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Rank: Frosh
Groups: Member
Joined: 4/20/2008
Posts: 2
Location: Sydney, Aus
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I'm from Sydney, Australia and i'm wondering exactly what University life is like in Canada as I am considering moving there next year to study (have a citizenship, so why not...!!) Particularly curious as to what living on campus is like? Hows the social scene etc? I've heard its very different to here, e.g ALL of my friends at UNI here don't live on campus, I don't think many people really do...its just not a big thing in Aussie culture but i've heard it is in Canada. However the Uni party scene here is pretty big apparently at the major universities... What's Frosh week?...And when are term/holiday dates etc? What age are people generally in their first year? I'll be 19 in January '09. Which is a more exciting city - Vancouver or Toronto? (Kwantlen or Ryerson - applying for fashion design program at each, also considering University college of fraser valley?) I have relatives in Vancouver but have been there a couple of times already and i'm thinking a new city might be more interesting... 
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Rank: Valedictorian
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/4/2008
Posts: 655
Location: Toronto, ON
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Maddie wrote:I'm from Sydney, Australia and i'm wondering exactly what University life is like in Canada as I am considering moving there next year to study (have a citizenship, so why not...!!) Particularly curious as to what living on campus is like? Hows the social scene etc? I've heard its very different to here, e.g ALL of my friends at UNI here don't live on campus, I don't think many people really do...its just not a big thing in Aussie culture but i've heard it is in Canada. However the Uni party scene here is pretty big apparently at the major universities... What's Frosh week?...And when are term/holiday dates etc? What age are people generally in their first year? I'll be 19 in January '09. Which is a more exciting city - Vancouver or Toronto? (Kwantlen or Ryerson - applying for fashion design program at each, also considering University college of fraser valley?) I have relatives in Vancouver but have been there a couple of times already and i'm thinking a new city might be more interesting... I can't really compare it to Australia since I've never been there but I was speaking with a bunch of Aussy exchange students and they all LOVED it here (UofT) and mentioned that they were going to move here after they finished their degree! I was quite surprised because I wanted to move to Australia! haha As long as you're outgoing you'll really enjoy your time and make a lot of friends. Unfortunately if you're in a big city you'll meet a lot of people who don't live on campus but that shouldn't stop anyone from partying. Frosh Week is the first week of university where the upper years plan events to get the frosh (first years) to get to know each other and the university and have a lot of fun. Most people coming in first year will be 18-19 with a few being 17 if they have late birthdays.
-University of Toronto Electrical Engineering 1T0!
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Rank: Valedictorian
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/7/2008
Posts: 566
Location: toronto
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Maddie wrote:I'm from Sydney, Australia and i'm wondering exactly what University life is like in Canada as I am considering moving there next year to study (have a citizenship, so why not...!!) Particularly curious as to what living on campus is like? Hows the social scene etc? I've heard its very different to here, e.g ALL of my friends at UNI here don't live on campus, I don't think many people really do...its just not a big thing in Aussie culture but i've heard it is in Canada. However the Uni party scene here is pretty big apparently at the major universities... What's Frosh week?...And when are term/holiday dates etc? What age are people generally in their first year? I'll be 19 in January '09. Which is a more exciting city - Vancouver or Toronto? (Kwantlen or Ryerson - applying for fashion design program at each, also considering University college of fraser valley?) I have relatives in Vancouver but have been there a couple of times already and i'm thinking a new city might be more interesting... First off, stay in Australia, its all around better. You are a healthier nation (and you have an amazignly low frequency of AIDS.. gj on that its pro). You have better weather, and more fun. I live in Toronto, it doesn't compare to Vancouver in terms of quality of life. If you like natural beauty, snowboarding/skiing, golf, or.. anything good, Vancouver is better. UBC is also less of a machine than UT, but then again they both are. UBC's campus is amazing, UTs is.. meh. Just saw what school's ur looking at, no idea about Kwantlen, but Ryerson's reputation isn't the greatest in most circles, its improving fast though.
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Rank: Valedictorian
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/4/2008
Posts: 655
Location: Toronto, ON
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eco wrote:Just saw what school's ur looking at, no idea about Kwantlen, but Ryerson's reputation isn't the greatest in most circles, its improving fast though. For Fashion? Ryerson has been and I believe is one of the best schools in Toronto / Canada for fashion if I'm not mistaken. But yes I'm sure scenery wise you'll enjoy the campus out west much more than here.
-University of Toronto Electrical Engineering 1T0!
