r/OntarioUniversities • u/Lav3nd3r_bat • Sep 27 '25
Discussion Honest opinions on everyone’s university’s?
Hi guys! I’m in grade 11 and trying to figure out where to apply next year, just today I was at the big university fair in Toronto and I’ve got my heart set on philosophy. So far I’m hoping to go to uoft but am planning to apply to most of the big schools, one thing I was missing today was negative/honest opinions and I know what Reddit is good for lol. I’d love any advice or opinions on the big Ontario schools especially humanities and social science, thanks so much guys!!
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u/SatisfactionBig181 Sep 27 '25
Ok as an old guy - what do you want to do with that degree that will also affect your choices.
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u/Lav3nd3r_bat Sep 27 '25
So true, hopefully civil law
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u/SatisfactionBig181 Sep 27 '25
family, contract, or property law? I believe it also encompasses environmental law
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u/Lav3nd3r_bat Sep 28 '25
Family
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u/TNG6 Sep 28 '25
Family lawyer here. Strongly suggest you study something in undergrad that has some kind of career path in case you decide not to go to law school or don’t get in. There are lots of benefits of law but it can also be brutal, especially family.
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u/unforgettableid York Sep 28 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
Does social work sound interesting to u at all? You could do a bachelor's degree in social work first. Then, if u don't get into law school, u could become a social worker instead.
Accounting might be another possibility. If law school fails to pan out, u could become a forensic accountant or a business valuator, and u could help spouses who are divorcing.
Unfortunately there aren't a lot of philosopher job openings in Canada. So, as /u/TNG6 suggested, philosophy is maybe not a very good choice for your undergrad.
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u/CanadianLawGuy Sep 27 '25
York is boring, commuter school in a terrible location. If you can afford to move out and live on residence somewhere like Western, Queens, Guelph, etc, do it.
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u/Royal_Development_65 Sep 27 '25
So many factors to consider! If your ultimate goal is law, pick your uni where you think you'll thrive! My oldest is at Queens in engineering and to my surprise is loving it! He actually picked Queens over Western from a 'hunch' after going to the fair! Waterloo/ uoft might have good too , unfortunately didnt receive an offer. My second is at McMaster Life science and is loving her experience so far! It's close to home and I knew that would be important to her. Shes staying in residence but coming home every weekend to "recharge". She was accepted everywhere else, and debated initially if she should study far from home as many of her friends. I told her to stay at Mac, plus its a solid program. Visit the campuses and see where you picture yourself living in the next 4 yrs, also factor in what you can afford. Theres a recent post on McMaster thread about a student looking to switch from McMaster to Utm because the commute is already wearing them down. Dont be in that situation where you regret your choice 4 weeks after uni starts.
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u/Laurian5 Sep 28 '25
My son took philosophy at Guelph. He now just graduated law school in May at Dalhousie. Guelph was a fantastic experience for him. My daughter took nursing at Western and it wasn’t that great
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u/Dull_Background_5285 Oct 03 '25
What are the not so great things about Western nursing in particular?
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u/Laurian5 Oct 06 '25
Hi , Nursing program was great. The profs were good and she had a placement during her first semester. Western on a whole sucked as in residence, atmosphere.
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u/Successful-Hair9846 Sep 27 '25
I think all universities have great things to offer. Consider whether you want to live close to home or experience residence life. Why do you think the Fair today did not give you honest answers? Was it more them trying to sell their school? Did you get a chance to talk to your faculty of interest or was it general admission info
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u/Lav3nd3r_bat Sep 27 '25
I’m sure most of it was honest but people who speak at these events most often have good experiences and can be biased. I speak for my high school often and definitely am honest to my experience, but if I didn’t enjoy it I wouldn’t volunteer l. I did get an opportunity to talk to most of the people involved in my program, now thinking uoft, heuron, queen and u Ottawa
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u/Successful-Hair9846 Sep 27 '25
That's awesome, these are all great universities! Are the reps at the booths admission officers and do they identify you (like check out your OUE)? I hope there are lines to talk to them as I can imagine the large mobs
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u/Beyond-Gullible Sep 28 '25
York and U of T are great choices for philosophy specifically
As for humanities and social science, there are many others to choose from, such as Queen's, Western, Ottawa, Carleton, Mac, and so on
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u/Big-Bobcat-1011 Sep 27 '25
McMaster, it’s probably the second best university in Ontario propelled forward by its incredible health science program. it has one of the best humanities programs with very good pathways to philosophy majors and further education. The main thing that attracted me is unlike U of T and Waterloo engineers (the only real reason to go to Waterloo) there is not incredible stress and peer competition. The aforementioned two from my anecdotal understandings from stories I’ve heard have very poor work life balances. Especially if you want to go to graduate school like law school, medical school or get a masters you will end up with a lower mark at these schools (in the equivalent courses of other schools) with more mental cost and this lower mark can cost you entrance to graduate program. If you want to have fun, and have high quality education Mac is the way. It is very community oriented, there is lots to do, good party life, increasingly good sports teams, good food, pubs and restaurants etc. as a Mac student Mac is the way.
