The Life of a First-Year Student - International Students
I’m a first-year student in the Faculty of Arts and Science. I’m an international student from Malaysia. Being a student at UofT is such an amazing experience. UofT offers many things that are valuable for students such as the library system. I find that the materials and resources available at UofT are really great and they have helped me a lot in my assignments so far. My favourite library is Robarts Library but I also love the libraries in different Colleges because I can find the books that are not available in Robarts at the other libraries. I’m really impressed with UofT’s library system.
Since English is not my first language, communication may be a little bit harder for me. However, I find that people here in Toronto, especially in UofT, are really friendly and helpful. By asking their help, my understanding, especially in my courses, increases. TAs (Teaching Assistants) are really helpful. I’ve learnt that by asking TAs about the courses or for explanations regarding assignments, you have a better opportunity to do well in your courses. I’m also really glad that I can go to the Innis Writing Centre to improve my writing skills for my essays. Although I’m still struggling to improve my English, I find that being here is improving my English.
I wish I had chance to go to Orientation Week. Since I arrived late here in Toronto, I did not get a chance to go to the orientation events. However, I think I managed to learn a lot about UofT slowly from my other friends. I recommend for new students to go to Orientation, also known as Frosh Week. Orientation Week has social events but also events that teach you helpful things to survive at UofT. If you miss it, then go and seek help from your academic advisor so you won’t feel left behind and like you know nothing.
Another important thing I’ve learnt here is to seek help from an academic advisor. Since I’m not that familiar with the academic system at UofT, I believe that getting advice from an academic advisor is a great help. It will get you on track about your academic performance and how to manage your subjects all year.
Since this is my first year in Canada, the weather has been really difficult to adapt to, especially in winter. Snow is really beautiful but once it snows heavily it gets really cold. So, for anyone new to Canada, please keep yourself warm all the time. You will get used to the cold here after a few weeks.
- First-year Social Science student, home country: Malaysia
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First semester was not easy for me and probably not for any first-year student. I was immensely overwhelmed by the huge academic workload and by learning to cook my daily meals for myself in Innis Residence. Exams were relatively challenging too, and socially, I had little connection to friends.
However, I eventually rejuvenated after learning some strategies to overcome those problems. I got involved in Innis intramural sports, playing volleyball, soccer and Ultimate frisbee. I met a bunch of friends here and my "newness" is gone. The Innis College Student Society widened the circle of my social life through a number of events and workshops. The events bring together all Innis students and are arranged to make sure that students interact and get connected. It was at these events that I learned just how different University is from high school.
Daily trips to my Registrar's Office cleared all my academic and financial worries. I personally think that the Registrar's Office is the best resource out of the many resources for students at UofT.
I also registered with the Blueprint program where I get weekly emails for workshops held across campus. In these workshops I learned how to write a research paper, improve my study skills and leadership skills, and also improved a number of other personal skills through the exploration of life off-campus and learning about career information.
- First-year Life Science student, home country: Sudan
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