JayKayAay

I’m in first year at uoft and didn’t get my acceptance until April 15! It will come but it may be a bit of a wait. For reference, the rejection emails got sent out first followed by those who got accepted. All within the same day though iirc.

I’m a student nurse in Toronto (Canada). All classes are moving online and just got the news our placements are on hold for the next three weeks. I’m in an accelerated program (2 years for a BScN) so I’m not sure how we’re going to make up the hours. Hearing rumblings the province is going to be shut down tomorrow onwards ? what a time to be a part of the health care system.

For reference, uoft sent out first round of acceptances April 15 last year. I’m not sure if the current world situation will slow the process down or not as they are currently trying to figure out the logistics of how we will be taking our exams/tests online and what they’ll be doing for our courses that run into the Spring term. Sit tight! I know I had so much anxiety last year, checking this site multiple times a day, but try to keep your mind off it and it will come ?

I’m sorry this is an incredibly late reply LOL. I basically chose uoft as I grew up here, my family is here and I wanted to spend more time with them as they are aging. I also moved for my first degree so I never got to explore downtown as an adult, so that was another reason. I do plan on living in Vancouver once I’m done (I was living there previously) so I figured this would be the best time to move back for a few years! I also didn’t like the face that Some clinical placements at UBC might be inreachable by transit (I didn’t have a car in vancouver) and the unknown of that pushed me away from it a bit.

Sorry for the late reply! I forgot to check this over the holidays. I highly recommend looking through the last few years of forums. I recall taking one person’s advice about taking experiences and really applying my experience of how that would pertain to being a good nurse (though this may have been on a ubc allnurses forum). To be honest i pretty much just copied my app from ubc since that was my top choice haha (I got into ubc but changed my mind about which school to go to). Let me know if you have any specific questions. Edit: oh geez, sorry you asked about your personal statement. Hm i would have to look at mine because i don’t remember what i wrote! I think i just wrote why nursing was right for me and how i came to the decision of choosing nursing (lots of opportunities to change positions, can help way more people at one time through public heath etc). I think i also wrote some pesonal stuff about what motivates me to help others on a specific issue (diabetes/other non-comm chronic diseases due to my fam being impacted by them etc).

Hey! Don’t quote me on this but I think that UofT looks at the whole application as opposed to just grades. I did apply with a 4.0 in my last year so i can’t speak to the whole “grades don’t matter as much” part very well (i did have a 3.3 cgpa though!). From past forums and personal experience, i think they really value diversity so having experience in a variety of subjects as well as experience in other areas other than healthcare helps. Look up past forums on how to write the supplementary app well, it helped me a lot!

Hi all! I’m not applying this year but was doing this process last year! I’m currently at UofT for their nursing program so I’d love to give back and help answer any questions you may have. I know applications made me anxious but looking at this forum and past years helped a lot! So definitely check on the past few years of forums, helps a ton. I applied to UofT, McMaster, and Western as well as UBC out west and got into them all so I can answer any application questions for those as well. Good luck ?

I decided to go to UofT as well instead of UBC so another spot will open up! Breaks my heart esp after seeing ubc’s campus but I plan on pursuing MY MN-NP and hope to do it at UBC! The programs are very similar I’m sure (since both schools hold high prestige and are research focused). See you at UofT!

Pretty sure! They do have a top 10 survey type of thing but i heard that some people didn’t even get into one of their top 10 for some placements. Just really depends on who/what hospital is accepting students at that point and how many.

