York University

[warlord]

So I'm going into my last of high school and I'm browsing around PrincetonReview.com looking for colleges and York U comes up but they have no info on it. So I wanna know would a Libreal minded, Poet-Musician, English?CCreative Writing major fit in there or should I be looking elsewhere?

 

[WmRAllen67]

You should take this with a grain of salt, since I know nothing about York specifically, but...

The only way you'll know if you, a "Liberal-minded poet/musician English/ Creative writing major" will fit in there is to investigate the English Department, Music Department, and the campus itself-- since this is your year to travel all over and visit all those places you might attend, give them a shot...

Websites and college survey books are good for a first look, but you can't know how you'll react to the place without getting a "feel" for it yourself. It's like trying to find an apartment in a new city-- you can pick up the rental listings in the newspaper, but if you go to a place and are uncomfortable with the neighborhood, then it's not for you. Never select sight unseen...

 

[Zander]

I'll second WmRAllen's sound advice. Go to the campus and talk to the students and faculty there. Take what the faculty say with a grain of salt. What the students say can generally be taken at face value but be sure to talk to lots of them. Don't base your view on just a couple of students, they may not be representative.

Also, I think you mean York U in Canada, not a similarly named institution in the UK. Correct?

 

[warlord]

Yes, I mean the Canadian one. But the problem is I can't really get to Cananda any time soon to tour the campus.

 

[LightPhoenix]

One thing you could do is e-mail the department(s) you're interested in and see if they might be able to put you in touch with someone to e-mail or IM. I found that, especially with Music and Arts, they're pretty laid back about the whole thing, so I don't think they'd have a problem with that.

Another thing to mention, though I'm sure you're already on top of it, is to make sure that there aren't any special hoops that you have to jump through because you'd be (presumably based on the tone of the post) an international student.

 

[warlord]

I checked all the hoops I have to jump through and its just a recemendation from my consular and teachers.

 

[Fiery James]

I have a few friends who went to York for Fine Arts -- although this was probably 15 years ago. Still, schools get a rep and it sticks for a while.

They were pretty laid back. Had co-ed bathrooms and stuff like that. Of course, that's also in the arts area, and everyone was pretty laid back there. We used to hang out with some other friends and talk Star Wars action figures and stuff, so it was ok.

York is in the northern bit of Toronto, so you're close enough (by transit) to get downtown when you need to. It's also accessible from the suburbs.

But, in terms of schools in the area, it's (my impression) less high-pressure than some place like University of Toronto.

-JB (graduate of Laurier University! Purple and Gold!)

 

[eabha]

I spent a year in the Fine Arts program at York in 88/89. At that time it was quite liberal, especially in that particular department. Overall, it has a reputation for liberalism here in Toronto, with U of T being the more conservative school.

That was the upside of the place for me.

However, I did run screaming from York at the end of the year and did not return to university for several years. Too big, too cold (literally and figuratively), and too intellectual for what I was back then, a small-town girl with a sub-standard high school education. When I did go back, I chose a much smaller school. Also ended up at U of T for a year, which was not so bad.