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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 8/8/2008
Posts: 127
Location: Caledonia, ON
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Hey everyone! I'm trying to pick a university to attend year after next (I have to do a fifth year of high school. boo!) and I'm kinda searching around. I want to go into the concurrent education program, but it seems like only smaller schools are offering it. The four that I'm applying to are Brock, Trent, Nipissing and Queens, with Brock and Queens being the only two big schools that offer it. I was wondering if there is a difference in qualtiy of education/social life/things to do in the town/etc, it'll really help me making my decision. Thanks a ton!
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Rank: Student Body President
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/4/2008
Posts: 1,482
Location: Ottawa
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I think small schools are great! It is a bit of a matter of personal choice, but for me it was definitely the best choice to go to a school where even some of my first year profs knew me by name (without much effort on my part) and I definitely got to know most of the profs in my department. If you look at measures of student satisfaction and engagement with learning, many of the small schools are way ahead. I believe that Trent's B.Ed program is in some way affiliated with Queens. Now, as I say for anyone looking at education - the job market is not great, as there are fewer kids and a lot of people looking for work. If you want to get into teaching, keep in mind that you're probably going to need some in demand specialty, be willing to move to where you can get a job, which could be a very remote community, or be willing to deal with a few years as a substitute teacher (note: getting on the occasional teacher list isn't necessarily easy!). A friend is about to head off to some tiny community in Northern Alberta for elementary, I don't believe she has any particular in demand skills, and she just recently got that offer.
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: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 5/20/2008
Posts: 260
Location: Greater Toronto Area
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I believe U of T also offers a concurrent teacher education program... they are pretty big.  Similar to what Kaylya has already said, numerous people have told me that university life is what you make out of it... meaning no matter where you go, your happiness/satisfaction will be determined by YOU, nobody else. Sure, smaller schools may not have the amount of resources as some of the bigger schools, but there are plenty of people (here and elsewhere) who can testify with first hand experience how a small school experience benefited their education (ex. Kaylya), and those who can confess that a big school actually had a negative effect on their university experience.
UTSG Rotman Commerce (Victoria College) 2012
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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 8/8/2008
Posts: 127
Location: Caledonia, ON
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Trent is associated with Queens - you get your Arts degree from Trent and your education from Queens. U of T only offers it in a technology and mathematics field, i believe, and neither of those are my strong points. Give me ancient history and classics and music and we're good to go  I've definitley liked small schools better, it's kinda overwhelming and odd going to a school where you don't know everyone. My high school only has 700 kids in it, max. Thanks a ton for answering, it's great hearing opinions from students rather than Maclean's rankings. I've researched this teacher thing more than you can ever imagine, Kaylya. I figure that I really want to travel and spend time in random places, and if i have to search for a job in remote back country, then so be it. As long as there's someone there to kill the spiders for me. I've always got the option of having another job until the baby boomers start retiring, but there's still six or seven years to go until i'm even done school. If you speak French, you're as good as gold. Actually, any language skill will land you a fantastic job as a teacher. I wish I kept with French!
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Rank: Student Council
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/13/2008
Posts: 317
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My sister went to Lakehead concurrent ed and loved it. She was from a small high school too. She knew no one. Lakehead was really helpful in all her years there.
She got a job right away - grade 2. She graduated in 2007.
She is thinking about taking a leave of absence in September 2009 from her board and take a job in South America or Asia. The Ontario teacher's certificate is very portable. She wants to travel before she has kids.
It's a great career choice although right now it is a bit difficult to land a job in some areas of Ontario. There should be another round of retirements in a few years which will help. But since you want to travel you will be fine job wise.
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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/5/2008
Posts: 168
Location: Montreal, Quebec
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I think York has a concurrent ed program aswell, and I know Mcgill does...both big schools of course. I really advise you to pick a school that your most comfortable with...
Mcgill BSc 2010
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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/4/2008
Posts: 112
Location: Way East
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Some of the pros to smaller schools include, as others have mentioned, that you will be able to get to know your professors easier. This makes it easier for you to approach them for help, or if you need a recommendation for a scholarship, it might be easier for them to recommend you because they know you better than a professor at a larger school might. Some smaller schools are also more generous with money. I don't mean automatic entrance scholarships, because I have seen some of the bigger schools (Dal, Carleton, U of Ottawa) be the most generous with those. But it's easier to compete with a smaller field as opposed to a bigger field. If you do decide that you want to study something in grad school, it might be easier to stand out from the pack, so to say, at a place like Trent or Brock than U of T. Some people will argue that your degree is better if you go to a place like of U of T (or with Commerce, a place like Queen's, etc.) To some extent, this can be true, but what it comes down to is the reputation and the connections that the school has. With teaching, as Kaylya said, it's not an in-demand job so regardless of where you go you might have trouble finding a job, unlike a field like engineering or business. Perhaps you prefer the way one school teaches the program though, talk to some current students and get some opinions from those who know it best. In terms of a big or small town...well, that's up to you. It depends on your preferences. Fun can be had in each. 
