University of Toronto 2020

[anxietypersonified]

Hi all, 

I'm heading to Munk for Fall 2020. Just wanted to start a thread to say hi, share information, commiserate etc. 

Also with Harvard&MIT sending students back for Spring Break indefinitely because of the Covid-19, is there a possibility that we'll be affected in September?

[flatwhiteplease]

On 3/12/2020 at 1:50 PM, anxietypersonified said:

Hi all, 

I'm heading to Munk for Fall 2020. Just wanted to start a thread to say hi, share information, commiserate etc. 

Also with Harvard&MIT sending students back for Spring Break indefinitely because of the Covid-19, is there a possibility that we'll be affected in September?

Hi and thanks for starting this thread! I'm a bit surprised that there haven't been more responses considering the size of the school, but then again, these are uncertain times and many people are probably waiting it out.

Congratulations on the acceptance! I haven't fully decided yet, but I have been accepted into the Economics MA for Fall 2020 and I'm leaning towards going. Based on what I've heard from profs and advisors in the department, the situation is still quite ambiguous. The first half of summer classes have been moved online, but they seem to be keeping their options open for the second half of the summer. When I inquired about changes to tuition fees and TA compensation due to online classes / overall impact of Covid-19, I was told that no such changes can be expected.

What do you think about the impact of the pandemic on the admissions cycle (for this year and the next) and the Canadian job market in 2021? I'm Canadian, but I've lived overseas for the past couple of years, so I don't have much information on the current situation, and I'm a bit nervous about the direction that the market might take. I've heard that admissions will probably get tougher next year due to funding cutbacks, so it's best to start your program this year rather than defer it any further into the unknown, but I'm also worried about entering the job market in 2021 with added debt from my master's.

[KinoCat]

Hi @flatwhiteplease @anxietypersonified !   That's great to year about TA compensation. 

I'm starting the Cinema Studies PhD!   Excited to start, but also anxious about if/when everything will start.  The department said they "hope to have more information by May"  so we'll see.  I'm trying not to worry about it too much, it's all out of my control, etc, but it's hard not to jump to worst case scenario.

I'm coming from the U.S., so visas and border crossing is also a sense of uncertainty too.  I applied for "student family housing" since housing searching will likely be harder than it already would have been.  So fingers crossed!   Anyone in a similar boat?

 

[anxietypersonified]

On 4/1/2020 at 3:27 AM, flatwhiteplease said:

Hi and thanks for starting this thread! I'm a bit surprised that there haven't been more responses considering the size of the school, but then again, these are uncertain times and many people are probably waiting it out.

Congratulations on the acceptance! I haven't fully decided yet, but I have been accepted into the Economics MA for Fall 2020 and I'm leaning towards going. Based on what I've heard from profs and advisors in the department, the situation is still quite ambiguous. The first half of summer classes have been moved online, but they seem to be keeping their options open for the second half of the summer. When I inquired about changes to tuition fees and TA compensation due to online classes / overall impact of Covid-19, I was told that no such changes can be expected.

What do you think about the impact of the pandemic on the admissions cycle (for this year and the next) and the Canadian job market in 2021? I'm Canadian, but I've lived overseas for the past couple of years, so I don't have much information on the current situation, and I'm a bit nervous about the direction that the market might take. I've heard that admissions will probably get tougher next year due to funding cutbacks, so it's best to start your program this year rather than defer it any further into the unknown, but I'm also worried about entering the job market in 2021 with added debt from my master's.

Congrats on your acceptance too! Yeah I'm holding out hope that everything is back to normal by mid-August.

I would recommend that you take the offer now instead of deferring because the funding situation next year will definitely be much worse. In terms of the job market, I'm an international student so I can't give you complete specifics for the Canadian job market. That said, the recession will hit everyone quite hard and there may be hiring freezes for skilled labour but there might be a chance for jobs. With all the industries getting back on their feet at the same time that there might a temporary spike in demand. This demand I'm thinking will probably be addressed with new labour from fresh grads because we cost less than more seasoned people. 

This might be a delusional take from someone whose trying not be too disheartened so I don't know. What do you think?

[anxietypersonified]

On 4/1/2020 at 11:27 AM, KinoCat said:

Hi @flatwhiteplease @anxietypersonified !   That's great to year about TA compensation. 

I'm starting the Cinema Studies PhD!   Excited to start, but also anxious about if/when everything will start.  The department said they "hope to have more information by May"  so we'll see.  I'm trying not to worry about it too much, it's all out of my control, etc, but it's hard not to jump to worst case scenario.

I'm coming from the U.S., so visas and border crossing is also a sense of uncertainty too.  I applied for "student family housing" since housing searching will likely be harder than it already would have been.  So fingers crossed!   Anyone in a similar boat?

 

Hi @KinoCat!

Congrats! Yeah the flight and border issues are really stressing me out too but like you said, there's just some things we can't control. I know Toronto just cancelled all events until end of June/July but I have a friend who runs a small school there and they're prepping the teachers on heading back for a regular September term so fingers crossed. 

I'm also considering student family housing for myself and my partner but I think there might still be places available off campus so I wouldn't rule it out. 

[skar]

I'm headed to start at Molecular Genetics this fall! I'm a Canadian citizen but live in the U.S, so I'm hoping I'll be able to physically make it there but I don't think Covid-19 will fully be a thing of the past for quite some time. We shall see! 

[ElleG]

Hey everyone! 

I am also heading to Munk for an MGA this Fall. 

To echo the previous messages  - I think by Fall semester Covid as a disease will subside, I think we will be dealing more with social impacts. I think by Fall the courses will go business as usual - but it may be an issue for internationals as visas may be given out much slower.

Regardless of that I am excited to start my MGA at UofT!

[grace.k]

Hi! I'm starting an MA in English Lit this fall. From Canada's east coast, just finished my undergrad at UofT.

I *could* get anxious about COVID-19 but trying to put it aside for now. I think everything is going to be case-specific for the rest of 2020, so it depends on our program, class sizes, etc... It's possible that it will be easier for grad students in smaller programs to get together than, say, huge undergraduate classes. Either way, if classes are semi-"remote" for a bit in the fall, it won't be the worst. I welcome everyone who will be traveling and moving here - you should absolutely accept and plan for that! It's doable, even during COVID-19. If anyone coming from away needs any questions answered, happy to help. 

I'm eager to make some new friends, especially within the humanities, so going to be following this thread.