BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO UTSG
All You Need to Know About College!
In this guide, you will find a range of information regarding campus-specific matters, such as instructions on how to use UofT websites such as ACORN, a timetable planner, navigating campus etc! Please do not hesitate to ask us any questions!
Feel free to contact us for any questions that you may have through Instagram or email! We will try our very best to get back to you as soon as we can, but please be reminded of the time difference!
We look forward to hearing from you and seeing all you beautiful people soon. Stay safe!
Academic Information
Arts & Science
Students in the Faculty of Arts & Science are allocated to one of 7 different colleges. Your college's registrar will be your first point of contact for any academic matters. You will have access to academic advisors, counselors, and other important contacts, so don't be shy to send them an email! Here is the main page for UofT Arts and Science students, complete with everything you need to know about the faculty -- from enrolling into courses and programs to paying tuition fees, to events and mental health services.
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Engineering
Engineering students are part of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. As a first-year engineering student, the First Year Office (FYO) will be your first point of contact for any academic matters. Located at GB170, the FYO is your one-stop centre for all academic-related matters for first year engineering students. Each discipline will be introduced to their respective academic advisor during orientation. These academic advisors are there to address any of possible concerns and talk about almost anything, ranging from transition to university life to your academic planning for all the first year courses. They are very friendly so don't be shy to reach out. To make an appointment to meet your advisor or for general enquiries, send an email to firstyear@engineering.utoronto.ca. Learn more here.
Sometimes, things do not go as planned, a petition is a formal request for an exception to a Faculty or University rule, regulation or deadline. For Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, any petition must be done via engineering portal.
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Orientation Week
Arts & Science
As an ArtSci student, your respective colleges will host their own orientations. If you would like to participate, you will need to register for Orientation through your college's registration page. Although the Orientation experience for each college may vary, first-year students will be informed about academics, the ins and outs of Toronto (includes tours around the city and campus!), accommodation, important campus information, and a slew of fun activities like games, performances, club nights and more. Generally, any student can participate in any college's Orientation programmes! You are not limited to your own allocated college only. Even second-years and above can participate in Orientation!
Depending on your college, you may get other orientation programs besides Frosh, most of them targeted at smaller-scale focus groups for those who prefer less crowded settings. Here is a more detailed article about the ArtSci orientation week.
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Engineering
All engineering students, regardless of the residence hall they stay in, will attend this orientation event. F!rosh Week is the annual Orientation event that welcomes each and every incoming first-year into the vibrant community of U of T Engineering (Skule™). All corners of the U of T Engineering community are displayed through F!rosh Week's programming, and first years have the opportunity to learn more about all of the exciting experiences and extracurriculars that U of T Engineering have to offer. Here is the official site
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Clubs and Societies
Various other clubs and societies also organise Orientations to welcome new members in the new academic year! You can find out more information about their events through their websites or socials!
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P.S.: MSSA's Orientation 2023 will be on September 16. SAVE THE DATE! Registration Details will follow soon!
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All in all, orientation is a great, informative way to meet new people and to start your new journey with a blast!
ACORN & Course Planner
ACORN is UofT’s all-in-one web service. This is where you will be enrolling into your courses, viewing your transcripts, registration status and tuition fees payment etc. Enrolment dates and times differ from student to student, but be sure to prepare yourselves in advance! Find out your enrolment time by logging into ACORN. Prior to your assigned date and time, you will have the option of adding courses to your enrolment cart. Be sure to do this in advance so that once your enrolment time comes around, you’ll just need to click on ‘Enrol’! You also will not be able to access ACORN on enrolment day until your allocated time.
For engineering students, your first year timetable is automatically fixed for you, so you will not have to worry about course enrolment.
Quercus
Each course you are enrolled in will have a page on Quercus. Information given for each course varies by the professor teaching. You might see announcements, lecture notes or slides, quizzes, term tests, videos or any other resources to be uploaded here.
Health Insurance
All international students studying in Ontario will have two insurance plans: University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) and Studentcare. You are automatically enrolled in both of these and is included in your university fees.
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UHIP is offered by the Ontario province and takes care of your basic health coverage. Learn more here, make sure to click on Service Fees and UHIP's official website to understand the full coverage.
Studentcare is offered by the University of Toronto Student Union (UTSU) Student Health Plan. It takes care of your extended health, dental health and fills any gaps that are not covered in UHIP. Learn more here, make sure to select your student status and the campus you are attending.
On-Campus Jobs
Something that you may be interested in is on-campus jobs. Not only does it provide you with additional finances, you may also use this as an opportunity to burnish your CV with more work experiences.
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There are 2 main types of on-campus jobs
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Work-Study Positions. These jobs provide you with an opportunity to deepen your knowledge, strengthen your skills and explore how your academic studies translate to career possibilities. Research/Lab Assistants are some of the main types of jobs covered under Work-Study programme. Work-Study positions last the entire academic year, so positions are usually advertised about August and applications normally close on the first week of classes, but this may vary!
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Casual Positions. These jobs are more one-off in nature, like ushering guests for official campus events such as Convocation, or campus tour guides. Positions may be open at any time, so you should keep an active lookout for it!
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For both work-study and casual positions, you should apply through CLNx website, logging in using your UTORid.
Campus Map
Familiarise yourself with the interactive map of campus below or explore satellite view on Google Maps. You can even download the UofT map on your phone to ensure you'll never get lost on the way to classes!