Accepted to U of T and York- Which to choose??

[TGRstudent]

Hi everyone,

The decision is between York's 2nd entry program or U of T's advanced standing program- both approx. 2 years long.

Over the last few months, I had kinda brought myself around to the idea that I would be going to York, as I don't have the most amazing GPA and I had already been rejected U of T in previous years (albeit for a different program- Masters in Public health). However, yesterday, I got email confirmation of my acceptance to U of T, and suddenly, I'm not sure what to do anymore.

I prefer U of T in terms of location (I live right downtown) and because I feel that overall it (maybe) has a better reputation in general. Also, I know from reading previous posts that they give you exposure to different environments in terms of clinical placements. Now for the downsides: I hear (again from previous posts) that it can be TOO theoretical of a program (something which is not appealing to me) and hence the nurses end up being under-prepared in the real world environment.

Now for York- Upsides: Program has more practical and less theory based - though I've heard that they sometime make you take seemingly useless courses. The downsides are that the campus is soooo far away and seems kind of isolated. Also, I've heard that the nursing department is quite disorganized, ie, you don't know where you're placements are until a few days before, or even after they've already started.

I do have some sort of idea of where I'd like to work/what I'd like to do after finishing my degree. I'm really interested in maternal healthcare, but more from a social perspective, than a clinical/hospital setting. I think that I'd ideally like to be a public health nurse or nurse educator. Ultimately my goal is to become a certified lactation consultant after a few years.

Based on the above info, what program do you think is better suited to me. I'd really appreciate any info, esp. from people already in the programs or those who are already practicing nurses. I'd like to make my decision in less that a week hopefully.

Thanks in advance for your help and comments!

[loriangel14, RN]

All I can tell you is what I have heard and that is heresay. I have heard the same things about the York nursing program. Just in general it seems to be not as highly thought of as U of T, which has a better rep in general.

My daughter is just finishing her first year at U of T ( not nursing though) and she absolutely loves the school.

Best of luck and let us know what you decide.

[ButtonNose]

Congratulations on receiving an acceptance for both schools! Lucky for you you have a choice. Based on what you've heard and researched, which school are you leaning towards? I don't think it would be appropriate for someone else to make the choice for you but it would be important for you to do as much research as you can and make the right decision =)

[TobeNursey]

Hi TGRsstudent,

Congratulations for getting accepted into nursing program! I had a few questions for you, if you don't mind me asking. First, where did you ultimately decide to go? And what was your average like? I am applying to both of those schools for sept 2012, however I have only taken half phys course so far. I wanted to know if its worth taking another half credit to suffice the requirements for UofT nursing. Pleaseee Advise!!

[fenders]

I went to Ryerson and we had students that came from UofT becuase they thought there was toomuch theory. that was years ago though. I chose Ryerson because of the location to downtown and they have superb practical placements. Some of the staff are also managers/direstors at some of big hospitals downtown. Plus theres salad king Thai food lol. UofT has a great reputation though acedemically. It is probably one of the top schools in Canada. One of the largest research libraries in the world. We had a partnership with UofT and had accesss to certain floors with our Rye ID. I also heard recently that they have a pretty cool nursing simulation lab. Dummies with superb simulation. Good luck with your choices. Most of what you wil learn anyways will come from your working experience. The theory and base knowledge does help though.