For ubc clinicals, i heard it’s either wed/thurs (or whatever weekdays) or sat/sun, not both. In addition, i heard from a current student that uoft takes into account where you live/mode of transportation so that you’re not travelling more than an hour ish to placement whereas at ubc, clinicals can be anywhere in the lower mainland which could take 2-3 hours one way by transit. I’ve heard many people purchasing cars because of this. Personally, i don’t have the budget for it as insurance in bc is government run and it is very expensive!! There’s also carpooling but that would depend on who is in your cohort/if they drive. Comparing available calendars, uoft not only has more breaks (2 month summer break, fall, winter, and spring reading weeks versus 1 month and 1 winter reading week at ubc), but they also start later (a week after labour day vs starting right after labour day with ubc iirc). I think They also have a longer christmas break - not sure of this since the ubc calendar blacked out 2 1/2-3 weeks for exam period but maybe nursing exams finish earlier? All in all, i think uofts breaks are a great tradeoff for finishing one month later than ubc. I feel like living expenses would be similar for uoft and ubc depending on if you were going to live at home/with family. Off campus housing is probably similar though, because you can always live in cheaper parts of van/toronto. Class sizes are quite different (170 at uoft and 120 at ubc) but i think both are small enough to make friends with profs (i did this in classes of similar sizes, just gotta make the effort). Honestly, ubc might be slightly cheaper. Tuition fees include a bus pass (can be used anywhere in lower mainland and comes up to $40ish a month compared to torontos $120-130/month student bus pass) and i think their health check thing (immunization review) is included in student fees as well as you get this done at the med services on campus. Campus wise, ubc definitely has a beautiful campus with a forest and beach nearby with a view of the north shore/mountains. Uoft is way more urban with more hustle and bustle since it’s in dt toronto. Ubc is on the edge of vancouver so VERY secluded. I walked around and it felt like its own small community. Living close to campus at ubc is most likely not beneficial since it’s so far away from the centre of vancouver and all the hospitals which are quite spread out which would be the opposite with uoft. Also something to keep note of, there are no trains to ubc (some direct busses from select stations) so depending on where you live, could be a hassle As for your license, you’d have to apply for whatever province/territory/state/wherever you plan to work in but i don’t think it would be that horrible, but something to think of nonetheless. It’s moreso the networking opportunities that would potentially be lost if you move out to a different province but who knows, people from vancouver might know people from toronto and vice versa and you could get a good recommendation either way.

Hi all, i recently got accepted to both uoft and ubc. I am originally from toronto but have been living in vancouver since september, and on/off since 2016. I’m having an extremely difficult time in making a decision and so i would appreciate any advice or input if you have any! I do plan on living/working in vancouver no matter what... but things could always change! I’ve made a list of pros/cons for each. uoft pros: 4-5 major hospitals within walking distance to school; guaranteed placements in 5 units (med/surg, pediatrics, mental health, geriatrics, maternity); they take into account where you live/mode of transportation so that they can place you closer to home; so much variety for food! (I love caribbean food! Something vancouver lacks); closer to family; lots of breaks between school (fall reading week, long christmas break, winter reading week, summer break from july to aug) cons: making friends i’ll have to move away from as i plan to move back to vancouver; potential networking opportunities would be a bust since i would be leaving the toronto area; finish end of july: transferring livense from on to bc ubc pros: vancouver living is amazing, love the weather and activities i can do here!; making friends that i’ll most likely have for a lifetime (and staying geographically close for a while lol); networking opportunities esp at whatever placements i get!; finish end of may cons: placements could be FAR and require a car (can’t afford insurance...); away from friends/fam; short breaks between school (winter reading week, one month for summer); possible clinicals on weekends questions: are there guaranteed placements in med-surg at ubc? Was finding a way to clinical difficult if they were far like in abbotsford, langley, coquitlam? has anyone moved from toronto to vancouver immediately after graduating from an ontario school? How lengthy was the licensing process? Was it hard to obtain a job in vancouver since you had little to no experience as a nurse? I hope someone can give me some advice.. been awake for 3 hours (since 3am lol). My brain won’t be quiet!

Just posted this in the ubc allnurses forum but in case there are people here who don’t follow that one but have been accepted to uoft and ubc and are contemplating which one to choose... ”i’ve been accepted to both ubc and uoft, both very comparable schools in terms of academic standing in canada, research opportunities etc. I’ve been living in vancouver since september and off/on for the past few years but originally raised in toronto. I’m wondering if anyone else is in a similar predicament and would like to discuss ? I have a list of pros/cons but would like to go over with as many people as possible to make an extremely informative decision lol”

Hi all, i’ve been accepted to both ubc and uoft, both very comparable schools in terms of academic standing in canada, research opportunities etc. I’ve been living in vancouver since september and off/on for the past few years but originally raised in toronto. I’m wondering if anyone else is in a similar predicament and would like to discuss ? I have a list of pros/cons but would like to go over with as many people as possible to make an extremely informative decision lol. I thought i was 70/30 toronto but now i’m back to 50/50 after thinking about how my cons for ubc shouldn’t be make it or break it issues (clinicals might be placed super far, variety of food is not the same as toronto lmao etc). Hope someone has more insights!

What’s your name? Would love to chat with someone in the same predicament haha

This is what i’m doing right now (uoft vs ubc) as i still haven’t made a decision!