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Rank: Student Body President
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/4/2008
Posts: 1,482
Location: Ottawa
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Maddie wrote:I'm from Sydney, Australia and i'm wondering exactly what University life is like in Canada as I am considering moving there next year to study (have a citizenship, so why not...!!) Particularly curious as to what living on campus is like? Hows the social scene etc? I've heard its very different to here, e.g ALL of my friends at UNI here don't live on campus, I don't think many people really do...its just not a big thing in Aussie culture but i've heard it is in Canada. However the Uni party scene here is pretty big apparently at the major universities... What's Frosh week?...And when are term/holiday dates etc? What age are people generally in their first year? I'll be 19 in January '09. Which is a more exciting city - Vancouver or Toronto? (Kwantlen or Ryerson - applying for fashion design program at each, also considering University college of fraser valley?) I have relatives in Vancouver but have been there a couple of times already and i'm thinking a new city might be more interesting... The typical Canadian academic year runs from Sept. to April, with a semester from Sept to Dec and another from Jan to April (with about 2-3 weeks off around christmas depending on your exam schedule) Sometimes there's a summer semester as well (either for people who want to make up or take an extra course, or who are doing a co-op program where they are alternating school and work terms) While it is sometimes possible to start in January (or, even less often, May), for many programs you can only start in September. You'd have a 3 day weekend in October for the Thanksgiving Holiday, and a week off in February. Most people are about 18 in first year, perhaps 17 at the beginning. But there are lots of exceptions, you won't be the only 19 year old. The legal drinking age is 19 in BC and Ontario (and most other provinces; 18 in a couple). Frosh week is the orientation period at the start of the year (any such activities in January would be much less). It is a very crazy time where you meet people and learn your way around the campus. It is very fun, although usually not really a week (perhaps more like 3-4 days). Exactly what happens will depend on the university. Some of them organize the activities primarily by residence, other by faculty or program. Anyways, it usually involves fun things like concerts and skits presented about topics related to adjusting to university life; silly things like being told to hold hands with someone and skip to the dining hall, and more serious things like being told the rules of your residence, often there's math placement tests, etc, and activities involving topics like what exactly constitutes rape. My mom lives near Kwantlen's Langley campus, which wouldn't exactly be an "exciting" place given that it's very far from downtown Vancouver; but it seems the program you are looking at is at their Richmond campus, which I don't really know anything about but is much closer to the heart of the city. That being said, Kwantlen is still very much a place where almost all of the students would be coming from the local area. Ryerson is much more well known for the sorts of programs you are interested in (while you may hear negative things here about other programs, the "creative" programs are their strong point). I don't know that Kwantlen even has any residences, and I know Ryerson does but it is also more of a commuter school. Toronto would be a cheaper city to live in than Vancouver, but I suspect the tuition at Kwantlen would be less (but I don't know).
Remember that it often takes just as long to do a search or two on Google to try and find the answer to your question as it takes to type it in a post here, let alone the time waiting for a reply. If your question is "What mark does it take to get into University X", or "What are the requirements to get into University X", it's on their website and/or electronicinfo.ca (for Ontario schools). Particularly for Ontario schools, those ranges are a pretty good picture of what kind of mark will get you into the program, and if you're more than a couple percent higher it's practically guaranteed unless it requires a supplementary form.
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Rank: Frosh
Groups: Member
Joined: 4/20/2008
Posts: 2
Location: Sydney, Aus
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Thanks for all the info - very helpful...
Would starting in January, if possible, be a bad idea? It's the most conveniant time for me, and its probably too late to apply for september anyway..
Also, where are the best universities for design degrees in general (not necessarily fashion) ??
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Rank: Valedictorian
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/4/2008
Posts: 655
Location: Toronto, ON
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I'd suggest you really try and start in september with everyone else! Most people meet their friends / people they hang out with during the first two weeks so if you come one semester in, you might feel a little left out!
I don't think it is too late to apply either!
-University of Toronto Electrical Engineering 1T0!
