How to Choose Which University is Right For You: School-Related Factors

It may seem as if the hard part is over; submitting all your applications, submitting your grades for evaluation, finishing those much put-off supplementary essays, however, for many students, including myself, choosing which program to accept and which university to commit the next four years of your life too, is another challenge in itself. It may seem overwhelming at first when all of your acceptances start to roll in through your emails and portals but rest assured, today I will be discussing one of the first of four major things to consider when choosing the right program for you.

This first blog of our new blog series “How to Choose Which University is Right For You,” will discuss some of the academic environments that Ontario universities have developed and the reputations they have upheld.

When choosing a university program to attend, there are many factors that you should consider, and which will definitely influence your choice. Not only is the program you choose going to help you find a career in the future, but where you attend university often influences your experiences as an undergraduate student, and I am sure that you want to choose the best program for you. However, using ‘best’ is a loose term and not necessarily true because I have found that there is no ‘best’ program for you, but there are going to be advantages and disadvantages with each choice, and it is analyzing which factors are most important to you when making the final decision and finally clicking that bright ACCEPT button.

Across Ontario, there are several universities to choose from, and oftentimes programs overlap and this can make it difficult to choose which university to attend if the programs are very similar. One of the important factors to consider when choosing which university and program to accept, is the idea of academic reputation, meaning, what is the central area of study that the university tailors their undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral studies towards.

STEM

The first area of study that I will be discussing is STEM, which if you do not already know, stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. I am aware that many of you are planning to pursue an undergraduate career in STEM, specifically in science as many of you are probably wanting to pursue a career in healthcare, and fear not because there are hundreds of programs to choose from. I want to acknowledge that Canadian universities offer many STEM courses that have received very high ratings in terms of education delivery, tuition costs, and overall enjoyment. STEM universities in Canada are known to offer high-quality education without putting too much of a dent in students’ bank accounts, although some of them do have higher tuition rates because of the hands-on equipment needed to satisfy the hands-on learning approach that many of the programs offer. Although most universities have interdisciplinary and diverse ranges of study available for students, many universities have focused their fundraising and overall goals towards advancing research in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Since many of you are probably interested in pursuing a science-related undergraduate degree, below I have listed some of the best universities for obtaining a science-seeking degree in Ontario, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings of 2022:

1. University of Toronto
2. McGill University
3. McMaster University
4. Queen’s University
5. Western University

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All five of these schools are known to offer students looking to obtain experience and exposure to environments related to health, medicine, and science, with a tremendous amount of research opportunities, and to access resources to help in creating a competitive application for graduate schools like medical school. It is not to say that any other universities are going to hurt your chances of getting into medical school, or in any way, these schools will increase your chances of being accepted, but students have found that they have access to a lot of helpful resources and opportunities to get involved in their community as part of their extracurricular activities which is very important in graduate school applications including clubs, councils, research, virtual conferences, and laboratory experience. Many of the science-based programs offer many interdisciplinary and diverse science courses, and do not focus solely on explicit sciences like biology, chemistry, and physics, but allow students to explore other areas of these sciences in more detail and specialize in these areas. In addition, these schools have some of the highest-ranking undergraduate research programs for summer students looking for placements, and year-round volunteering for getting experience in working in a lab with other faculty members and other research students in learning how to one day run your own research project and experiments. Overall, I would recommend taking a deeper look into the opportunities that as a student studying science, you would have at these schools and planning some of the things that you can get involved in outside of your studies.

Education

The next career pathway that has become increasingly popular in the past decade or so, has been pursuing a career in education. Many universities have teachers colleges associated with the institution, and many allow for students to enter into a joint program right from high school. Below I have listed the top schools for undergraduate students looking to pursue a degree in education in Ontario, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings of 2022:

1. University of Toronto
2. McGill University
3. University of Ottawa
4. Queen’s University
5. York University

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These top five schools all have their own faculty of education, and many of them have concurrent programs which allow students to obtain their degree in education throughout an extended period of the study compared to the normal four-year route but do not require any additional application to another program or school. Many students who are currently working towards obtaining their degree in education find that experience is one of the most important components of becoming a successful teacher and makes you competitive for looking for placements within school boards. With so many students obtaining their license to teach, and limited spots available for new and incoming teachers, having lots of experience in the field can be very helpful, alongside a high GPA of course.

Many of the schools listed above have been ranked some of the best for students who have an education focus because they offer a wide variety of Co-op placements and in-field experiences through job placements, volunteering, classroom experience, and the opportunity to take an active role in their community through school initiatives. These schools also have a wide variety of courses that allow students to explore different areas within their major, to see where they would fit best and some of the subjects they would enjoy teaching as a full-time classroom teacher.

Overall, these universities allow students to gain a vast range of experience working in different education and classroom settings, helping them to become competitive applicants when applying to different school boards to hopefully obtain a permanent position. If you are interested in pursuing a degree in teaching/education, I would highly suggest taking a look at these schools, the courses they offer, and the experiential learning experiences they offer that assist students in becoming successful.

Law

If learning about anatomical structures is not your thing, and you have no desire to be in a class with screaming children for the whole day, perhaps a career in law is something that may be of interest to you, in fact, many students pre-med actually end up in law school and are deemed competitive applicants when applying to law schools. This shouldn’t surprise you, especially because many of the top schools for students studying pre-med, coincide with many of the schools that are deemed the ‘best’ universities for students focusing on pursuing a career in law. To be pre-law is similar to when students deem themselves as pre-med, in that they are completing their undergraduate studies to prepare for law school. Unlike pre-med students, pre-law students have a lot more freedom when it comes to choosing an undergraduate major and study focus since law schools do not require many prerequisites necessary for acceptance into law schools. In fact, many students deemed as ‘pre-law’ are actually not pursuing a major in pre-law but something that combines politics, science, and philosophy, to have a diverse background in many fields that all connect to law and becoming a lawyer. Below I have listed the top schools for undergraduate students for pursuing a degree in law in Ontario, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings of 2022:

1. University of Toronto
2. McGill University
3. York University
4. University of Ottawa
5. Western University

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The universities listed above have been labelled as academically reputable for pre-law students because many of them have extremely prestigious law schools associated with them, including Osgoode Hall Law School, Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto, and many others. These schools offer students the option to explore and obtain a diverse education when it comes to determining the best course of action in pursuing a career in law as well as choosing the type of law in which they wish to practice. Overall, these schools have proven to be an excellent choice for students looking to pursue a law degree and these students have found success in being accepted into the law schools hosted by their undergraduate school.

To wrap up, it is important to take this information with a grain of salt, and know that these listings simply serve as guides to help anyone struggling to determine which program is the right fit for them. Remember, anywhere you choose, you will be sure to meet new people, venture into new experiences, and have access to high-quality education that will serve you with success in the future. For those of you that have planned out your pathway since elementary school, please, take your plan and goals and run with them, as I am sure you are not wrong, and I am sure that your research and planning are not for nothing, but rather it will help you achieve your goals and dreams in your career and your life. I hope you enjoyed this first blog about choosing which university is best for you, and in the upcoming weeks, there will be many new articles that will touch on some of the other important factors that we thought every undergrad should consider when planning their undergraduate career.

About the author

Wynter Sutchy is a first-year undergraduate student at McMaster University studying Life Sciences and is from King City, ON. She is very passionate about the healthcare field and enjoys sharing her volunteering experiences through writing. She plans to pursue a career in medicine in the future and plans to explore the field of healthcare through research and volunteering throughout her undergraduate career. In her free time, you can expect her to be watching her favourite show, Greys Anatomy, teaching children how to swim, or baking some delicious desserts!