My Time at the University of Toronto: An Alum's Honest Reflection

When I started at the University of Toronto, I had no idea what was in store for me. It gave me lifelong friends, the chance to try new things, to fail, and to get lost along the way. In the end, I'm incredibly fortunate and proud to have been part of it.

If you're a high school student researching universities, I hope this gives you some clarity. And if you've just been accepted or just started your own journey here, congratulations: the next few years are going to be exciting.

To be clear, ask ten students or alumni and you'll get ten different answers about what this place is really like. I wasn't the best student in my class (some might say I was one of the worst), but I tried to experience everything the university had to offer: working on a student team, doing research, taking too many internships, and pulling more late nights studying than I can count. So take this as my personal take, though I think most of my friends here would agree.

1. Friends and community

Community at U of T happens on a lot of different levels: the friends you make in class, the people you meet on a design team, the ones you stumble into through some random hobby you picked up. With nearly 100,000 students, odds are good you'll find someone who's into the same weird stuff you are. Whatever you're into, there's a club for it.

I found my best friends at the University of Toronto Tennis Club. At the University of Toronto Aerospace Team, I found a mentor and a handful of people I still work with today.

There's a rumour that U of T is cutthroat, that your classmates are too busy competing with you to actually support you. I've found the complete opposite to be true.

Everyone supports each other, teaches each other, and pushes each other to be better.

We bonded in the common room over the drama of finishing homework before the 11:59 p.m. deadline, and over making fun of professors. You'll spend a ton of time on team projects, including plenty of all-nighters and trips to competitions together, and honestly, that's where some of the best memories get made. Everyone here is so passionate about what they do that being around that energy makes you want to level up too. One of my classmates and I still go apple picking every year.

So put yourself out there during frosh week, talk to the people sitting next to you in class, and join a student team. You'll be amazed how quickly a whole network of friends and fascinating people shows up around you.

2. City, campus and student life

U of T reaches well beyond its three main campuses (St. George, Scarborough and Mississauga), with facilities scattered across the Greater Toronto Area, including an aerospace research facility in North York, an environmental research reserve in King City, and an observatory in Richmond Hill. I spent most of my time at St. George, the downtown campus, so that's what this section covers.

The city

One of the best parts of St. George is that it sits in a world-class city. Toronto has pretty much everything you could imagine, and you're never more than a five-minute walk from something great, including cheap, delicious food from just about every culture. There are endless malls if you're into fashion, and just as many cozy coffee shops if you'd rather spend a quiet weekend studying for your next test.

The nightlife isn't the wildest, but there are plenty of bars and clubs, and Ontario's drinking age is 19, so most students can join in from their first or second year.

The campus

There's always something happening as you walk to class. What first drew me to U of T were the Harry Potter-like buildings, and although I still haven't explored the whole campus, everywhere I go is beautiful. Many of the libraries have an academic atmosphere that just makes you want to study.

The gym and athletic facilities have almost everything you could ask for: a pool, squash courts, a basketball court and a running track. The downsides are that the downtown campus doesn't have a great tennis court, and the gym can get busy.

What to know before you move downtown

• It's expensive. Housing and groceries downtown cost more, and big-city life can feel stressful. It isn't for everyone.
• It's generally safe. I have female friends who walk around at night without worrying. Incidents do happen, but they're rare.
• The TTC is convenient for getting around, but it gets packed at rush hour and delays are common.
• Winters are long. Expect plenty of snow, and the wind chill can push it down to −30 °C.

3. Careers and the alumni network

U of T alumni have helped build Canada, including some very well-known names: Ilya Sutskever (co-founder of OpenAI), Lester B. Pearson (Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Canada's 14th prime minister) and Lorne Michaels (creator of Saturday Night Live). The university has also produced some of the most important innovations of the modern era, including the discovery of insulin, foundational work in artificial intelligence, and the invention of IMAX.

With alumni around the world continually building its reputation, U of T is arguably the most recognizable university brand in Canada, and having that name on your résumé genuinely improves your chances of landing a job.

A large university also means a large alumni network that's willing to support you at every stage of your career. Across four jobs, from small companies to Fortune 500s, I have always had a direct manager, or someone above them, who went to U of T:

• My first three managers were U of T graduates.
• An alumnus helped me land my first aerospace job.
• Four U of T alumni founded the company I work at now.

The co-op program

Co-op is how most students find their first internship, and it can be a double-edged sword. A good placement is genuinely valuable: you get time to learn, finish a real project, and possibly receive a return offer. But if you end up in a placement you don't enjoy, you're somewhat stuck with it.

The people running the program also aren't particularly proactive about finding you internships, so you'll need to take that search into your own hands. That said, they're very helpful with résumé feedback.

4. Prestige, degree and courses

At U of T, you're surrounded by world-class researchers and their former students. One of my professors was a student of Geoffrey Hinton, and my thesis supervisor was a student of Peter Carlisle Hughes. You'll be learning from some of the best researchers in Canada. Of course, as at any university, you'll get both good and bad professors, so choose your courses wisely.

In my program, Engineering Science, I found the courses too fundamental to be directly useful in industry, with fewer hands-on courses than my friends in the core engineering disciplines had. But those fundamentals taught me to think differently and solve problems, and that has been worth more to me than any single tool or technique. You'll be surprised how often those concepts come up.

Going to class and writing exams was my least favourite part of university. There's a certain satisfaction in complaining about your courses to friends at other universities, because what you're going through really is unique. That said, I understand if staying up until 2 a.m. almost every week isn't for you.

5. The verdict

The University of Toronto is one of the best universities in the world, and I'm glad I had the chance to be part of it. Between the friends I made, the environment and the city, I fell in love with it. But like any university, it might not be for everyone, so do your research before accepting.

And if you do say yes: I hope you have the best years of your life here.