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Rank: Frosh
Groups: Member
Joined: 8/14/2008
Posts: 19
Location: North Bay in two weeks
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Well, I'll be officially a Nipissing student in about two weeks and the size is ideal for me. I'm from a high school that was hugely overpopulated and I never had a class under thirty or so students. After four years of being packed in like sardines I decided to go somewhere a bit smaller rather than my initial number one choice(Ottawa). From what I've seen from tours, NSO, and visits it is a smaller school where you are free to express yourself, plus with a small population you get lots of opportunities to meet people. We also have the best residences in Ontario, according to the Globe and Mail.
There are plenty of times that I regret my choice of not enrolling at a larger school, larger schools usually have more in the regards of school spirit and pride, sometimes through athletic competition, which Nipissing offers very little of. But if you're doing concurrent education, I don't think there is a better option in Ontario, our school is very dedicated towards our concurrent program. I'd take some tours this year to get a feel of which type of campus environment is right for you.
Nipissing 2012 GRID
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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 8/8/2008
Posts: 127
Location: Caledonia, ON
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Awesome, you've totally convinced me. I know they they don't have fantastic sports, but thats good because i love sports but i kinda suck at them...so it's great! I just wish they had a music program, but I guess that's something I'll just have to go with. I did love the residences. where are you staying?
I've done one tour and loved it. Mind, it was in the summer, so I might go back in the winter. I'm not averse to cold weather, so I think I'll fit in really well. I'm going to miss having school spirit and music programs but I can probably find a youth band or orchestra i can join.
Now I'm really excited for Trent!
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Rank: Frosh
Groups: Member
Joined: 8/14/2008
Posts: 19
Location: North Bay in two weeks
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Peterborourgh is a depressing and scary place.
Nipissing 2012 GRID
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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 8/8/2008
Posts: 127
Location: Caledonia, ON
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Oh wow, I'm so sorry Laker12, I completley misread your reply. I'm so stupid...I did like Nipissing as well but that fact that there was really only one building and it was on an escarpment didn't really appeal to me, I couldn't rollerblade from rez to school or whatnot. I also liked the residences, but i wasn't ready to go straight into an apartment with people I didn't know. I'm still wondering where you're staying, though.
Have fun in North Bay!!
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Rank: Frosh
Groups: Member
Joined: 8/14/2008
Posts: 19
Location: North Bay in two weeks
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Rollerblading up and down that hill is probably not the greatest idea, we kinda dug our own shortcut trails but you can barely mountain bike them. Unless you would be living in the townhouse style(I wouldn't) or the residence complex that is on top of the hill, getting to and from class is a 15-20 minute affair with either a crazy trail or a bus. The apartment thing really os just a modified version of the tradiotional style residences, only you're grouped in fours. The biggest bonus is that it's two people per washroom so there's never a need to wait or anything. I'm staying in founders residence, fourth floor, if you don't know which that is...it's the green one with the baseball field . I like it better than a usual dorm style because t's much easier to meet people and throw unique parties and do things like trading places which we're doing for our orientation week.
Nipissing 2012 GRID
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Rank: Student Council
Groups: Member
Joined: 6/7/2008
Posts: 325
Location: ME
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small schools are awesome, it makes you feel like your a someone, plus you actually get a chance to communicate with professors which is very important academically.
My signature was to big so they killed it  Time is an ocean it has an ebb and flow, It gives me a RUSH of blood to the head the same way Snakes and Arrows do!
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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 8/11/2008
Posts: 53
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Laker12 wrote:Peterborourgh is a depressing and scary place. I disagree... I love Peterborough. It's a great place for students. There are Tim Hortons on every corner! And a great downtown with awesome restaurants and bars. Piggy/Trash night anyone? WOOO!
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Rank: Student Council
Groups: Member
Joined: 6/7/2008
Posts: 325
Location: ME
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what's piggy/trash night, and soo many tim hortans makes it sound like a place where heart problems is quite common.
My signature was to big so they killed it Time is an ocean it has an ebb and flow, It gives me a RUSH of blood to the head the same way Snakes and Arrows do!
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Rank: Student Body President
Groups: Member
Joined: 6/5/2008
Posts: 1,758
Location: Edmonton, AB
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Adu wrote:what's piggy/trash night, and soo many tim hortans makes it sound like a place where heart problems is quite common. Haha there's a ton of fast food places no matter what city you're in. Tim Hortons is one of the healthier places anyways.
University of Alberta - Mechanical Engineering '11
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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 8/11/2008
Posts: 53
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Adu wrote:what's piggy/trash night, and soo many tim hortans makes it sound like a place where heart problems is quite common. The Pig's Ear and the Trasheteria are 2 bars in downtown Ptbo... we go there pretty much every Wednesday night... it's where the Trent students hang out. It's basically a huge gongshow.
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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 8/8/2008
Posts: 127
Location: Caledonia, ON
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I love tim hortons so thats fantastic for me it's unfortunate though, I won't be 19 until November 2009. I'll have to wait a while for that night. I've seen Founders, it's pretty nice. You'll have a great time there laker!
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