Haha thanks! I guess what really matters is what you take away from your experiences and how you can apply them. I’ve been in customer facing roles for 10 years so it really helps! Lots of transferrable skills for any job. Yeah the scam was something lol. Never thought i’d fall for one because i’m usually smart about things but it was def a life lesson. DON’T TRUST ANYONE lol jk

Thanks! I had a 90.4 in my last year, which was a 4.33/4.33 gpa i guess? My cgpa was a 3.6/4.33 though LOL. I had no direction all the way up to the end of my first term of third year... didn’t have a plan for a future career and so i didn’t care about my grades which leads me into my supplemental. I did a lot of odd temp jobs which happened to be involve the community such as working for an event by the heart and stroke foundation called Ride for Heart (though i didn’t mention this one), working at the vancouver/toronto elections, and my work supporting individuals with intellectual/physical disabilities. I had a coop for this during school and later found some work in this area while in vancouver. I don’t have extensive research experience (or really any if you don’t count the research i did as a group project lol). However, looking back at my statement etc i really tried to help admissions understand that nursing is the best career path for me as i struggled to find one that met my needs/wants. For my work/volunteer experiences, i really tried to connect what i had learned from these and why it would make me a better nurse. An example, from my leadership exp, Was as a key holder at an outlet store where i fell for a scam (some guy said his car broke down and claimed to be related to the guy who owned the store lmao he was dropping names you wouldn’t know unless you knew them) and so i gave him money and soon found out i made the wrong judgement call. I realized this shortly after and made sure to make it right by paying it back with my own money as true leadership means owning up to your mistakes, learning from them, and leading by example by doing the right thing. For accomplishments, one was getting a 4.0/4.0 gpa at waterloo in my last year. It was a huge feat for me as i never passed the 80% mark since my first term of first year lol. And i explained what i learned from this - that i’m my own limiting factor in terms of mentality because if i set my mind to something, i come out on top and it’s been proven over and over again not only with grades, but moving out of my home 6 years ago, moving across the country where i didn’t have any friends or family etc., so i know i can do well as a nurse if i set my mind to it. For casper, i think i did really well. Somehow lol. I really just stated the issue in my own words to show understand, looked at it from two main points of view, then chose the side i thought was the best option while being ethical, compassionnate, but also following the rules/regulations. Hope this helps ? i wish they gave us our rankings to see how we really did in all three categories but i know i should just be happy i got accepted ?

I’m sort of in the same boat. I currently reside in vancouver but i’m originally from toronto and have lots of fam there to live with BUT i do have to contemplate the licensing as well. I looked it up and to go from toronto to vancouver licensing i don’t think it’s that hard, but haven’t done extensive research yet. I would assume it’d be as hard/easy to go from bc to on.. let me know if you find any info on it lol. One thing that i think is a con for ubc is that placements can be anywhere in lower mainland... if you don’t have a car this may be difficult whereas in toronto they might be more accessible. I know for uoft there’s about 5 major hospitals within 10-15 mins walking distance of the school so that’s a huge pull for me.

Same! I saved my supp app in a word doc haha

Accepted as well!!!

Haven’t heard anything yet... don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing ?

I’m fortunate enough that my entire family lives in toronto, so i’d be moving back home haha. Not sure how well that’s going to go seeing as i haven’t lived at home for over 5 years!

Thank you!!!! I hope we all get in! ? Everyone has worked so hard and you should all be proud of yourselves, no matter the outcome.

My last 30 credits/10 courses i have a 4.33/4.33 i think? It’s a 90.4 so just made the cutoff according to the arts undergrad gpa conversion chart lol. So i would assume 1? Unless they take into account my prereqs (did poorly in physiology because i took it when i didn’t plan on going back to school haha). Supplemental... i wanna say 2-3. As for casper, i THINK i did well since i had to submit my results to mcmaster and got in there the first round of acceptances. So 1-2? Who knows.. My anxiety has plummeted astronomically since getting into mcmaster, and even more so when i got accepted to uoft lol. I honestly didn’t think I was going to get into anywhere let alone #1 in canada (according to macleans), but i’ve been 3/4 so far, just waiting for ubc. It just goes to show that even if you’re feeling extremely doubtful, things can go the way you want them to! Even if i don’t get accepted to ubc, my backup plan doesn’t seem too shabby. If this year doesn’t work out for you, keep trying!! If it’s meant to be, it will be (cue music lol).

Got my acceptance april 15, says june 1st for deposit.