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The No-Fear-First-Year Mini Guide to Starting at UofT

When I was eight years old I loved everything about summer. That is, until those “back-to-school” commercials started popping up everywhere (why they air those commercials as soon as we have our first taste of summer, I’ll never know.) As soon as I saw those advertisements, I was reminded of the horrors of going back to school—but that was before my education included lectures about movies and playing beer pong.  So, for those of us lucky enough to go to UofT, seeing a “back-to-school” advertisement no longer needs to fill us with mortal dread. Instead, we can embrace this time;  September is reborn as a time for Toga parties, being reunited with old friends, and even making new ones.

While many readers will have already passed Freshman year, I’m sure there are those of you who are still a bit nervous about heading off into the direction of academia. For those lucky few, I have prepared the following crash-course on how to spend your first few weeks at UofT.

1. Don’t freak out.

You’ve signed up for your classes. You’ve paid your tuition (hopefully!). You know where you are going to live.  Beyond that,  don’t worry over anything just yet. Just because the anti-calendar says your class is going to suck, doesn’t mean it actually will.  Just because you don’t know anyone in your class, doesn’t mean you can’t make some new friends– or at least meet someone to share notes with.  Don’t listen to people when they tell you to just “turn back while you can!”. You obviously did well enough in High School to get into Uni, so there is no reason you can’t succeed once you get there.

2. Seriously, don’t freak out.

All of those things you are worried about—making friends, tests, term papers, parties, getting lost—they haven’t happened yet.

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blogUT explores U of T with My City Lives

blogUT has been busy working behind the scenes with My City Lives to film and showcase a number of hot spots at the University of Toronto St. George Campus. September is just creeping around the corner and we know there’ll be a ton of new students joining us, many of whom will have no clue of where to go or what to see on campus (ah, to be a froshie!). We wanted to provide a resource to better acquaint these newcomers to our lovely campus. Lord knows we needed it back when we started at U of T. And seriously, what better way to do it than through a video series introducing all the different spots to visit on campus?!

Oh and to those of you who aren’t newbies to the university but still find yourselves lost sometimes? Don’t worry, this is for you too! And to be honest, while we were filming these little snippets, we discovered so many spots we had never been to or even heard of before! It just goes to show that no matter how long you’ve been in one place, you never stop finding new things to do or see!

We’ve got quite a few videos up and ready for viewing, so be sure to check them out on the My City Lives website or just click here. Oh and if you’re wondering who these mysterious “My City Lives” folk are…they’re our friends who have developed an online platform that gives us the chance to capture and share our daily experiences around the city on video. Presented on an interactive map, these web stories show exactly where each video was filmed so you can learn more about the city based on the stories and experiences of your fellow citizens. Pretty cool, huh?

Now our friends at MCL say, “Let’s Magellan our city” and now we’re calling all of you to Magellan our campus!

In the meantime, here’s a sample video where we show you around Hart House…quite literally the “Hart” of U of T, bringing together all of the different colleges and students on campus together to experience life outside of lecture halls, labs, and tutorials!

*If you cannot view this video, please click here.