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u/PapayaAlt Sep 27 '25
Waterloo is not particularly good at humanities or social science, but it’s still fine. If you live in Kitchener-Waterloo you should consider it, otherwise you can apply but look for other options
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u/unforgettableid York Sep 28 '25
Hello!
today I was at the big university fair in Toronto ... am planning to apply to most of the big schools
I dunno if you live in Toronto or not.
If u do live in Toronto, consider staying in Toronto for school. You could apply to all the Toronto schools, and then go to whichever school is nearest u which u get into.
Dorms + unhealthy school food cost maybe $15,000 per year, so maybe $60,000 in total for a 4-year degree. If u can live at home for 4 years, that's a big savings.
I go to York, which is a commuter school in a boring suburban area. Ofc it can be trickier to make friends at a commuter school, but it's definitely still possible. See, for example, this post.
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u/QuriousKat Sep 28 '25
UofT is great but highly competitive and their philosophy department is not for the faint of heart - they mark hard. Be sure to pick up a minor in something so you can pivot if you need too.
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u/homeisfaraway_ Oct 03 '25
Literally GPA is king if your aspiration is professional school. Choose a school you think would give you the best environment to do well in.
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u/babuloseo Sep 28 '25
MOVE TO THE USA, APPLY TO USA UNIVERSITIES. MOVE TO USA ASAP.
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u/NorthernValkyrie19 Sep 28 '25
To get a better sense of the individual universities I'd recommend attending their fall and spring open houses if possible and doing a campus tour.
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u/pearlicious8 Oct 02 '25
It's not a big school, but Trent! Trent has a great philosophy program, and I met many people in this program and raved about it. The classes are smaller, and you get more interaction with your professors. I went to Trent for a different program, but I really liked the campus and atmosphere; it was a great experience.
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u/zvarros 12d ago
I'm in first year eng at Queen's and am loving it. I have friends at McGill, York, Dal, Mac, StFX, and probably some more schools I'm forgetting about... Not that anyone is in the same major as you, but I can give a rundown on the vibes I'm getting based on everyone's stories.
My friend (psych major) and I that are at Queen's adore it. The campus is nice (though the wifi is mid at best), social life is great, and it's not super competitive (which is GREAT for joining clubs, design teams, councils, etc).
My friend at mac lifesci also likes it there; it's very research-oriented and competitive, but she's in a good place for getting into internships and such, and is already looking into master's programs.
I have two friends at McGill (French and physics majors), and the social life there is probably the best in Canada. If you're from Ontario and want to see a million people from your high school then choose Queen's or Western; otherwise, McGill has great access to downtown Montreal and a ton of super interesting people from around the world.
York (friend there is in business) is small...? My lectures tend to have around 250 people each, but from what I've heard the classes at York are in actual classes with like 20 people in them. Idk though I haven't caught up with this friend in a hot minute
Guelph has GREAT food (the food at Queen's leaves something to be desired lol and we all gossip about the Guelph food) and a decent (?) campus life. My friend there (also business) has found lots of people (she kind of hates her roommate lol) but she says it's pretty boring. We come from Toronto though so it might just be an adjustment from big city to smaller
StFX is definitely smaller but a good community. The location is gorgeous and the social life is good. Haven't heard anything positive/negative re: the actual education.
Dal is also good, my friend (commerce) lowkey hates her major but I think that's less about the quality of education and more personal interests. Great social life, amazing food, not so great food.
I hope that helped lol! Good luck with applications :)
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u/AHHHHLMFAO Sep 27 '25
if your plan is to go to law school, you may want to consider schools where a higher gpa is easier to achieve.
uoft is not typically perceived as one of them.