they had a dance team. Now in my fourth year on the team, I am an executive member! Being able to continue on with dance on the team has allowed me to be active in a way that I am used to and enjoy, and being on the team has introduced me to many great people with whom I share that interest. We dance 4 hours a week (Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9-11 pm), and throughout the year we put on a dance pub, participate in Arts Fest, and attend two competitions.

In my first year of university I chose to live in residence and that provided me with another amazing way to get involved with campus life. In my second year I applied to be a don in residence and was hired! I loved my position so much that I was a don again in my third year and this year I am working as a programming assistant for the Department of Student Housing and Residence Life. My role as a member of the RLS (Residence Life Staff) team has been so rewarding and it has allowed me to meet really incredible people and make friends, and allowed me to develop both personally and professionally!

In addition, in my third year (last year), I applied for a work study position (which are campus jobs that are reserved for students eligible for OSAP) with the Office of Admissions and Recruitment and was hired as a student ambassador. That too has been a great experience (which I have continued into my fourth year) as it allows me to meet a variety of different people as well as talk about how much I have loved my time here at UTM to prospective students such as you!

So if I could give you one piece of advice (besides the typical, stay on top of your academic work of course) it would be to get involved! Investigate the numerous options available to you and find some things that suit you.

Madison Peters is a fourth year student working toward an Honours Bachelor of Science with a Double Major in Psychology and Criminology and a Minor in Sociology. She lives and works on residence as a Programming Assistant for one of the Community Development Coordinators.

New Year, new semester!

Wow, it’s already January 2012 and the first semester of my last year just flew by!  I’m glad that my courses are over and that they went well but what does the new semester hold in store for me?  Will my test dates and due dates overlap? Is the course I chose actually the course I wanted to take?  Do I have enough money saved up for coffee this semester?  All are very important questions.

The second half of the school year has begun at the University of Toronto Mississauga and I’m excited about my courses this semester.  I am enrolled in microbiology, thermodynamics and kinetics, animal physiology, and the biology of human sexuality.  I made sure that I attended all my classes the first week to ensure that the courses were of interest.  At the end of each one of those classes, I made sure to go through my syllabus and record all test and due dates – that way, I would always know what to do for the upcoming weeks.  This is a practice I began using in my second semester of first year after I almost missed a test!  That was before I discovered the wonders of coffee and decided to put my head down on my desk in the library but dozed off…

The courses I am enrolled in this semester are ones I have a personal interest in and want to take, as well as program requirements. They will classify me according to my programs: a biology major and math and chemistry minor.

I’m lucky to have planned ahead and figured out what courses I wanted to take.  Sometimes what you want to take doesn’t fit into your schedule with all your courses so you have to take some courses at other times, like in another semester or another year entirely.

As a student at UTM I am glad to know that I have the freedom to make changes to my course schedule two weeks into each semester.  There have been times when I’ve wanted to see how a course is so I have enrolled and attended the lectures knowing that I can drop the course with no academic or financial penalty.  UTM even gives all its students the ability to go so far as to change their program(s) of study – we just need to have the required courses and GPA for the program.

Since I’m pleased with my courses and they satisfy my program requirements, all that’s left for me to do is move into the Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Center, aka the UTM library.  That’s right, I said move into the library.  Does that sound odd to you?  Well it shouldn’t.  Where else would you study?!

Come to UofT Mississauga! …and its library!

Arvind Singh is a fourth year student working toward an Honours Bachelor of Science with a Major in Biology and a Double Minor in Chemistry and Mathematics. He plays rugby and boxes. These days, you are most likely to find Arvind in the library.

Tips from Emily

Thinking back to grade 12 seems like an eternity ago. It may have only been 5 years, but it seems like it's been ages since I was frantically searching university sites, trying to find that one university program that would work for me. I had my choices narrowed down to my top 6 and applied to those schools after visiting the campuses and making sure I had the pre-requisites to be considered eligible.

I was avid about visiting every campus I was considering, and wouldn't have changed a thing about these visits. Visiting the campuses was definitely the most beneficial way to narrow down my options, and it will help you realize some of your own priorities that you might not have considered. The campus tour is important to meet some current students at the university, ask questions about classes and student life, but most importantly, it will give you a feel of the campus and people. Consider the location of the campus, too, and don’t take this consideration too lightly. Living away from home is a big shift, and you will be making this campus your new home for the next 4 years or so. If you’re commuting, try the commute by yourself, with a parent or a friend to see what that route would be like and if there are any alternate routes. Prepare yourself as much as you feel necessary so that you’re comfortable prioritizing your choices and you will feel much more secure about making a decision.

Ok, I will admit that I was probably a little too much of a control-freak and my guidance counsellor was tired of our weekly updates, but I am very happy with my decision to come to UTM for many reasons. I am in a Concurrent Education program that is partnered with OISE. I liked the fact that two hugely recognized schools were offering this combined program with small size classes. I liked that I was slightly outside of the city (being a Toronto-native, I couldn’t be too far from a big city, but didn’t want to be right in the middle of it), but still was able to take courses at the St. George campus if I wanted a different experience to shake things up. If there was one thing I would change, it would be my anxiety level throughout the whole process. I actually enjoyed applying for university, doing the research, considering myself in different programs and wondering where they could lead. I became so obsessed with getting in that I would actually ask to leave class to “get a drink of water” or “go to the washroom” just to run to the library to check if OUAC had been updated. I don’t suggest this, as your librarian will catch onto you. (This was also before the time of data plans on smartphones, so forgive me for being so brutally ancient.) Don’t be worried if friends are hearing back from schools before you. It is a lengthy process, and you will hear back eventually. Once you have completed your applications and visited the campuses, all you can really do to ensure you get in is focus on your current classes and do the best you can in those classes. 

This can be a really fun experience, envisioning your future in many different ways and learning about yourself by prioritizing your needs in a school and in a program. Through discussions with your parents, guidance counsellors, friends and teachers, you can discuss what you think is most important for your transition and what is most realistic to cater towards your goals. Enjoy this learning experience! Good luck! 

Emily Johnston is a fifth year student in the Concurrent Teacher Education Program. She is working toward both a Bachelor of Education and an Honours Bachelor of Arts with a Double Major in Teaching and Learning French as a Second Language and English. She has loved her time at UTM for the small campus life and opportunities to get involved.

Drum roll, please!

Hello world! Here is our first blog post.