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Rank: Student Body President
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/4/2008
Posts: 1,482
Location: Ottawa
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It isn't neccesarily too late to apply for September, but it may be for the programs you are interested in. Also it may be too late if you need a visa (which I guess you wouldn't if you have dual citizenship or whatever, that helps a lot with the tuition too ;)). It would be a lot easier to meet people if you start in September. And then if you come in Sept. you get a gradual transition to Canadian winters rather than coming at the coldest time of year. Ryerson is certainly known for design type programs. There are a number of art schools out there that may have good design programs (but not neccesarily fashion design) - Emily Carr in BC, OCAD in Ontario, NSCAD in Nova Scotia, etc. Those schools are very specialized universities focused on arts and design. They also don't neccesarily do the full living on campus university experience.. I know OCAD does not have residences. I think maybe NSCAD doesn't have their own but you can stay in Dalhousie's? And I have no clue about the others. It's an area of major overlap between colleges and universities. Sheridan is a very well known college for design type programs, and it appears they offer some sort of joint program with York University. But I don't see fashion design specifically. Carleton has a good industrial design program. I think Ryerson might be the other place that offers that but I'm not sure, but it's definitely a program that is only offered at a few places. Generally there aren't too many universities with design degrees so that limits your options  Just as a clarification if neccesary, as I know the useage of "college" varies a bit between Canada and the US and I have no idea how it might be in Australia. When I say "college", I am referring to a type of institution that would be usually called a "community college" in the US. I'd say that colleges don't grant degrees, but more and more they are giving out "Bachelor of Applied xxx" degrees. But those degrees are not neccesarily considered the same as degrees offered by a university, and colleges also offer programs that tend to be more hands on - you go to a university to be an engineer, but a college to be an electrician or an "engineering technologist" or something. Kwantlen is an institution that has it's foot in both camps. OCAD and NSCAD, despite the C standing for College, are universities. To make it even more confusing, some universities have internal subdivisions called colleges but that's a different useage of the term ;) The main thing where the equivalency would come up is if you did your design applied degree and then decided you wanted to do a master's degree or get into something like teaching, both of which require degrees, and may or may not view the applied degree as acceptable.
Remember that it often takes just as long to do a search or two on Google to try and find the answer to your question as it takes to type it in a post here, let alone the time waiting for a reply. If your question is "What mark does it take to get into University X", or "What are the requirements to get into University X", it's on their website and/or electronicinfo.ca (for Ontario schools). Particularly for Ontario schools, those ranges are a pretty good picture of what kind of mark will get you into the program, and if you're more than a couple percent higher it's practically guaranteed unless it requires a supplementary form.
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Rank: Frosh
Groups: Member
Joined: 8/1/2008
Posts: 1
Location: south-africa, quite old for first year university
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Hi, I believe you guys are all from canada. Im Married and father of two cutty naughty girls, working for 10 years.I would like to study in vancouver canada, but I desperatly need some help for the matter as follow: my family visa?? How easy or difficult is the grant for a study visa for a father like me? and also considering the fact that I really want to take my family with me??? Lets say Ithat Ihave enough fund as I said for one full year tuition and also the fund to provide a complete normal life for myself and my family (rent food etc..)???
My second year will be a little problem but not really as such, bcoz I own a small business where I live now which can provide me some extras apart from sponsors funds but still we need to generate some extra income as we are family and my kids are getting their 10ish this year.Here is my question: As a student with family in canada, can my wife run a home based small internet business to help us on an extra income (kids health in case, beverages for them or may be buying a car!!!!????) the business's turn over would be around C$10000/month.is this big or small in canada according to canada's standard business level.I also know that vancouver's cost of living is among the highest in canada?
Desperatly need some help on those matter, any advice would be the most welcomed. Thanx in advance.
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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 7/16/2008
Posts: 257
Location: Hamilton
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I cant help you in regards to the study visa for you and your family because I know nothing about the process-not enough to give you advice on your particular situation at least! $10 000 (in Canadian dollars) per month is good money (that's $120 000 per year which is much higher than the national average). The cost of living in Vancouver is definitely up there-Toronto and Vancouver are among the most expensive cities in Canada to live in. If you're looking at buying a house/condo, you're looking at upwards of $300 000 ($500 000 is probably a better estimate) but I'm assuming you would be renting? Renting in Vancouver can vary-you have a family so you're going to need something that's a decent size, which means you're probably looking at upwards of $1500-$2000/month (possibly much higher depending on what size place and the location of the place you're considering). Buying a vehicle out here can run you anywhere from $6500 if you want an older, used car to $50 000 if you want a nice, brand new, higher end model. If you're only going to be here for a few years, you also might want to consider leasing a car for four years, you can get a good 2009 vehicle anywhere from $300-$550/month (plus insurance, gas, etc). Living costs are higher-groceries (etc) are more expensive in Vancouver than other areas. I'd say for a family of four, if you buy just the basics and don't eat out often, you're looking at around $500/month for food, but a more realistic number would probably be upwards of that. Clothing can range anywhere from $20 for an outfit if you buy clothes used at a used clothing store (like Value Villiage) all the way to hundreds of dollars for an outfit if you buy newer namebrand clothing. Internet business are overrated. Unless your wife has some novel approach it's very hard to make extra money running an internet business (speaking from personal experience). I guess it would depend on her skills and how much extra money you're looking to make-if you're willing to make an initial investment, your best bet for a home based internet business would probably be selling some sort of product that there's a demand for. If you have more questions let me know!
4th Year Mac Science Student. Mac Psych Society Executive Member 2008/2009 Mac Community Standards Assistant 2008/2009 Vote for me: http://www.cbc.ca/nextprimeminister/candidates/shilodavis.html
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