Whenever I walk into an old, prestigious university, my heart always squeezes in awe. It might be because of the beautiful architecture, and the lush green grounds; it could be marks of history, carved by the brilliant minds that have passed through the grounds and have stood where I stand. There’s a lot of reasons that universities call to people and make them excited to be there. Here are five reasons why I’m excited to start at the University of Toronto!
1. Aesthetic
I’m just going to get this out of the way: out of all the campuses I visited, U of T was at the top of my list for aesthetic. I mean, can you blame me? You’d be hard-pressed to walk through the campus and think that it looked ugly. Personally, I love the massive green spaces; the quads and the courtyards. They seem like a good place to escape when lecture halls and libraries get too oppressive. The massive mix of architecture also interested me: we’ve got grand old University College, right next to colossal Con Hall and only a couple minutes away from Old Vic.
2. Academic level-up
This sounds a bit obvious, but I’m seriously excited by the prospect of a challenge. U of T looks like it could seriously deliver on that. The constant pursuit of knowledge and excellence really emphasized the higher level of academia at the University of Toronto for me. I managed to get a glimpse of it when i went for a writing seminar at Emmanuel College a couple weeks ago. Nothing inspires awe like high vaulted ceilings and intelligent people.
3. I get to explore the city
As a kid from the ‘burbs, big cities have always held a certain kind of appeal. There’s nothing quite like the pointed hustle of a big city, and even though Toronto’s not actually all that big, it’s still impressive in it’s own right.
4. Independence
In all the prep sessions I’ve been to over the summer, I’ve swung madly between “I’m totally on my own” and “oh my gosh the support here is crazy good.” And honestly, both are true. U of T has a really great support system. At the same time, I feel like a kid who’s just about to take off the training wheels on their bike. I’ve got the independence to make choices that impact my future, but I’ve got a lot of people at my back, too.
5. New friends
The University of Toronto has over 60,000 students at their downtown campus alone. If you think about it, that’s sixty thousand possible new friends. New friends from all corners of the globe, and also from home: what more could you want?
What reasons are you excited to start at the University of Toronto!? Share in the comments below!
Featured Image: weheartit
