Neuroscience Specialist at University of Toronto (Scarborough)

Raida (Year 2)

raida.alam@mail.utoronto.ca

What did you wish you knew before going to your university? What made you choose this institution over all others? What are advantages and disadvantages of your institution or campus? List any advice for incoming first-year students about your university.

Before I started going to my university I wish I knew how to pace my work schedule. Don’t worry too much about having an absolutely overwhelming workload, if anything it’s very manageable as long as you plan ahead. Try to enroll in clubs to get to know people and even if you don’t you’ll definitely still be able to make plenty of friends. I often heard the social life at my campus was dull but really found it to be otherwise and made plenty of friends and events reconnected with people I hadn’t met in a long time.

What did you wish you knew before choosing your specific program? What are the advantages and disadvantages of your program? List any advice for incoming first-year students about your program of study.

Before choosing your program definitely make sure you have taken the relevant courses to get accepted into that program, as well as maintaining the gpa limit for the program. You should also look ahead to see what the future classes of the program are like and see if they interest you! I also recommend taking a variety of courses that’s what the ncr option is meant for! Make use of it and see what subjects interest you. You’ll always do better in a class you’re actually interested in.

What was your favourite university experience?

Making some great and helpful friends.

What was your least favourite university experience?

Not realizing how much time management would impact my schedule.

What is the hardest part about your program and what were the steps that you took to overcome any difficulties?

Studying for exams is definitely about pacing yourself and making sure you understand and remember the topics you learned. If you have good study habits from high school then you’re set but if not it’s never too late to learn. I didn’t study much in high school but really made an effort for university and honestly it reflects in my grades. As long as you do the work and don’t just study the day of an exam you’ll have no complaints. Try to get to know people in your class so you can avoid being paired with people who don’t contribute. You most likely won’t run into that issue but if you do be sure to talk to your TA, course coordinator or professors. They’ll lead you in the right direction. Also make use of services offered on campus like Academic Advising and the writing centre since they really will help you improve your grades.

If you were able to take electives, what was your favourite elective? If you were not able to take electives, what was your favourite course and why?

Some of my favourite courses were BIOB10, ClAA05, and STAB22. For some people they are a program requirement so having them be VERY interesting and having engaging teachers in a big plus. All my professors for these classes were very involved and really made me LOVE the class. Even if some of them are “hard” classes if you make an effort you can definitely get a GREAT grade. So don’t be discouraged by what you might hear.

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